Category: Christian Spirituality
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The Unclean Spirit Returns: Jesus and the Tragedy of a Generation Lost
When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. Then it says, “I’ll go back to my house that I came from.” And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. Then off it goes and brings with it seven…
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The Storeroom of Our Hearts: Receiving the Good Gifts of God
How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. (Matthew 12:34–35) In commenting on this passage, the Expositor’s Bible Commentary sums…
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Listen to Your Heart: Finding the Way to Goodness and Grace
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things…
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Make the Good Tree Good: Jesus and the Call to Integrity
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. (Matthew 12:33-34) It’s pretty rare that…
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Eternal Horizons: How Jesus’s Mission Required Him to Trust the Father, and How We Must Do the Same (Jesus the Servant, Pt 2)
Hey everyone: My new book is out! You can pick up The Way of Restoration: Following Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount at Amazon or your favorite retailer, in ebook, paperback, and hardcover editions. And with that, I am resuming new writing on the blog. Thank you for your prayers and support, especially those…
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The Tragedy of the Pharisees: How Good People Become Enemies of God (Repost)
(Hey everyone! I am working hard getting the Sermon on the Mount book out. It is titled “The Way of Restoration: Following Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount”. In the meantime, I am reposting one of the posts in the series for you. Enjoy the sneak peak of the book to come!) When the…
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Living in the Public Eye: How Jesus Related to the Masses and Why We Can’t Remain in the Crowd (Repost)
(Hey everyone! I am working hard getting the Sermon on the Mount book out. It is titled “The Way of Restoration: Following Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount”. In the meantime, I am reposting one of the posts in the series for you. Enjoy the sneak peak of the book to come!) When Jesus…
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The Surprising Humility of the Hidden God (Jesus the Servant, Pt 1)
But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. He warned them not to tell others about him. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “Here is my…
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The Dawn of the New Creation: Jesus, the Sabbath, and the Creative Work of God
Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue. There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” … Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as…
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Human Value, Need, and What Really Offends God: Jesus on Legalism and the Sabbath
Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue. There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on…