Years ago, when we still attended weekly church services, a longtime acquaintance (that’s generally what we are in church situations — we’re rarely given time to freely mingle and get to know one another as friends) left. If you attend church, you know how this goes: Bob and Allison aren’t there one week. Probably sick,…

Signs and wonders: they fascinate us. We marvel at the crossing of the Red Sea, Jesus’ feeding of 5,000 and 4,000, even Gideon with his soggy sheep fleece. One part of us asks, “Is this really true?” while another part says, “Do this for me, God! Do this for me!” And within contemporary Christian culture,…

Years ago, I spoke with a new mom about being lonely, and mentioned that I had experienced my share of that painful condition. “Oh, I’m not LONELY!” she shot back, as if we were discussing leprosy or something. You get the same reaction when you admit, “I would love to have a little more money, just to make things easier, you know.” “Oh,…

The Christian existence is filled with ludicrously shortsighted sayings that sound funny when we first hear them (too often, from the pulpit), but ultimately result in the weakening of our faith and approach to the throne of God. Like this one, which I politely tolerated long before there were Facebook memes: “Don’t pray for patience, because by…

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