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The Cure for Existential Anxiety
Ken Swan explains existential anxiety as “a sense of worry, dread or panic that may arise from the contemplation of life’s biggest questions, such as ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Why am I here?’” People throughout the ages have wrestled with these big questions which can be boiled down to “What is my purpose in life?” People are born with a desire to have meaning and purpose in life. They may sense strong meaning in one season of life over another. Age, health, work, or relationships can seem to define one’s purpose. The inevitable changes in life can bring existential anxiety. However, the Westminster Catechism, written in the mid 1600’s, declared…
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Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down
Do you remember the popularity of what became known as the Jabez Prayer? This prayer is recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10 “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!’” The teaching that spread rapidly included the idea that we did not have a blessed life because we did not ask for it. People were instructed to pray this prayer repeatedly and God would shower them with blessings and freedom from pain. I recently was studying the…
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Taking our Thoughts Captive
But to my amazement as I cast my net of prayer for help out into the waters of grace my net comes back to me full of all that had seemed lost.
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A Call To Prayer
Praying is a lot like breathing. It provides the sustaining rhythms of dependency for life.
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Jesus Loves Me
I stood at the kitchen sink, suds up to my wrists, plugging away at dinner dishes. To my left, my one year old daughter stood at her own toddler size pink kitchen pretending to to be just like Mommy. I grinned at her babbling and swaying pigtails, as she stuck a pretend loaf of bread into her oven. As we both busied ourselves, my daughter’s babble broke out into song. With confidence and gusto, she belted, “Je-sus loooves meee! I know! Biiible so!!!” Night after night, week after week, month after month, I had sung her the simple song, “Jesus Loves Me.” In her most fussy nights of teething, the…
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Robbed of My Right of Passage
In this Covid-19 time, there’s a group of celebrants who feels the loss of their special day more than others: Graduates. With no stage, no diploma in hand, and no procession, it’s hard to feel the same sense of accomplishment and closure.
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Theology of Self-Care
Once again, I’m thankful to have Victoria Monet guest blogging for me. Victoria is from Georgetown, Texas. She loves her husband, son, dog, and impacting others’ everyday theology through creative writing and teaching. She writes poetry and topical articles on her blog “Theology Reflected.” *** Is self-care selfish or unspiritual? Some churches and Christian circles say “yes.” And while today’s popular self-care strategies may have a bent toward self-serving interests, a biblical perspective of self-care is holistic, worshipful, and others-centered. Self-Care Involves All Aspects of Ourselves God designed us as complex, whole persons (Ps. 139:13–16). We do not—like a computer or machine—consist of parts, but encompass spiritual, physical, mental, emotional,…
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Praising God for Who He Is!
Many years ago, our daughter and I were driving on an icy road when I lost control of my minivan. It was spring break, so my daughter and I decided to go to a movie. The weather was a bit concerning, but living in Kansas everyone knows how to drive on the ice, right? The moment we walked out of the movie theater, I knew that the conditions had worsened and that we were in for a very long drive home. Growing up in the Midwest I was taught to drive slow on ice and to only tap the breaks lightly. We were about 10 minutes from home, and…
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God’ creation, as viewed through the prism of Psalm 104
Psalm 104:5–9, 24–30 Time: Date unknown, though possibly written sometime before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Place: Judah Lesson Aim: To learn to appreciate God more through His creation. Introduction Sir Robert Grant was acquainted with kings. His father was a member of the British Parliament and later became chairman of the East India Company. Following in his father’s footsteps, young Grant was elected to Parliament and then also became a director of the East India Company. In 1834, he was appointed governor of Bombay, and in that position, he became greatly loved. A medical college in India was named in his honor. Late in his…
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How Not to Hate the Wait
Our pace of daily life quickens. For instance, do you remember when email emerged as a life-changing breakthrough––speeding up and expanding communication beyond what we ever imagined? Some of us older cats do. But today, many view email as an archaic nuisance, like snail mail. Why not just text or chat? In our world of one-click shopping and on-demand streaming, much of life no longer unfolds over time. We expect immediate results. We want what we want when we want it. Instantaneous life is a must. We hate waiting. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait for anything. Or do we? Yes, often God asks us to wait. But His concept…