Category Archives: Encouragement

Baptism: Is it Really Necessary?

Posted on August 23, 2025 by salooper57

Both the emu and the kangaroo can only move forward, not back. The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to go backwards, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving backwards by its large tail.
People who are baptized have chosen the emu and the kangaroo for their coat of arms. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Church, Church Life, Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Following the Call

Posted on August 16, 2025 by salooper57

The Divine game of Marco Polo goes on. If we are not hearing his voice, it is not because he has stopped calling but because we have gone in the wrong direction. In that case, it is best for us to call to him and then become silent, waiting for his answering call. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Party at My House! – God

Posted on August 14, 2025 by salooper57

Jesus is telling us something about God in this story, and he is definitely not the cosmic killjoy that people (and the devil) make him out to be. If anyone ever loved a good party, it is the God and Father of Jesus Christ. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

He’s Still Our Father When We Mess Up

Posted on July 31, 2025 by salooper57

He not only didn’t look down on people at the lower end of the scale, he got rid of the scale – threw it out. In a society where even a child could distinguish between the reputable and the disreputable, Jesus’s disregard for those distinctions was scandalous. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poles Apart: The Realities that Make Us Who We Are

Posted on July 29, 2025 by salooper57

We were created with both poles – in that sense, we are all “bi-polar” – and we are only fully ourselves when we have a “current” within us that constantly moves between both. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fascinating Storytelling from Matthew 28

Posted on July 26, 2025 by salooper57

This is only one expression, and the least obvious, of the parallel lines of storytelling by Matthew in chapter 28. The twin storylines follow the women and the guards, and … Matthew structured his narrative this way on purpose. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God Is Father

Posted on July 24, 2025 by salooper57

Our biological parents often don’t really know us. They make the mistake of treating us as if we were younger replicas of themselves. “But you like to fish. I’ve been taking you fishing since you were in diapers!” “Of course, you’re going to play the piano.”
… But our heavenly Father knows who we are. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The God Who Is Light

Posted on July 16, 2025 by salooper57

He took all the things he ever heard Jesus say about God and, after spending decades thinking about them and talking to God about them, he summarized them in ten words (in Greek): “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, relationships, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why I Had So Much Trouble Reading the Bible

Posted on July 5, 2025 by salooper57

I would read some passage in the Gospels and, before I was done with the first paragraph, wander into some daydream or fretting episode. When I finally emerged and returned to my reading, the same thing would happen again within moments. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jesus: The Divine-Human Interlinear

Posted on June 14, 2025 by salooper57

We don’t see it because we think of glory as glitz and hype and notoriety. Glory, in our minds, is being selfie-stalked on the street, going viral on social media, entreated for interviews and autographs. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment