Category Archives: Spiritual life

The Story of the Bible (as told on the Emmaus Road)

Posted on January 7, 2026 by salooper57

God, apparently, is not satisfied to stuff Scripture into our heads. He wants to burn it into our hearts. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Holy Week, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology, Wide Angle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Heads Up

Posted on January 5, 2026 by salooper57

Over the years, I have heard the refrain, “I can’t understand the Bible,” many times. This is an effort to help people – including me – understand the Bible in a way that helps us live in the light of the good news. Continue reading →

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This Year, Punch Up Your Resolution

Posted on January 3, 2026 by salooper57

I walk out of a church service, thinking the preacher took forty-five minutes to say what he could have said in ten. My wife and I get in the car and before we leave the parking lot, she has commented on the “good sermon.” Continue reading →

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Look Four Ways Before Crossing (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Posted on January 1, 2026 by salooper57

Sin clings; it won’t let go. We must be determined to get rid of it, or it will damage us. That damage, as the author of Hebrews points out again and again, takes the form – this is important to understand – of unbelief. Continue reading →

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The Telescoping Reality of Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2025 by salooper57

An hour or two ago, I left the hospital after reading the Christmas story to a man and his wife and praying with them. The man has been in the hospital for 18 days. Each time that it looks like he will be able to leave, something happens to extend his stay. Yesterday or the day before, he developed a pulmonary embolism Continue reading →

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Bedlam to Bethlehem

Posted on December 25, 2025 by salooper57

I started by speaking of “thin places,” where heaven and earth meet, but the barrier between heaven and earth is not permeable in a place; it is permeable in a person: Jesus. It is in a manger that heaven and earth meet and kiss. And it is at a cross that the gate of heaven opens. Continue reading →

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You Better Find Somebody to Love (4th Sunday of Advent)

Posted on December 21, 2025 by salooper57

You may say, “But I do know God. He takes care of me. He provides for my needs.” But because he cares for you does not mean that you know him in any way more meaningful than the golden retriever knows the owner who feeds him. Continue reading →

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Joy: It’s Not Optional

Posted on December 17, 2025 by salooper57

And he will say: “Child, I know all, and we will talk about those things. But first, you must tell me why you were not more joyful. Do you have any explanation for that? Because, if you had just been more joyful, the grudge, the divorce, the cheating never would have happened.” Continue reading →

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Peace: What It Is, How to Experience It

Posted on December 10, 2025 by salooper57

Ms. Fader said, “If you’re a human being … and you’re not anxious, there’s something wrong with you.” Or just maybe, there is something right with you. Maybe what’s right, or what’s coming right, are your relationships. Continue reading →

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You Have a Tell (We All Do)

Posted on December 6, 2025 by salooper57

…the words we generate over a lifetime are like “fingerprints.” Even small words – what he calls “stealth words,” like pronouns (I, you, we, they) and prepositions (to, for, over) – “broadcast the kind of people we are.” Continue reading →

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