Category Archives: Spiritual life

If Only (John 11)

Posted on April 1, 2026 by salooper57

His mom said, “I’ll have to vacuum it up.” Phin asked, “How does it get up there?” His mom, thinking he was talking about the bug, said, “They fly.” Phin looked at her in amazement and said, “Vacuums fly?” Continue reading →

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Is This How Christians Can Reach the World?

Posted on March 21, 2026 by salooper57

We want to keep our dignity in place and our options open—and dignity and options are not characteristic of slaves and servants. (Or so people think who have never been slaves and servants.) Continue reading →

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Put It Where It Belongs: Where the Incarnation Fits in God’s Big Story

Posted on March 18, 2026 by salooper57

They think that if the faith is true, they should see evidence for it everywhere – a thousand … astonishing healings and nature-defying answers to prayer. Those things certainly happen …, but they usually happen in clusters around significant actions (some might call them intrusions) of God in history. Continue reading →

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This Is Your Brain on Jingles

Posted on March 7, 2026 by salooper57

If we are spending more time with Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow than with Jesus and Paul, it won’t be long before our thinking is out of kilter. Continue reading →

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All Things Are Yours: A Compelling Vision of the Christian Life

Posted on February 28, 2026 by salooper57

In Paul’s glorious vision of the Christian life, Jesus’s people have the power to force the world, life, death, things present, and things to come to serve their purpose. But Christians can only do this if they know their purpose and where they fit in the divine scheme of things. Continue reading →

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The God of Second Chances (Joshua 3-4)

Posted on February 25, 2026 by salooper57

When another chance – second chance or hundredth chance – will be helpful, it will be given. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of Second chances. Continue reading →

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Friends in Unexpected Places: Jesus and the Pharisees

Posted on February 21, 2026 by salooper57

I think we can learn that the biblical story is more complex than we are sometimes led to believe. Those of us who teach must be careful not to oversimplify the story in our rush to improve people’s feelings or adjust their behaviors. Continue reading →

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Christians: Navigating the Approval Process

Posted on February 14, 2026 by salooper57

That symbol gives merchants and consumers confidence in the product they are selling and buying. God wants his people to have confidence in him and in his work in them. And he wants their friends, neighbors, and co-workers to be able to trust them. Continue reading →

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I Wasn’t Seeing Myself Accurately

Posted on January 24, 2026 by salooper57

Most of the photos were candids, though a few were posed. It was at least a month before I saw the pictures and, when I did, I was surprised by what I saw … of myself. Continue reading →

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Want to Know God Better? Do This

Posted on January 10, 2026 by salooper57

The equation goes like this: Doing good works God selected for you = knowing God better and more intimately. Continue reading →

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