Category Archives: Spiritual life

Good thing Jesus isn’t afraid of dirt

Posted on December 13, 2014 by salooper57

In 2013, a record 2 million people visited Bethlehem. It was estimated that there were 75,000 tourists in the Holy Land for the Christmas holiday, and most of them were expected to celebrate Jesus’s birthday in the city where he … Continue reading →

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

He’s not the person I thought he was

Posted on November 22, 2014 by salooper57

“He’s not the person I thought he was when we got married.” Most pastors and counselors have heard that line from people in marital crisis. They usually mean the person they married is not as good, as kind or as … Continue reading →

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

Breathe the fresh air of eternity

Posted on November 15, 2014 by salooper57

People are creatures of habit. I, for example, drink three-and-a-half cups of regular coffee a day. I drink one cup when I get up, one around ten o’clock, one after lunch, and a half-caf around mid-afternoon. I wake up at … Continue reading →

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

No-oh-oh, it’s not magic

Posted on November 1, 2014 by salooper57

A Kansas City Royals fan puts his lucky hat on the couch, five minutes before the first pitch – and it must be facing south. Another drinks only one kind of beer on game days. Still another watches a different … Continue reading →

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

Is religion a do it yourself project?

Posted on October 25, 2014 by salooper57

The famous writer and Oxford don C. S. Lewis once walked in on a debate on comparative religions. The conferees were discussing whether or not there are any beliefs that are unique to Christianity. It seemed like incarnation and resurrection, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Only Place to Start

Posted on October 4, 2014 by salooper57

Some people won’t do anything until they figure out everything. If they can’t do it perfectly, they can’t – or won’t – do it at all. And so of course they do nothing. Just try telling them what the English … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Lifestyle, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In praise of the widow’s mite

Posted on September 27, 2014 by salooper57

In the biblical Gospels of Mark and Luke we have the account of the widow’s mite. In this story Jesus and his disciples watch as worshipers come to place their offerings in one of thirteen trumpet-shaped offering containers located in … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Lifestyle, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For heaven’s sake, take the call

Posted on September 20, 2014 by salooper57

For months a company called A.R.M. has been calling our home phone. When we see their name on caller I.D., we let it ring. We’re fed up with calls from survey-takers, fund-raisers and political haymakers. But A.R.M. is in a … Continue reading →

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

There are no ordinary people

Posted on September 13, 2014 by salooper57

It is common now – among intellectuals and even among government agencies – to deny humans a nature and regard the characteristics once attributed to human nature as merely “social constructs.” Gender, for example, is now viewed by many as … Continue reading →

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

Use the “show-then-tell” approach

Posted on September 6, 2014 by salooper57

If there is a rule in writing fiction, it is this: Show, don’t tell. John Updike impressed that principle on me many years ago in an essay on writing short stories. More recently, I ran across the same principle at … Continue reading →

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