We serve others because we love Jesus
We love Him because He has freed us
The deeper love goes
The more that we show
The world how to live as redeemers
Tag Archives: forgiveness
Poem: Hand-Some Sin
StandardSome times our pain
Is due to our sin
We hurt ourselves
Or God calls us in
Limerick: For Givenness
StandardThe secret to life that’s worth livin’
Is how much we feel we’ve been given
When we overflow
Like Jesus we grow
And interpret earth like it’s heaven
My Father’s Nakedness (The Gospel of Noah)
StandardA Dis-curse in Three Parts
Part 1: Matthew 17:1-13
Eli: Noah! Noah, where are you?
Moe: Eli, I don’t think this is a very good idea.
Eli: Shut up, Moe. He’s gonna love this.
Moe: Fine, it’s your funeral. You never did get one, did you?
Eli: No more than you. Ah, there he is!
Continue readingRedeeming Animism, Part 6: My De-Liver-Er
StandardContinued from Part 5
Prologue
The eagle stands apart on a nearby rock, delicately nibbling a newly-harvested liver.
The mouse looks on in horror;
The spaniel-coyote with amusement.
The snake loosens its suffocating grip on the former owner of that liver.
The man slowly regains conscious, groaning in pain.
The snake raises its head to stare into the man’s face.
The man opens his eyes, and gravely greets the snake.
Dialogue
Earnest: Thank you, Nehushtan.
Continue readingRedeeming Ares, Part 8: Hermetic Unsealing
StandardContinued from Part 7
Prologue
I stand at the Twilight of the Gods, having given them the Blessing of Adam and released them from their millennia of service.
I had thought my Quest was simply to destroy my iron ring of Pride;
Which I once jealously guarded but had grown to despise.
But instead Zeus used his bare, bleeding hands to reforge the Ring into a Key.
But for what?
“How can I find the Lock that fits this Key?”
Continue readingRegenerative Grace
StandardThe Law is great for scaling
A fundamental insight
But is inherently static and preserving
Not generative.
To avoid breakdown
Is also to resist breakthrough
Grievable Wounds
StandardThe world
And other people
Deal us grievous wounds
Not just to our person
But to those we love
To the values and institutions
That made us who we are
Whom we love like a mother
Grievable Losses: The Beatitudes, Summarized
StandardBlessed are those
Who grieve the loss
Of the historic context
That made them feel secure
Hope Grieves (How to Forgive)
StandardUnforgiveness
Is a sign of what we value
So much
We dare not capitulate
We reject a “logos”
That says this community
Or relationship
Or status quo
Is more important than what we lost
Especially
When we envy those
With the power
To impose that logos
To our own hurt
But what if
We are both wrong?
Round the Bend and Back Again
StandardRound the Bend is a Nevil Shute novel about Tom, a British airplane mechanic who moves to the Middle East after his wartime marriage ends in disaster.
In our online book club, I had a long but inconclusive discussion with my father about why Tom did that. This vignette is my attempt to explore that question via an alternate reality.
Continue readingPlaylist DBJ-GTEM: Going The Extra Mile
StandardOvercoming enmity, by going the extra mile, in order to grow us all closer to Jesus.
See also:
Continue readingCommunion of the Betrayed
StandardSimilar to HeartSync or Sozo, Communion of the Betrayed (COTB) — also known as Soul Shift — is for inner healing of emotional woundings; but as a public co-devotional practice, inspired by DBJ.
COTB is designed specifically for people who feel they have been betrayed by someone close to them (as Jesus was). This is a very deep wound that requires extraordinary grace.
Special thanks to Jamie Winship of Identity Exchange for his input and encouragement.
Playlist DBJ-2021B-LOVE: Loving More Like Jesus
Standard- Wedding at Cana: John 2:1-11
- Woman Caught in Adultery: John 8:1-11
- Rich Young Ruler: Mark 10:17-31
- Unforgiving Servant: Matthew 18:15-35
- Washing Disciples Feet: John 13:1-17
- Fruit of the Vine: John 15:1-17
- Jubilee (Review & Commission)
Becoming a Jesus-Lover
StandardIt is a very good thing to be a follower of Jesus. But like people in the gospels, we today can end up following Jesus for many reasons: salvation, miracles, curiosity, etc.
Those are all good things. But they are not the same as actually loving Jesus for Himself. It is good to thank Him for what He does; but it is better to worship Him for who He is.
Continue readingTGR-S6E5: Wounded Feelings
StandardJoin us on The Great Reset (via Zoom or YouTube Live at Tue Dec 29 1PM PST) as we work through the revelations from last week’s episode.
Question: How should we respond when we are hurt by the actions of other believers — who themselves are hurting?
Perspective: Seek the cross and grace of Christ, as the only true cure for our pain — and theirs.
Continue readingPrelude to Reconciliation
StandardType I Response
- I feel pain
- Someone just did something
- I see what they did wrong
- I blame them for my pain
- It is because they are broken
- I try to fix them
- They do not let me
- This implies they will cause me more pain
- I escalate or run away
- I need them to repent before I can feel safe
Monk’s Redemption: A Psychological Allegory
StandardInspired by the USA Network TV show, Dick Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems model, and a Dream and Vision I had.
Cast of Characters
In order of appearance
- Natalie Teeger, the Integrated Self (Spirit)
- Adrian Monk, the Manager
- Leland Stottlemeyer, the Protector
- Hope, the Exile
Also featuring:
- The Light, Truth
- The Key, Forgiveness
The Vision
I see a locked door. In a dark and scary place, like a monster movie. Big, iron, with crisscrossed chains and padlocks.
Natalie walks up holding a flashlight. Monk trails behind nervously.
Suddenly Stottlemeyer steps in front of them. His eyes are bloodshot, as if he has been drinking, crying, or not sleeping. Perhaps all three. He is holding his gun in two shaky hands. Pointed at them.
“I warned you not to come here,” he rasps in a hoarse voice.
Redeeming Charlottesville: A Cry of Radical Compassion
StandardO God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We praise You because You are a good God. In a world that seems filled with brokenness and evil, thank You for taking all that upon Yourself through the cross, so that we might be made whole.
Our hearts go out to the people of Charlottesville, and all those wounded physically and emotionally by the tragic violence of August 12th. We pray especially for the family and friends of Heather Heyer and the police who were killed, that they would experience Your peace and comfort.
Fixing Saint Paul, Scene 1: Awakening Barnabas
StandardThe Story
Acts 13:13
Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.
The Backstory
Scene 1: Awakening
“Barnabas? Are you awake?”
Barnabas rolled over on his cot to gaze at the younger man who had just walked in. He smiled sadly, as he saw John Mark’s nervous face and guessed the errand that prompted his late night visit.
Radically Happy 
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