Concluding Mrs. Jesus, #6/7: Wholly Sad, Her Day
I awake… as if from a dream.
I am still myself.
Still married to Jesus.
But my world… my family… is gone.
Did they ever even exist?
Tag Archives: temptation
Limerick: Tempting Gifts
StandardWhen we are still under Law
Temptation will stick in our craw
For if we give in
We know its a sin
But we can’t unsee what we saw
Yet when we are living by Grace
Temptation’s a whole ‘nother place
Our hunger for sin
Reveals what’s within
And makes us to seek out His Face
Hale’s Accusation (Alternate Ending of The Crucible)
Standard[Our Christian high school just put on a “fearless” production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which continued to haunt me after leaving the theater. I identified deeply with many of the characters, whose seemingly minor flaws led to tragic results. I am writing this in hopes it will help me identify (and repent of) the deeper sin they shared — but could not name — which ultimately destroyed them all.]
Continue readingReclaiming Eden, Part I: Eve’s Triumph
StandardThe serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal GOD had made.
He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
The Woman smiled and said to the serpent, “Not at all. Actually, God did not tell me anything.”
The serpent was puzzled. “Wait, you mean you think you can eat from any tree in the garden?”
“Yes, that’s right,” she said, humming to herself as she sniffed a flower.
“This is too easy,” murmured the serpent. “Well then, have your tried the fruit from this tree here in the center? It is the best in the garden. In fact, it will make you smarter than your husband, as smart as God! You really need to experience it for yourself.”
The Woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and that it would make her wise.
She half-reached an arm towards it…
Continue reading
LEAD! C.7 Silence and Solitude
StandardIn Which We Withdraw From The World To Draw Near To God
The modern world considers solitary confinement and enforced silence as among the worst long-term punishments — with good reason; it is a terrifying thing to be cut off from the consolations and diversions of society. And yet, the very severity of that terror hints at the fertile spiritual soil to be uncovered when we deliberately cultivate time away from the distractions of ordinary human life…
Memory Verse: “Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.’ “ — Luke 4:42-43 (NKJV)
Assigned Reading
-
Richard Foster: Celebration of Discipline
- 7. Solitude
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Donald Whitney: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
- 10. Silence and Solitude
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Eugene Peterson: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
- 7. Security: “God Encircles His People”
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Ruth Haley Barton: Sacred Rhythms
- 2. Solitude: Creating Space for God
Radically Happy 