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It would be just like him

The God of the Bible looks like Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. It would be just like him to go to the cross.

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Practicing Our Scales

Imagine if our walk with Christ, representing his kingdom in the world, were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.

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Rescue

I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.

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Your Roots Are Showing

The life that I bring to the world can only be found in my attachment to Christ. His presence with me is essential.

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Connection

I live in a U.S. county with traffic problems. It's a peninsula, and what's not swamp land has been developed. Building new roads is difficult and expensive. Making things worse, roads that could connect don't.

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What's in the Bowl?

During a spring trip, my wife and I purchased a glass bowl. It's colorful and handmade. When I turn the bowl upside down, nothing falls out. Does that make it empty?

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Forming Forming

A Barometer

You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you. — Isaiah 26:3

Barometers measure pressure. The pressure seems elevated around me. Too often, it rises within me. God has a message: perfect peace is available in pressure-packed surroundings. Our good Father wants to keep us secure. Our great Father can keep us secure. He needs us to focus our attention and trust him.

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Knowing Knowing

Discipleship's Superior

I'm a discipleship guy. I have been for at least four decades. If discipleship is being trained by Christ, I think discipleship is superior to almost any endeavor. Almost. The work of discipleship has its own superior: coming to know God, the Trainer.

I was trained in college by several professors, most of whom I didn't know any better on the day of my graduation than I did at orientation—no big deal. But to miss out on knowing God is to miss out on eternal life.

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Forming Forming

Lingo

We've all encountered it: CEO-speak, lawyer-talk, academic word salad, politician punch. Words were uttered, but nothing was said. Gauging success in communication rests with the hearer.

Christians have our lingo, too. We might not even have a good grasp of their meaning, but some words make us feel secure in some theological safe zone. To make new disciples of Jesus, we need to turn lingo into language. Our words and our actual lived lives can communicate a coherent message of faith working through love.

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