Across Church Street

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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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We Have Say

At a time when false heroes are being exposed.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. — Psalm 143:8

Trust is the bedrock of our mental health and general quality of life. In my lifetime, this has never been more apparent than it is right now. We don't trust institutions, news and information, society's elites, or even photos and videos. Still, we have to trust. So, whom will we trust? That's a choice that only we can make.

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Already Heard That

Repetition is a gift if we allow it to be.

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. — 1 Peter 1:12

Once upon a time, long, long ago, I played in a marching band. We rehearsed and practiced our routines constantly. (One year, we won the state competition!) A regular reminder, like practice, helps us stay focused and improve at something. It also frees us from being so mechanical when our big moment arrives.

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In Between

Taking the name but not bearing his Name is hazardous to society.

[God] has been calling out from the world a people for himself, and sending his people back into the world to be his servants and his witnesses, for the extension of his kingdom, the building up of Christ’s body, and the glory of his name. ⏤ Lausanne Covenant, 1974

Called out from the world (holiness) and sent back into the world (service & witness). What happens in between? We come out world-like and must go back in Jesus-like. If that transformation doesn't take place, we are most dangerous. (Matt. 23:15)

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