This book surfaces pastoral practices and echoes of the Fruit of the Spirit that can shape both our personal relationships and our ministerial lives.
All tagged love
Reframing Agape Love
What if Paul is wanting us to understand not how to love better, but instead what God’s love for us is like? What if this love from God is what Paul actually meant when he said at the end of the 1 Corinthians 12, “And yet I will show you the most excellent way?”
Restoration Over Condemnation: Judging with the Heart of Christ
The world doesn’t need more loud Christians; it needs more loving ones. It doesn’t need more social media judges; it needs more humble restorers. When we judge, let’s judge with the heart of Christ — full of compassion, forgiveness, and hope. Let’s trade our stones for open hands that lift the fallen.
Beloved Child
I can’t help but wonder how we would each be shaped and formed by the idea of our prayers all beginning with us sitting in the long and loving gaze of the triune God. The idea that God delights in our being and the piece of Himself that He has placed in all of us.
The Power of Love
Love is the ministry of presence. Love knew that I did not need to be alone. And yet, love understood that no words were needed. Love in the form of these two young friends who came into my home to simply be present with me in my pain. Love sat with me. Love listened to me. And it was powerful.
Fear is Just the Beginning
What is the problem with the wicked? Well, they have no fear of God! The lack of fear for God is reflected in a concomitant lack of restraint. Fear, at its best, can teach us how to control ourselves.
It Was Just Nice
There is something so holy about being with a small group of friends who know me and who care enough to be supportive during such a drastic transition.
Ministerial Insights in Colossians 1:24-2:7
The Christian minister—if genuine—will have marks on his body and soul. This is part of the cost that a servant of God must pay.
The Faces of Compassion
Seeing what compassion looks like on Jesus shows us what compassion looks like on God. But what does compassion look like on you and me?
Learning the Gospel From A Child
As we prepare to enter into difficult seasons of life may we take the lesson from my son: Love is NEVER the wrong response.
The Sacred Pastoral Encounter: Some Observations by a Seasoned Chaplain
Along the way, I learned much about walking with patients and others, about relying on God’s Spirit to guide me, and about finding ways of keeping myself balanced.
Heaven in the Here and Now: A Holiday Reflection
No matter what feelings the holidays bring up for you, I pray you have a moment where time stands still, and the love of heaven descends upon you.
Loving “Non-Believers” with the Love of God
Love is at the center of God’s most redemptive act. If we are to be reflections of God in this broken world, then we are to love others with the love of God.
Love at Christmas
Regardless of the time of Jesus’ birth, love prompted him to meet us much more than halfway. December, and every month of the year, is a time for Christians everywhere to show love to others.
Serving with Love
Tabitha obviously served with love, and that love was sensed by those who were beneficiaries. She lived out her faith in a tangible way that blessed others.
The Disciple’s Dilemma
The heart wants what it wants. This phrase is tossed around, defending the behaviors and choices of the world around us.
Love: It’s Time to Get to Work
Reflecting on years of teaching young students, I am reminded of exercises captioned “Listen and do.” Might this be a simple, yet awfully mature, set of ancient instructions?
None of Self
I revisited this old hymn and was floored by the lyrics as they described a spiritual journey we all must travel if we desire to be in relationship with God.
Tony, Trina, and the God of Second Chances
It’s a story of the God of love and grace doing his work among his people. It’s a story for the sinner and the lonely, a story for those in grief and pain, and a story of redemption.
Love Requires Vulnerability
Hate is about controlling others, while love is about becoming vulnerable to them. Vulnerability opens us up to suffering because people will inevitably hurt us.