By Beth Demme I used to think of busy and idle as opposites, but now I’m not sure. Lately, I’ve felt like a car idling at a red light. The engine is running, but the car isn’t moving. The mechanical and electrical components of the car are active, even busy, but the car goes nowhere. Sometimes being busy leaves me …
Prayer Is More Than a Hashtag
By Beth Demme In the wake of recent tragedies, I’ve seen a lot of #Prayfor____. I’ve seen the hashtags criticized, too. I get it. It’s not enough to pray for something if prayer is a way of avoiding responsibility or giving only lip service. It’s not enough to pray if you expect God to change a mindset or fix a …
Can a Computer Pray for You?
By Beth Demme Sometimes I make prayer seem complicated. I think about my frame of my mind, my vocabulary, my setting, my intention, etc. The truth is, prayer is so simple a child can do it. When I was growing up, we took turns saying the prayer before dinner. Well, as I remember it, we did it that way for many …
Finding Dory and Me, Sometimes I Forget God Is Waiting
By Beth Demme I don’t think Finding Dory was intended to teach me something about God, but as sometimes happens, it did anyway. I realize this admission reveals how unsophisticated I truly am, but if we’ve known each other for more than a minute this won’t be new information. Finding Dory reminded me that sometimes I go off on my …
Use the New Testament to Learn the Old Testament
By Beth Demme “A.D. You know … after death,” the white-haired man said in a thick British accent, a camera hanging around his neck. “No,” I offered kindly, woefully inept at remaining silent. “A.D. is an abbreviation for anno domini, the year of our Lord. That’s the birth of Jesus.” He wasn’t convinced. “No, I’m sure that A.D. means after …
Christian Hatred Exposed
By Beth Demme I’ve heard a rising refrain lately about “ALL Muslims” this or that. I’m tempted to respond with two words the next time I hear it: Westboro Baptist. Any time someone says ALL Muslims are the same, Christians should understand that’s like saying we are ALL like the members of Westboro Baptist Church. Westboro Baptist is a “church” but …
Our Eroded Places Don’t Have to Remain Empty
By Beth Demme In the course of a lifetime, we all endure moments that range from unpleasant to dangerous to downright destructive. Sometimes those hard experiences get submerged deep inside our hearts. Like a small stream running through limestone, they cause erosion at such a slow rate we don’t even see it happening. Then one day, the erosion becomes a …
The Real Reason Loving Others Is Hard
Is Loving Myself a Prerequisite to Loving Others? By Beth Demme I know I am supposed to love my neighbors. After all, it’s in red in the Bible! So why is it hard with certain people? Maybe it’s hard to love some people because I don’t really believe God loves me. When Jesus was asked which commandment was “the Greatest,” he boiled the law …
Is Technology Messing With My Theology?
Are Google, Siri, and Alexa Making Answers Too Easy? By Beth Demme I’m smart, but I don’t know everything. Think about the smartest person you know. Guess what? They don’t know everything either. This is one of those plain and obvious truths that still needs to be said. More and more these days I find I need to say it …
Why Being a Peacemaker Means Praying for Donald Trump
By Beth Demme I’ve often heard it said that polite people avoid discussing religion and politics. If that’s true, I’m afraid today’s blog post is very impolite. It is about both religion and politics. #sorrynotsorry Jesus says in the Beatitudes, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) One Bible commentary says that “peacemaker” …