Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “live loved”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) is one of the most familiar Bible stories. The concept of a “Good Samaritan” is ubiquitous far outside the church. It’s even been codified in laws such as Florida’s Good Samaritan Act, offering protection from civil damages when you act in good faith to save someone in an emergency situation (or, curiously, …
It’s an old adage, “give credit where credit is due.” It’s easy to abide when I’m writing an academic paper and I can add a footnote to properly credit my sources. But in life, it’s harder. Sometimes, it’s especially hard to give God credit. According to the Gospel of Luke, there was a time when Jesus sent 70 people to …
But It Was An Invitation to Love Differently The most famous betrayal in the Bible comes when Judas Iscariot turns Jesus over to a group of religious leaders to be crucified (John 18:3-12). Earlier that evening, Jesus, with full knowledge of the coming betrayal, washed Judas’s feet in act of love and service (John 13:2-12). When Judas left to get …
I try not to be wasteful. I try not to buy too much food at the grocery store and I take leftovers home from restaurants. We have a section of our laundry room dedicated to “give-aways,” the clothes and other things we can’t use any more, but which might be useful to our favorite charity’s thrift shop. Although I love …
I have been giddy about God since the first moment I really understood God’s unconditional love. Not that I understand it completely, but once I got a glimpse of it, I was forever changed. I also found it easier to talk honestly about God from that moment on; I felt like I actually had something to say. It’s tempting to …
Jesus preaches release to the captives and this is good news because I’m a captive. I don’t like to think of myself that way. I much prefer thinking of myself as an independent person. I value my freedom. I’m proud that freedom and liberty are core values in my country’s founding documents. And yet, I have to admit, there are …
When my daughter was a toddler, one of my her favorite refrains was “I do it my big-self, Mommy.” It was a phrase that simultaneously made me happy (so proud!) and terrified (she’s not ready!). If you’ve spent any time around the preschool scene, you know toddlers can go from clingy to independent in an instant. It’s fun to watch …
I think there are times when I don’t give God enough credit. In fact, I’m sure of it. I forget there’s no such thing as a “self-made” Christian. I forget that God always makes the first move. God goes first, I go second. God reaches out, I respond. I rarely describe anything in the Bible as clear or plain, but …
Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and it has been since I was a child. Many of my most magical childhood memories are basted in the scent of Christmas pine. I remember going to the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. I remember tip-toeing out of my room on Christmas morning, well before sunrise, to check the …
You’ve heard of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, right? Well, Advent reminds me that if I want to see the world clearly, I need to see it through hope-colored glasses. In a passage that might not sound very Hope-filled or Advent-y, Jesus tells his disciples (including you and me) that a time is coming when everything we know will …