Some evangelicals think that public religious gestures (e.g. Trump's holding the Bible) will halt secularization. They won't. They ENACT SECULARIZATION: they put the sacred to profane use that's contrary to the character of the sacred. That's desecration and hence secularization.
Thomas Merton asks,
“How much [of our] sin is kept hidden from us by God himself, in his mercy?”
A penetrating question reminding me how self-deceived I can be about my own goodness.
I think a good bit of our stress concerning the Bible’s “historical accuracy” would be eased by remembering that the biblical writers interpreted their past and did not simply record it.
We get so fixated on the one thing we desperately want God to do that we miss 100 things He is presently doing. Our awakenness to the other things will either buoy us up in our faith for the one thing or remind us of His goodness if, for whatever sovereign reason, it is withheld.
Christianity is primarily a way of life. It’s something we do. It’s a way of living shaped by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Let’s do these things:
Keep alert
Stand firm in your faith
Be courageous
Be strong
Let all that you do be done in love
(1 Corinthians 16:13-14)
Hey, Introverts:
"What if we began to think about being out in public spaces, on mission for God, as not so much looking for opportunities to talk about Jesus (terrifying!), but simply looking for those chances to listen for Jesus?" https://t.co/him3qKlAR8 via @missioalliance