Darkness, betrayal and the heartbeat of God
It awes me again every time I see it. Leaning back on Jesus’ chest, at the moment of Jesus’ betrayal, John heard the heartbeat of God
The blessing of mourning
There is a time to mourn. And much fights against our doing it. But what short-circuits our grief also blocks us from Jesus’ promise of comfort and blessing.
Illusionists! The abusers we have not seen
We expect to see illusionists in magic shows, entertaining us. We don’t expect to find illusionists in our everyday lives, betraying us. Yet anywhere it pays for abuse to hide behind an abuse-free image, abusers and abusive systems can hide in plain sight.
Divorcing: When God does what he hates
Once, in Malachi, God may have said that he hates divorce. Repeatedly, in Jeremiah, God reveals how much he hates divorcing. Repeatedly, he laments the nonstop betrayals that did, and could, bring him to do it.
Treachery and divorce: When God sees betrayal
If you have been betrayed by a spouse: The God who sees you has been there. And as Malachi 2 tells us: The Lord hates treachery. The Lord defends the betrayed.
Celebrity culture in the church
It’s so enticing, and so much a part of the US evangelical church culture. Yet the lure of celebrity can deceive us into agreeing with much that is not God.
Masters of misdirection
Masters of misdirection spend their lives using anyone, everyone, to get whatever they want. They do it so subtly, so skillfully, that the exploited ones usually do not know they’re being used.
Bullying in the church
Mobbing, or adult bullying, is abuse. It's a form of psychological violence. It's agonizing to experience, and the agony multiplies when you have believed the abusers and their colluders to be godly Christians. Bullying thrives in systems where manipulation, coercion and control are accepted as the norm.
God who lifts up my head
Again and again, the “God who …” phrases in Scripture reveal God’s works. As we respond to our Lord deep within, receiving what he communicates Spirit-to-spirit, those phrases also reveal…