by
…abbreviated in citations (again following the Chicago Manual of Style) followed by a period with the chapter and verse separated by a colon: Genesis 1:1 = (Gen. 1:1) Oxford Com ma Use serial com mas. Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes The hyphen (-) connects two intimately related words, like “toll-free .” The en dash (–) connects two things distant from each other in time (“May–June issue”) or proper open com pound words (“pre–Columbian”) The em dash…
by Nicole Baart
…down and we lose our ability to follow the thread of God’s story in our day-to-day, it can leave us feeling at loose ends. In the first part of this article, we talked about how remembering where we’ve been can anchor us to the divine narrative. Today we’re going to shift our focus to the present and the future. Who We Are “I just want things to go back to normal.” It’s a com mon lament and one that I have wept over many times during the last sever…
The Gift of the Artist: A Review of Art and Faith
by Justin Bailey
…mmitment to unfold the potentialities of creation to the glory of God. The com mon thread is the central ity of the imagination as a site of discipleship. Christians have often taken apologists, activists, or politicians as models of cultural engagement. But Fujimura gives us reason to believe that our best models may be artists. Fujimura offers a “theology of making” which trains us in “awareness, prayer, and praise” (3), a posture of tearful hope…
by Edie Lenz
Daily Scripture Texts Psalm 144 Song of Solomon 8:5-14 John 11:45-57 Houston, the Gulf Coast, Florida, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Barbuda, Haiti, Mexico City, Montana, Syria, North Korea—these are a few of the places and people who rest heavy on my heart as I read and pray the words of Psalm 144. “Blessed be the Lord, my rock… my rock and my for tress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge.” That is, You are the…
by Erica Hughes
…eft in this predicament? I am less than human. All we are used for are slam-dunks, booty-drops, and music. Why does the world use us? Kill us? Excommunicate us? There is no place in the pews for us. And I watch the people, the ones Christians call mine, smoke weed trying to find healing for the scars left on our minds. Lord, they tell me slave mentality is a choice and not real ity. I’m so tired of being spoken to for 20 minutes then being asked if…
The Raging Waters of Advent
by Teresa Ter Haar
Daily Scripture Readings Psalm 124 Genesis 8:1-19 Romans 6:1-11 On this first Monday of Advent, our three passages are linked by a com mon theme: water. Water. Not a manger, or sheep, or angels. Water. In Psalm 124, David writes “If the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us…the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.” Genesis 8 recounts that as the ark settled…
Two Books That Will Contribute to Your Happiness
by Dave Schelhaas
…. I for warded a copy of your review to Richard Tupper who appreciated it too. He and my wife Cindy–as well as all the Pettingas, for that matter–think so highly of you. Thanks again for your kind words, Mark…
by Dawn Berkelaar
…present with them through the Spirit as they make their faith their own. This Father’s Day, I am thankful for the way my dad guided and equipped me during my growing-up years. I am thankful again for his long-ago words that set me free to find my own way. As a result, rather than pulling painfully away, I find myself reaching in for connection, no matter the physical distance we find between us….
by Howard Schaap
…high call of the gospel: The Redeemer has broken every bond: The Earth is free , and Heaven is open . He sees a brother where there was only a slave, Love unites those that iron had chained. Who will tell Him of our gratitude, For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies. People, stand up! Sing of your deliverance, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer! Despite the darkness—of literature, of human n…
The Prophetic and Black and Pentecostal Voice: A Review of Shoutin’ in the Fire
by Howard Schaap
…learning how to lose this hope and find a better one. I knew that type of real ity-blinding—or better yet, race-transcending—hope as a familiar mystery that had no revolutionary potential to it. I learned to imitate white writers and their dishonest ways of talking about our country, our faith, and what material we all needed to somehow survive how terrible their lies were. The more I learned how to grow up, the more both my heart and my hands g…
John the Baptist and Advent
by Aaron Baart
…them with each other. As Christians, should our holiday traditions and gift-giving practices be re-evaluated in light of the Scriptural story? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not aiming for a Bah Humbug holiday and I’m not trying to steal the fun out of Christmas. I’m just suggesting that if we real ly want to get the most out of Christmas this year, maybe following the Advent model of the Baptizer rather than Clark Griswald will give our hearts what we’re…
Cultivating a Biblical Imagination
by Jason Lief
…ex. We understand that our words do not directly correlate to an objective real ity; words often create real ity, or at least they metaphorically re-describe the world. It’s strange that we’re okay with com plexity in every other part of creation — biology, physics, economics, and in other areas, but when it com es to the language and narratives of the Bible we insist on an unnecessarily reductionistic reading. As Christians we believe that in Jesus C…
Aleppo: Making Sense of the Tragedy
by Hélène Rey
…oof replaced by the open sky. The structure itself has endured the four-and -a-half years of fighting in the city. In a corner, a nativity scene was made out of rubble and adorned with green plants — destruction and rebirth. The crowd is mourning the death of countless Aleppines, of friends and family members, neighbours and strangers. But on this day of celebrating the incarnation of God, who came to reconcile a fallen world to himself, they are a…
Looking Overseas to Look at Home
by Caleb Schut
…heir redemption, Newbigin shifted towards putting people in contact with a com munity who would demonstrate that real ity. We should learn from that shift. Churches and Christians spend a lot of time thinking about how to package the message of Christianity for the world. We scheme for a silver bullet: a program that will connect with the youth, or an event that attracts millennials. But no event or program com municates the good news of Christ like…
by Lisa Smith
…tion of the com ing child. Right now Christians have an expectation for the com ing of Christ. We want Him to com e now, and that’s great! However, we cannot for get the beauty and joy in the present. A prayer from the heart to have our eyes open ed—how God’s kingdom is here on earth, and the blessings we have from Him and the lessons He wants to teach us. Through the expectation of Christ’s com ing we cannot for get the beauty that we miss out on if we…
by Sarah Moss
…ng student loan debt and living expenses to pay, I panicked. I frantically search ed for a well-paying job, spending hours on my com puter scouring job boards and applying for positions. Now, years later, I’m glad I didn’t hear back from some of those com panies where I applied. After months of rejection, I’d stopped focusing on positions that would utilize my unique skill set and started applying for jobs that I knew would pay the bills. Would they…
by Marcy Rudins
…y 28:1-14 Ephesians 4:17-5:2 “I just wish I knew God more,” she said matter-of-factly. “I mean, I know God, but maybe if I knew God like you did, then I would be a bit happier.” I smiled back at her, not real ly sure what to say, trying to sift through the theologies she was synthesizing in her com ments. There were a few moments of silence, no more than ten seconds, after which she took a deep breath and sighed, “I just want to feel God.” While thi…
Poetry, Madness, and a Cat Named Jeoffry
by Aleisa Dornbierer-Schat
…ime, back to life: … Easeful air presses through the screen with the wild, com plex song of the bird, and I am overcome by ordinary contentment. What hurt me so terribly all my life until this moment? How I love the small, swiftly beating heart of the bird singing in the great maples; its bright unequivocal eye.3 Sometimes, it’s the smallest, most ordinary thing that restores us—the dog, breathing in and out; the bright eye of a songbird; the cat,…
by Kate Meyer
…ity. I understand why so many view Christians as hypocrites and the most un-Christ-like group today; I even agree with them. Because of the struggles I am experiencing with the church, I was plagued with the following thought each time I read one of the three passage options for this devotional: how will this passage be misused and abused to protect Christianity for the straight, white, male, and financially stable? I am aware of how bitter that c…
by Dave Mulder
…leave-RIGHT-NOW-what-do-you-mean-you-don’t-have-your-shoes-on-and -your-hair-com bed?? without missing the event. While we are rarely actually late, it’s amazing how often it happens—despite the best-laid plans—that we are rushing around at the last possible moment striving to get those final details taken care of, and then sprinting out the door. Perhaps there are other parents who can relate? Maybe this is a silly kind of example, but our family g…
by Justin Vander Werff
…wn blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Christ’s sacrifice was once-for -all sufficient for all times and for all God’s people. Isaiah prophesied in the hope of the Messiah, while physically experiencing only the blood of goats and calves in the Old Test ament sacrifices. But we have seen a much fuller picture of the Lord’s salvation story. As Isaiah’s prophesy continues, we read, “a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick…
Finding God in All Things, Including A Daily Commute: A Review of Opening to God
by Deb Bomgaars
…ell you about my Jesus.” It is my grandson’s favorite song. How can a seven-year-old understand why Anne Wilson wrote that song? His childlike faith is amazing and enviable. I sing along, worshipping my Savior–full volume. “Ain’t no sinner that He can’t save…” Prayer as responding. Responding prayers are praying with words, the prayers modeled after the Lord’s prayer: Faith, Praise, Kingdom Hope, and Petitions and Intercession. Responding not only…
Recovering a Grammar for the Soul: A Review of The Logic of the Body
by Donald Roth
…ains: to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him throughout the world (2 Corinthians 2:14). We can do that much better if we recognize that descending motion and embrace our embodied nature. We don’t abandon the Creation to look for God, we are called to open our eyes and test ify with joy to the real ity of a God who is revealed by His mighty works throughout that Creation. Better yet, we aren’t just called to open our eyes and know, we are ca…
Listening to a Language Not Our Own: Reading Louise Erdrich’s The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
by Samuel Martin
…s DeWitt again, all because of her musical, mystical encounter with a dead com poser. She then finds herself a com panion to a farmer named Berdnt, whom she later marries. Their love is described in the same sensuous way as her encounters with Chopin. Both Chopin and Berdnt speak to her in languages for eign to her, and what they speak changes her. She is unsettled by Chopin’s music, as she is by Berndt’s love for her, and she returns to Chopin’s mus…
Respectful Conversations as Deep Expression of Love
by Harold Heie
…s had in life. Her beliefs may also be informed by her gender and her socio-economic-status. These elements of what scholars call her “particularities” or her “social location” provide some of the reasons for her beliefs. And the same is true for you. And you need to uncover those reasons or your conversation will hit a dead end. To uncover the reasons for the other person’s beliefs, you need to listen well; not being quick to talk. By your listen…
