#spirituality

The Upside Down World ~ The Blog

May 6, 2014
4 min

Prayers of Faith

Earlier this year, I did a series of posts on why God doesn’t answer prayers. My reason for writing the posts was to push back against the common church narrative which says that if you just have enough faith, God will answer your prayers. I think this is such a problematic teaching as it basically teaches us that if our lives are hard and God is not answering our prayers, it is because our faith is inadequate. We didn’t believe hard or well enough to be rewarded with answere

May 5, 2014
1 min

Your Daily Cud

A random thought to contemplate over your lunch break: Anyone in a serious relationship with God will at some point find it necessary to forgive Him. It may not be theologically correct, but it’s true. Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #christianity #christianspirituality #spirituality #God #religion

Apr 30, 2014
2 min

Some Afternoon Encouragement

If you are feeling poor, worn out, full of grief, weak, despairing at the state of the world, hungry for change, wishing you could make things better, and you are misunderstood and rejected today, Jesus says that you’re doing it right. He says that the people who are sitting pretty, enjoying the rewards of a comfortable life now are already enjoying their passing rewards. But you will hold heaven in your hands. You will be comforted. You will rule over the earth. You will be

Apr 29, 2014
4 min

When the Cost is Too High

I knew a Christian man who had an employee who did something dumb and illegal without his knowledge. She was caught and arrested at his place of business. The woman had small children at home, a drug addicted ex and her kids would end up in foster care if she went to jail. He had seen what can happen to kids in foster care up close and was sick at the thought of them going through that because of something foolish their mother did. So he prayed over it and decided to take the

Apr 28, 2014
1 min

Your Daily Cud

A random thought to contemplate during your lunch break: Radical honesty is the surest path to spiritual growth. Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #honesty #spiritualgrowth #spirituality

Apr 25, 2014
8 min

The New Reformation

It occurred to me this morning that perhaps Christianity has been going through a Tower of Babel experience. If you recall your kiddie bible stories, the tower of Babel tells us why there are many languages and peoples. If you don’t recall the details, after the flood, all the men got together to build a great tower. They were able to do this because they had gathered themselves together and all spoke one language. But God saw what they were doing and was alarmed at the poten

Apr 23, 2014
7 min

Fighting God

If you are a Christian who takes the bible seriously, there will often come a point where you feel hamstrung by the bible. You may be inclined to, say, allow women into ministry or accept gay marriage or get a tattoo. But there are those bible verses which clearly speak against them. So, out of obedience to God, you accept that God works in mysterious ways, his ways are always good and some things are just beyond us. In response to your faithfulness, other people get mad at y

Apr 17, 2014
3 min

Waiting on Easter

I was raised Roman Catholic which means that I cannot go through Holy Week without feeling the urge to do something. Go to mass everyday. Attend the stations of the cross. And, of course, Holy Thursday communion (the mass most likely to make you cry every year). Even after I left Catholicism, Holy Week continued to be a time of increased spiritual activity. Get some palm leaves. Hold a fake seder. Do a special devotional. Consider doing footwashing with the kids. Cut back on

Apr 16, 2014
5 min

The Entrance Leads to the Whole

So, know anyone with some really bad theology? Like you hear them talk and all you can hear are the lies, errors and misrepresentations they are spouting and it makes you want to scream? OK, maybe you don’t actually care about theology that much. It’s probably better if you don’t when you get right down to it. But, we all know people who are intensely passionate about their opinions. And hey – if just putting your theology into the category of “opinion” offends you, well, pas

Apr 15, 2014
1 min

Late Fragment

I just love this poem. BTW, I wrote about this poem here, if you’re interested. And sorry about the silence around here. Our internet company has this ridiculous, oppressive policy of expecting their bill to be paid on time every month. Which normally we manage. But it’s been a long, crazy couple of weeks. If you’ve been following along for a while, you are already aware of the fact that this sort of thing happens from time to time. Like the one time I got 5 flat tires in a m

Apr 11, 2014
3 min

Becoming People of the Story

Christian theology, while it’s often thought of as an argument over who’s right and who is wrong, can actually be understood as the stories we use to explain the reality of God, the reality of human existence and how to live in right relationship with God, neighbor and self. Using the bible and varying doses of church tradition and reality, we’ve written thousands of different stories, each purporting to be THE Christian story. Except the idea that any of us has found THE Chr

Apr 7, 2014
4 min

Forgiving Is Hard, Not Impossible

One of my many idiosyncratic beliefs is that Africa has a special role to play in God’s upside down kingdom. For so long, Africa has been last which according to Jesus’ words, means that the day is coming when they will be first. I suspect that we will be looking to them in order to understand God’s kingdom rather than assuming that it is our job as westerners to hand out the kingdom like a goody bag to the rest of the world. I bring this up because, as you might know, it is

Apr 7, 2014
1 min

Spiritual Strength

Happy Monday, peeps! Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #christianity #religiousmemes #christianspirutality #spirituality #memes #religion

Apr 4, 2014
1 min

Grace Explained

A little Friday funny for you. 🙂 Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #grace #christianity #humor #christianspirituality #religiousmemes #spirituality #memes #religion

Apr 3, 2014
2 min

On Poverty and Doing All Things

Today Ben Irwin gives us a closer look at two frequently quoted bible verses: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, New Revised Standard Version) . . . For some, “I can do all things” means scoring touchdowns and clearing the bases. But that’s not exactly what Paul had in mind. Paul was sharing that he’d learned to be content no matter what his circumstances – rich or poor, hungry or well fed, in prison or out. What Paul was saying is not so

Apr 3, 2014
1 min

Prayer of St. Francis

Just some old timey religion for your Thursday morning! #christianity #prayer #christianspirituality #spirituality #Stfrancis #religion

Apr 2, 2014
2 min

What Ever Happened to “Shake the Dust From Your Feet?”

Words of wisdom from Scott Dannemiller, aka The Accidental Missionary on how to deal with those you disapprove of: Recall what Jesus told his closest buddies the first time he sent them out. He told them to heal, cure, and comfort, proclaiming God’s name along the way. And he added, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” (Matt 10: 14) Sounds harsh, right? But he doesn’t add, “And leavest thou a flami

Apr 2, 2014
3 min

The Genuis and Challenge of Christianity

The genius of Christianity is that it demands you give mental agreement to all sorts of things you don’t actually agree with. Love your enemies. Every man is your neighbor. You’ll be judged by how well you showed love to the least attractive, least moral, least appealing, most repulsive people you meet. Don’t judge. All those beatitudes about the meek and the suffering and the pure of heart. We don’t believe any of that stuff. We say we do, but we don’t really. Yet if we want

Apr 2, 2014
1 min

Only Idols Require Humans to Defend Them . . .

IJS Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #christianity #christianspirituality #religiousmemes #spirituality #memes #religion

Apr 1, 2014
2 min

Are You Sure You Want To Be a Disciple?

Today’s exegesis is on Mark 9 and comes from J. R, Daniel Kirk: Jesus had to show them. The kingdom of God is not like they think it is. “Being first,” says Jesus, “entails being last, and servant of all.” Jesus then takes a child: the low person on the ancient totem pole of social hierarchy. His words are stunning: “Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me isn’t welcoming me but God, who sent me.” . . . The story continues. John