loss (44)

Ian

Drift Away

Isaiah 49:8–13, John 4:3–14, Hebrews 2:1–4 Has the so-called Christmas euphoria finally died down for you? If this was more of a “blue” (i.e., one of mourning, loss, or depression), are you relieved that you don’t feel the pressure of “keeping up” appearances? Christmas, as…

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Ian

Hearts of Innocence

Jeremiah 31:15–20, Matthew 2:13–23, Hebrews 2:11–18 (read online ⧉) In the Evangelical Church, and even in the so-called mainstream American Denominations, the day of Holy Innocents is often skipped over. It’s uncomfortable. It’s weird. To our sensibilities, it just makes no sense. Like so many…

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Ian

The Rot of Forgot

2 Chronicles 30:13-27, Nehemiah 8:7-12, Jeremiah 15:16 The world is supposedly becoming Post-Christian. The thought behind the term is that the “Christian Era” was when Christianity was dominant throughout the world as if Emperor Constantine’s edict of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman…

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Ian

Anticipatory Expectation

Romans 8:18–25, Revelation 5:1–10 (read online ⧉) What are we expecting? What are we anticipating? Expectation and anticipation are not always positive, as we often “wait” for the other shoe to drop. It is in this mindset that anxiety can step in and take over…

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Ian

Tuesday after the First Sunday of Advent

Lamentations 3:16–18, Zechariah 8:18–23, Nahum 1:15 (read online ⧉) In the United States, peace is often perceived as having plenty. Peace, as many of the saints who walked before us learned, is not found in the plenty. It is found in the lacking. This does…

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