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Pieter Bruegel, De bouw van de toren van Babel; oil on panel; 1563. Sin and temptation are funny things. They often disguise themselves in respectability and inventiveness that catch us off-guard at the last minute. Genesis 11 tells the story of a community's effort to construct a great tower at a time when humanity shared common …
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The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an …
Every Thursday during Lent, I post a poem that I find helpful for deeper engagement with Jesus' journey to the Cross and the significance of Lent. Here is Li-Young Lee's poem "Nativity" from Book of My Nights. Born to Chinese political exiles in Indonesia, Li-Young Lee was later educated in the United States and has …
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I still remember the time I read a line that changed my life: “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”[1] I was a pastor in urban Milwaukee, working with college students. I was reluctantly leading student leaders through a study of John Ortberg’s popular book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary …
There are times when God feels distant. There are moments, particularly in times of suffering, when God seems silent. To enter into the stillness of God and to attend to the silence of God requires patience. God is not a Labrador retriever who comes when we call. God is sometimes like the rain that comes …
Continue reading "Why Does God Seem Distant?: The Holy Pursuit of the Hidden God"
Matthew Erickson 