“After all, our repentance makes us citizens of a radically different new kingdom, a kingdom where the last are first, the weak are strong, and the leaders are servants first. We will want to learn all we can about this strange kingdom and how we can participate in it. We encounter a new language to learn—the language of self-giving and sacrificial love—and a family history to make our own, a history of God’s people that stretches from biblical times into the present. There are new habits to adopt—habits of worship and prayer, life sharing and servanthood, giving and receiving. Following Jesus as learners ushers us into this different kingdom, opens our hearts to the power of the Spirit, and gradually transforms our character into God’s family likeness.”
“If you really want to become a learner of Jesus, may I invite you into this experiment: Set aside a few months to read one of the Gospels slowly and thoroughly. Perhaps you could start with the Gospel of Mark. Soak yourself in those words the Gospel writer gives as coming from Jesus himself. Let his words form you, shape you, challenge you. Let the phrases sink deeply into your heart and mind. Don’t rush the process by telling yourself that you have read all these words before. Take time to pray in order to incorporate what you learn into your place of work, your home, your relationships, and your hopes for the future. Ask the Lord to make his word and his Spirit come alive in your heart, so that you may see your daily life through God’s eyes, lit with the light of the word that God has spoken to you.”
“As you go about this immersion of yourself in Mark’s Gospel, learn to live your life as Christ would if he were in your place. Seek the help and power of God’s Spirit. Improvise, with the help of others, a life of faith, hope, and compassionate caring in your relationships, in your work, and in your town. In time you will sense God changing you from the inside out, helping you respond to the conditions of your life differently. Remember, you will gradually find yourself living with different habits, attitudes, words, and behaviors. You will also discover—and this is an amazing gift of grace—that you are not alone. Jesus, in the power of his Spirit, steps out of the pages of the Gospel and becomes an empowering presence and close companion in the daily experience of your life.”
Excerpt From
Hope Beyond Your Tears
Trevor Hudson
https://books.apple.com/us/book/hope-beyond-your-tears/id1072023298
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“The cross is not about the wrath of God finding a suitable sacrifice. The cross is about the love of God offering humanity a way out of the vicious cycle of producing endless victims. The cross of Christ is the end of sacrifice. It’s not the appeasement of a vengeful deity but the supreme demonstration of God’s everlasting love.”
Excerpt From
Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God
Brian Zahnd
An Invitation: Reposition Your Faith
Lately, I’ve been sitting with the Gospel of Mark.
Just coffee and one story at a time.
Not dissecting. Just listening.
And something’s shifting.
I find myself retelling these stories, not as lessons, but as encounters.
So here’s my invitation to you:
Rebuild your faith on Jesus’ words.
Not on systems.
Not on theological trends.
Not even on well-meaning doctrines.
But on his stories, his way, his heart.
Because when the winds come, and they will, what holds us fast won’t be our opinions or theological clarity.
It will be the Person who still speaks through parables.
Who still walks into locked rooms and says, Peace be with you.
- Laul Dazet, Wounded Healer Journal
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