transformed

The land we explored devours those living in it. — Numbers 13:32Where do you get the truth? A number of years ago, I wrote an article for a business magazine. One of my sources was an attorney who asked me repeatedly if I was planning to quote him out of context. By the time I was finished interviewing him, I was afraid to quote him at all. At the time, his concern seemed strange to me. Why would I quote anyone out of context? Why would I try to skew anybody’s words?However, since then, I’ve discovered that he probably had…

Further reflections from the academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon."And who is my neighbor?" an expert of the law asks in fury, annoyed with Jesus’ message and behavior that frustrates every notion of conventional "righteousness" (Luke 10:29). Jesus embarks on one of his breathtaking stories about a man, a "righteous" man, apparently the hero of the narrative, suddenly transformed into the "enemy," replaced by a new hero, a Samaritan, an "unrighteous" man. New Testament scholars have pointed out that in this story, the man called to love his enemy is not the Samaritan, but actually the…

… be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing, and perfect will. — Romans 12:2Twenty-eight years ago today I started my first job out of college as a parole and probation officer. It seemed an oddball fit for me; a guy who got picked on while I was growing up – yet here I was arresting hardened criminals or ordering their arrest; interrogating them, going off to gun school, and doing my best to keep my part of the world safe from burglars,…

Today is "Tell A Friend Day"If you like these devotionals, pass this on to a friend.http://www.dwightclough.com/discoveries/web_index.htmlWhen they walk through the Valley of Weeping,it will become a place of refreshing springs,where pools of blessing collect after the rains! — Psalm 84:6 NLTWe all want to meet God on the mountain top. We want to see Jesus transfigured before us, in dazzling white. We want a glimpse of heaven. But life changing spiritual growth occurs not on the mountain top, but in the valley. It is in the valley, where we are cold, lonely and miserable that God wants to meet us. …

Dear sisters,Last year I attended a training seminar in Michigan called SALTS – Survivors of Abuse Leadership Training Seminar. I’m writing to invite some other women – and men, too – to consider attending this seminarSponsored by Open Hearts Ministry, this seminar offers skills and expertise to people interested in learning to facilitate healing and recovery groups for abuse survivors. Across the country, the groups go by different names – Grace Groups, Beauty for Ashes, Abuse Recovery Support Groups – but their purpose and approach is the same.Although the focus is on sexual abuse survivors, SALTS – and the group healing process…

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. — Romans 8:18 At first glance, this is an odd arrangment of words. Let’s try it a different way: Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the comfort and luxury we will enjoy in heaven. After all, no more sickness. No more pain. No more mean people. No more reckless drivers cutting me off out on the highway. No more loud parties next door keeping me up at night. Etc., etc. But wait! That isn’t what the verse says. It says our sufferings…