20 Things to Give Up for Lent

Many Christians “give something up” for Lent, but it usually has very little of impact on their life and walk with Christ. The reason is that we usually give stuff up for all the wrong reasons.

20 Things to Give Up for Lent

God’s grace is not defined as God being forgiving to us even though we sin. Grace is when God is a source of wholeness, which makes up for my failings. My failings hurt me and others and even the planet, and God’s grace to me is that my brokenness is not the final word. My selfishness is not the end-all…instead, it’s that God makes beautiful things out of even my own shit. Grace isn’t about God creating humans as flawed beings and then acting all hurt when we inevitably fail and then stepping in like the hero to grant us peace—like saying, ‘Oh, it’s OK, I’ll be a good guy and forgive you.’ It’s God saying, ‘I love the world too much to let your sin define you and be the final word. I am a God who makes all things new.

Nadia Bolz Weber in “Pastrix” (via godinthebrokenness)

Advertisement

God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer,

‎You may be the only Gospel your neighbor will ever read.

St. Francis of Assisi (via lutheranreflections)

The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church

The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church

Glee 3D Movie – A note to the church

I saw the Glee 3D movie today and it was great. It taught me a lesson on how we as the Church need to be inclusive of those who are different in looks, life and talents. Too many times I hear of kids who aren’t made to feel welcome in church because they are not what traditionally we see on Sunday’s (or Saturday’s for our SDA friends). God is love, we are to love one another as Christ loves us, Jesus love the little children of the world. The music of Glee is the platform in which a diverse group of young people light up the world with their talent. They gain acceptance and a purpose in their lives. We as the church need to be more like Will Schuster the leader of the New Directions glee club who brings people in to do the work of making a difference in the lives of those who have a story to share, a song to sing a dance to dance.