When baptism becomes works righteousness
I must consent to it, but baptism is not essentially about me acting. I am being baptized in the name of Christ. Christ asks each of us, “Can I have you?” When we answer “yes,” the church as the representative of Christ takes us and pours the water of baptism over our heads.
Love that conquers shame
At a subconscious level, I have a fear of being shown up as deficient, of not being enough. Each of us struggles at some level with the feeling that we come up short, that we’re not good enough in our own eyes or the eyes of someone else.
Homemade lollipops and unmerited favour
Bzzz. Bzzz. The dog barked her warning that someone was at the door. It was just about 10 at night—acceptable here in our host country where many are eating dinner at this hour. Because I was already getting ready to end the day, my husband ran down the stairs to answer.
Shigematsu explores how love releases from shame
Shame is one of the most universal human experiences. Whether we are young or old, students or teachers, leaders or followers, all of us can identify with the sting of failure. For many pastors and ministry leaders this season of division and loss has brought with it deep feelings of inadequacy and exhaustion. How do we combat the feeling in our souls that we aren’t enough, or that we don’t measure up?
RIVER OF GRACE
One of the things I love about missions is the line of undeserved receiving of which we are a part. It’s easy for us to see that all we have in Madagascar is due to the generosity of our supporters. Obviously, we couldn’t be living here if people didn’t financially support this ministry.