Written by Dawn Rutan Last Sunday’s sermon included Mark 11:25 (ESV), “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses,” along with the question, who do you need to forgive? I confess that my first thought was “myself.” […]
Written by Dawn Rutan I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the disappointments Jesus encountered with His friends and family while on earth: “He said to [His parents], ‘Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?’” (Luke 2:49 ESV). “And when His family heard it, they went out to seize Him,
Written by Dawn Rutan I’ve read several things recently on the subject of prayer in general, and I’ve been thinking about the Lord’s Prayer in particular. I don’t come from a tradition that recites the Lord’s Prayer on a regular basis, so I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about it. I’ve also been
A Prayer Refresher Read More »
Written by Dawn Rutan There are preachers who quote 1 Peter 1:15-16 (ESV), “…Be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy,’” as a basis for works righteousness. God is holy so He wants us to live holy lives, or so the argument goes. However, that
Written by Dawn Rutan It occurred to me recently how incredible it is that we live in a society that is relatively moral and self-controlled. Having witnessed firsthand the rebellion that leads some people to do stupid things (in this case, a reckless driver endangering pedestrians), it’s actually amazing that the vast majority of people
Written by Dawn Rutan I’ve found this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to be challenging but true: “[We] must ask ourselves whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution. And is not the