“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.” –Hebrews 11:16 There can be a temptation to think of heaven as someplace far away. Yet we are called to live as a foretaste of the kingdom. Through Jesus, the split between heaven and earth is rent; the kingdom is near. The heavenly city is within our imagining, even if it is not currently in our reach. How can you live into the promise of the heavenly city today?
“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ* for all who believe.” —Romans 3:21-22a *Alternately, through the faith of Jesus Christ. “Righteousness” is a word that often carries a negative association today. When someone is self-righteous, they believe that their understanding is better than that of others in a superior way. But the righteousness referred to here has to do with being “made right” with God. Because of Jesus’ life, sacrifice on the cross, and resurrection, we have a new way to be right with God. We can trust in God, following the way that Jesus shows us. An older meaning of “conversion” is “to turn.” Conversion to Christianity means turning toward the way of God, through Jesus Christ. It is a continual process. But when we do the daily work of putting our hearts, eyes, minds, and actions to the way of Jesus, we can trust that our works wil...
I know it looks like I've skipped a bunch of days, but the in-between reflections were posted elsewhere on social media. However, today's offering is a longer story and I felt would be better presented here. For today, enjoy this story by Dragonfly: Good Tidings of Comfort and Boys* Talmai was not prepared for this. Bethlehem was a warm, hospitable town. Most of the time, weary travelers could stay the night in a stranger’s home, and the rooms of Talmai’s inn filled with traveling tax collectors, forbidden lovers, and the occasional Samaritan. But this? This would be chaos. He swept the floor of his inn and grimaced at the soiled linens on the bed. He hoped that stain would wash out easily enough. But if hundreds of people would be coming to Jerusalem, how picky could they be about their bedsheets? Hundreds of people. Dear father of Isaac, he dreaded the census. This was the first time Talmai had to prepare his inn for so many people, and it made him wonder why any...
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