Jesus travels through towns teaching, healing, and proclaiming the kingdom. Moved by compassion for the crowds, He tells His disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. He then appoints the twelve and sends them out with authority over unclean spirits and disease to freely proclaim the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus didn’t call the most respected person in town—He called Matthew, a tax collector. In Matthew 9:9-13, we discover a Savior who meets people where they are and extends mercy instead of condemnation. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
Romans 6: 5-11…“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” vs. 11 Sometimes Paul comes across as a hectoring and scolding parent in his letters to the early believers in their little house churches. Like some pastors, he can turn the good news of the gospel into some new impossible commandment. We might even wonder why he makes the plain truth seem so complicated. But as he gives vent to his passions…
Romans 6:1b-4…“Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” vs. 4 Paul had all the details worked out. He could explain what happened in Jesus from a theological perspective and it all made sense to him. Jesus had died and had been raised from the dead; in baptism we are buried with…
Psalm 69:16-18…“Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.” vs. 17 This psalmist seems to have run out of patience with the Lord. His passion for the temple has gotten him a boatload of enemies, and they never tire of tormenting him. Through it all the psalmist has continued to trust in the Lord as a source of mercy and steadfast love! But at this moment he’s just not feeling it!…
I came for the Healing of Memories workshop for veterans, and I almost didn’t come because of the trauma I wrestle with, but your staff, the workshop leaders and the quiet and safe campus held me there and I’ve found a new sense of peace and healing.
A retreat for religious leaders who have experienced emotional, psychological and spiritual distress in their personal or professional lives — facilitated by the Institute for Healing of Memories — is coming June 3-6, 2024.