Relationships and Community on Self Deception

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Strangers to Themselves

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 16:2, Proverbs 21:2, Matthew 7:3-5, Galatians 6:3, 2 Samuel 12:

There is not any thing, relating to men and characters, more surprising and unaccountable, than this partiality to themselves. . . . Hence it is that many men seem perfect strangers to their own chara...

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The Two Conflicting Instincts with Shame

Author

Heather Davis Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:7-8, Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:7-9, James 5:16, Galatians 6:1-2

Shame has two conflicting instincts. It needs to isolate and hide, and it needs a community in which to be transparent. Hiding, of course, usually wins. It is the easier and more natural of the two. B...

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Author

Dave Harvey

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2, Luke 18:9-14, Romans 2:1-3, James 4:11-12, Galatians 6:1-2, 1 Peter 4:8, Titus 3:4-5

Self-righteousness is a sense of moral superiority that appoints us as prosecutor of other people’s sinfulness. We relate to others as if we are incapable of the sins they commit. Self-righteousness w...

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Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 34:18, Ephesians 5:13, Romans 8:28, Galatians 6:2

In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light fo...

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The Dentist Always Knows

Author

Grant R. Osborne

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:1-10, Hebrews 12:4-13, Proverbs 27:17, Luke 12:48, Matthew 12:36, Ecclesiastes 12:14, Galatians 6:7

Many of us, when we know we are going to the dentist in a few days, suddenly start brushing and flossing our neglected teeth and gums, hoping that we will somehow trick the dentist into thinking that ...

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Who Determines Your Behavior?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:1, Matthew 5:44, Proverbs 15:1, 1 Peter 3:9, Luke 6:31, Galatians 6:9, Colossians 3:12-13, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, Genesis 50:20, Philippians 2:3-4, James 1:19-20, 1 Samuel 24:17

Some years ago, the syndicated newspaper columnist Sidney J. Harris shared an interesting anecdote from one of his friends. Each evening, this friend would stop at the same newsstand to buy a newspape...

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The Face they Deserve

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 22:8, Proverbs 26:27, Galatians 6:7, Romans 6:23, Matthew 7:16-20

The author Oscar Wilde once remarked that by the age of forty everyone has the face they deserve. This is a truly profound, if painful, truth. But it really applies to the “within” expressed by the fa...

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Author

Warren W. Wiersbe

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:1, John 4:1-26, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, Proverbs 3:3-4, John 1:14, 1 Corinthians 13:6

Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.

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Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:7, 1 John 1:9, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Romans 6:23, Galatians 6:7-8, Proverbs 14:12

And of some sinful pleasure they say "Let me have but this and I'll take the consequences": little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pl...

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Dealing with Conflict Directly

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 10:12, 2 Timothy 2:24-25, Romans 12:17-18, James 1:19-20, Proverbs 25:11-12, Galatians 6:1, Matthew 18:15

If someone has done something wrong even at a personal level, the right thing to do is not to gossip about it, not to tell everybody else, not to allow resentment to build up and fester, and certainly...

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Pete Carroll’s Call and the Error of “Resulting”

Author

Annie Duke

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:24-27, Galatians 6:7-8, Proverbs 16:3, Psalm 119:105, James 1:5

One of the most controversial decisions in Super Bowl history took place in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015. The Seattle Seahawks, with twenty-six seconds remaining and trailing by four...

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An Unexpected Friendship

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:2, Psalm 34:18, Proverbs 19:11, Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:32, Luke 6:37

Sometimes moments of forgiveness and friendship come from unexpected places. In 2018, the comedian Pete Davidson appeared on the “Weekend Update” segment of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Davidson made a ...

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Trust and Belonging

Author

Stanley Hauerwas

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:42-47, 1 Thessalonians 5:11-15, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Romans 12:4-5, Galatians 6:2

We were created to communicate, to speak truth fully to one another, so that we might be members of one another. To be members of one another means we must learn to trust one another. Trust, like trut...

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Author

Alexander Pope

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2, Galatians 6:2, Colossians 3:13, James 5:16, 1 John 3:17

Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me.

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9, Galatians 6:2, Colossians 3:16, Romans 12:4-5, Acts 2:42-47, Ephesians 4:15-16

Far too many people, especially within evangelicalism, think that the individual is all that matters, and that the corporate dimension is a distraction or diversion. Of course Christianity is deeply p...

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Donne, Undone

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:31-33, Matthew 19:4-6, Romans 8:28, Proverbs 22:1, 1 Timothy 3:7, Titus 2:7-8, Philippians 2:15, 1 Peter 2:12, Galatians 6:4-5, Daniel 1:17-21

While movies and novels often present stories of a budding love interest willing to give up everything for “true love” (Romeo and Juliet, for example), the renowned poet, and later clergyman, John Don...

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24 Honest Brand Slogans By Cliff Dickens

Author

Cliff Dickens

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:22, 2 Corinthians 4:2, Proverbs 12:22, Galatians 6:3, Matthew 23:27

Ikea: We throw in extra parts just to mess with you. Lays: Flavored Air Maybelline: Maybe it’s Photoshop Wikipedia: You’re Welcome, College Students Perrier: Rich People Water Bic: You Probably D...

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Author

Pope Francis

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:13, Proverbs 19:17, Isaiah 58:10, Galatians 6:2, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-17

Like the Good Samaritan, may we not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer, but try to heal them with concrete acts of love.

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Should You Have A Best Friend (In Ministry)?

Author

John Townsend

Keywords

Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:11, Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:15, John 15:13-15, Proverbs 18:24, Proverbs 27:17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

In this excerpt from Dr. John Townsend, the renowned psychologist and author, shares a story from his time in seminary, where one of his professors and mentor changes his mind regarding the importance...

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Author

Thomas Keating

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:32, Romans 12:10, Colossians 3:12-14, Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:3-4

The kingdom is present not in grandiose accomplishments, but in showing practical love in humble ways, day after day, and in refusing to allow our failures and disappointments to hide God’s love from ...

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See Something, Say Something

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Leviticus 19:18 , Micah 6:8, Ruth 2:, Luke 10:25–37, Galatians 6:2, Psalm 82:3–4

What is our responsibility to our neighbor? This is a question many have asked, including the Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas. Meditating on the topic he observed, “To patiently endure wrongs done ...

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A Nice Theory

Author

Lynn Anderson

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 4:10, Matthew 5:16, James 2:17-18, Galatians 6:9, Proverbs 11:25, Luke 6:38

Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than receive.” “Well,” you say “that is a nice theory—but is it really true?” There is really only one way to find out: Give! Give generously and consistently, ...

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Finding Your Blue Flame

Author

Jennifer Fulwiler

Keywords

Scripture

2 Timothy 1:6, Psalm 37:4, Galatians 6:9-10, Matthew 5:14-16, Colossians 3:23-24

I had just started dating my husband, Joe, when I met international speaker and bestselling author Keith Ferrazzi. He was a friend of Joe’s …but on this day he was an intimidating public figure. I wan...

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The Wake

Author

Henry Cloud

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:16-20, Matthew 7:16-20, Galatians 6:7-8, 1 Kings 10:1-10, Colossians 3:12-13, Matthew 25:14-30, Titus 2:7-8

One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the aft deck of a boat going across the ocean and just watch the wake. It is such a beautiful, ever-changing creation as the ship continues on its path. Yo...

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Getting to the Image

Author

Brian Zahnd

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:2, Galatians 6:1, Proverbs 9:10, James 1:4, Isaiah 61:3

Think of an ancient icon of Christ. Imagine that a thousand-year-old Christ Pantocrator painted on a wooden panel is discovered in some forgotten monastery. The image of Christ is there, but it’s cove...

liturgy

Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 2:19-22, Galatians 6:2, 1 Peter 2:9

Leader: Arise! Shine! Christ’s Church has assembled. People: We are one body, with Christ as our head. Leader: What kind of body is this? People: The Body of Christ, brought together not by huma...

liturgy

May we be no one’s enemy, and may we be

Author

Eusebius of Caesarea

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 3:8-9, Philippians 2:3-4, Ephesians 4:32, Luke 6:27-28, Galatians 6:2, Proverbs 17:9, Matthew 5:9

May we be no one’s enemy, and may we be the friend of all that is eternal and abides with Christ. May we never quarrel with those nearest us; and if we do, may we be reconciled quickly. May we love,...

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Political Membership: Dependent on "Good Behavior"

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:10-12, Luke 6:22-23, Luke 12:51-53, Galatians 6:9, Galatians 1:10, Proverbs 29:25

Jane Addams (1860–1935), a leading American social reformer, was a dedicated advocate for racial equality, women’s suffrage, and pacifism. In 1931, she was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1900,...

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The Elderly Contractor

Author

Source Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 127:1, Matthew 25:23, Luke 16:10, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Proverbs 22:29, 1 Corinthians 3:13-14, Galatians 6:7

An elderly master carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He w...

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Settling Accounts

Author

William E. Brown

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 6:33-34, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 37:25-26, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Galatians 6:9

The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for “religious” things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed b...

relationships and community on Self-Deception

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