Todays’ entry’s title comes from Luke 21:24 (KJV), where Jesus assures his listeners that, despite all the strange things happening before he comes again, redemption (deliverance, salvation, rescue) is close at hand. You and I may have waited, perhaps for years, for (small and large) deliverance from irksome, dangerous or life-threatening circumstances that just don’t seem to go away. The rescuesMORE...
Tomorrow’s reminder: God’s love redeems us. We’re saved not only from eternal punishment, but also made useful for God’s purposes. We experience that love in our love for each other. Lives bent toward loneliness, despair or self-doubt are turned around by the tangible evidence that someone else cherishes us. When love finds us, we’re rescued, retrofitted with hope and reinforced for purposedMORE...
(The Sunday after Christmas is sometimes designated as Holy Family Sunday, a time to remember how Joseph, Mary and Jesus escaped Herod. Today my thoughts about another way to think of that event.) CHARACTERS Herod (Computer hacker) The Holy Family (Computer innocents) The Magi and an angel (Geek Squad) TRADITIONAL STORY Generously gifted by the Wise Men, Mary and Joseph may not haveMORE...
Post-pandemic 1panis This 2 COVID thing is going to end. And when it does, churches like yours and mine might just hold the secret for pan-societal renewal. Turns out that one of our historical cultural strengths—fellowship fueled by food—might just be the key to restoring vitality to our communities. Think back: Passover was a post-pandemic event. One of our most sacred practices centersMORE...
Over the past four years I have grown weary, seeing how our nation has been breathing a kind of spiritual/emotional air pollution. We’ve been inhaling a smog of toxic attitudes that may have slowly destroyed our spirits. With the results of this election now becoming apparent, it feels like the Spirit’s wind has blown away the pollutants so that we can breathe clean air again. The metaphor makesMORE...
A question from high school geometry: How many diameters are there in a circle? One answer might be “an infinite number”. Another might be “only one”. In the first answer, you’re thinking that any two directly opposite points around the perimeter of a circle could be a diameter. In the second answer, you’re responding that because any diameter is the same as all others, there is actually only oneMORE...
I spend significant time in the waiting rooms of my several doctors. It struck me recently that this was a time that could be repurposed for godly purposes, and hence redeemed! The time in a waiting room time can be a way to restore spirits, dispel distressing emotions or rescue your fullest spiritual identity. People watching prayers The weight of illnesses or continuing medical conditions sitsMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.