Moralism vs. Gospel (A Lenten Perspective)
By scottsauls | February 27, 2022(Photo credit Jon Tyson) The 2022 Lenten starts this Tuesday, March 1. Lent is a season in which Christians around the world emphasize self-denial as a means of remembering the cross of Christ which secures our pardon, and the daily “taking up a cross” to which the cross beckons us throughout the entire year — […]
Some Differences Between Vibrant and Dead Faith
By scottsauls | February 20, 2022For some, the Bible is a comfort. For others, it is a disruption. Through the Bible, God heals with reassuring words of forgiveness, kindness, and welcome. Also through the Bible, God pierces with warnings meant to stir us toward repentance, restoration, and peace. Jesus, the center of the biblical story, afflicts the comfortable and comforts […]
The Sometimes-Forgotten Qualities of True Friendship
By scottsauls | February 13, 2022Christian people are not only called to give constructive correction. We are also called to receive it. Just as our cowardice may prevent us from offering such correction, so our pride may prevent us from receiving it. Encouraging words that build up and corrective words that steer away from sin and toward physical, emotional, and […]
Tending to Our Inner Gollum
By scottsauls | February 6, 2022Do you remember the nickname Gollum gave to the ring of power in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings? He called the ring his “Precious.” Tolkien was conveying the human condition when he put forth that little detail. It is our fallen human tendency to grasp our own version of the “Precious” to replace Jesus as our […]