What kind of testimony do we have to offer when faced with the types of hardship some of us endure today—with chronic pain, a terminal diagnosis, a child living with addiction, or a parent slowly succumbing to dementia? Jesus tells us this will provide an opportunity. How can this be true? … More An Opportunity to Testify?
Often we think we know who people are and convince ourselves they could never change, or we begin to believe we could never change. But we should be prepared for God to show up, seek us out, and call us down to earth and into relationship. It’s not up to us. This is the good work of a loving God who always comes down. … More God Always Comes Down
A life of prayer reminds us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, partners with God in God’s work of love and justice and healing and mercy, agents of resurrection in a world that so often feels crushed by the powers of death. … More Persistence in Prayer
Maybe one of the lessons of this challenging parable is that we ought to dispense with the notion that only respectable means are permitted in the pursuit of justice, and that we should at least entertain the possibility that a righteous endeavor may call for actions others might find distasteful. … More The Allure of Respectability and Good Order
Faith isn’t basking in the security of our wise planning. Faith is being open to risk and entrusting the future to God, not necessarily certain of the outcome but trusting that God will be with us through it all and give us what we need along the way. … More The Opposite of Faith Is Certainty
Javen Swanson 