Holy Words From Holy Cross

Why do some people put their head in the sand when trouble looms?  The new atheists accuse religious people of refusing to look reality square in the eye--and undoubtedly some are guilty of that--but is that the sort of faith Scripture calls us to?  Christian faith has real answers for real, painfully real, life.  How can a more fully-formed faith help you in your day-to-day life?

Most of us begin our prayers by asking God--or whatever we think of as God--for whatever it is we want.  Christian prayer is always addressed to the true God, the God who has revealed and named Himself in history.  When Christians ask God earnestly and humbly for anything, we know the character of the God whom we address.  How do we ask God for ANYTHING and know we are heard?

"What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"  The Apostle Paul uses these words to remind us that even the hardest working person uses time, talent, and resources that they did not provide to themselves.  Each of us, to be honest with ourselves and others, has much for which to be thankful.  Giving thanks is a key ingredient of prayer, for it is a key ingredient of honesty.

Because we all sin, we all hide from God in ways large and small.  This is the very opposite of what true prayer is about.  Making confession a part of our daily prayer helps us truly open ourselves to the movement of God's Spirit and grow closer.

We adore those who love us, for love is an incalculable gift.  The greater the person who loves us, the greater the adoration we feel if have any self perception, for we know that such love cannot be earned.  How great is God?  How far will He go to secure our love and salvation?  Is prayer just asking God for things, or is it something more?

Why reform the Church?  Why reform ourselves?  Most people want to be a good person, but we fail daily to our highest aspiration.  In the cross of Christ, we find forgiveness... hope to try again without a deficit we can never overcome.

Part 10 of a Bible study on the Revelation of St. John, an amillennialist interpretation.

Why must give an account to God for what we have done with our stuff?  Isn't it ours, after all?  An interesting question, and one worth exploring...

Part 9 of a Bible study on the Revelation of St. John, an amillennialist interpretation.

Why the Biblical warnings against possessions?  Can't we use things to do good?  We certainly can, but it is difficult to not become consumed with acquiring and managing our possessions.  Jesus teaches us how much is too much...

Part 7 of a Bible study on the Revelation of St. John, an amillennialist interpretation.

The book of Revelation, chapters 13 to 15.

Of all the burdens we carry, shame can be the most incapacitating.  Christ came to free us not just from the guilt of our sin, but from its shame as well.  How?  Listen and discover...

We all have wounds; some we can see, some we cannot.  Today, Jesus exhorts us to deliberately wound ourselves--cut out part of our life--if something we hold dear is keeping us from responding to the Gospel and entering the kingdom.  We all enter the kingdom with a limp... how are we to pay so high a price?

Just like our cell phones, our batteries get run down. A time of retreat with the Lord may refresh us and fill us full. How do you find that refreshment and time to recharge?

Many people know a lot of Bible, but their behavior seems to indicate very little transformation by the love of God. "I might believe in the Redeemer if His followers looked more redeemed," quipped the great atheist (and son of a Lutheran pastor) Frederick Nietzsche. Churches are often places where people "put on a good face" rather than can be honest enough to share--and let the Holy Spirit work on--those aspects of the faith personally challenge them. How can this be different?

People get really hyped up for sporting events... why don't we get as excited for Jesus? What would it look like if it did?

Most of the time, most people believe in God. Some of the time, some of the people believe in Jesus. All of the time, all of the people have a tendency to NOT believe the One in whom they say they believe. What is the answer to our conundrum?

Walking is a metaphor used almost universally to connote the style or manner of one's life. Do most human lives truly reflect people's the deepest values, or do we live at variance with them? Could most people guess our convictions, not by reading our bumper stickers or checking our Face Book pages, but by observing our day to day habits? How does God help us live our convictions?

Decades after the Rolling Stones recorded the song, many are still complaining that they "can't get no satisfaction." Others know THEORETICALLY that ultimate satisfaction is to be only in God, but they don't know how to experience God in that way. How do we find spiritual satisfaction? Intern Byron Burger charts the way for us.