by David Anderson
somehow thought to grab her tambourine when the call came that night. Like so many slaves before them, they were going to attempt an escape—a mass flight—and their captors would give chase. People were all packing food, essential medications, water, but as she ran out the door Miriam seized her tambourine. She knew she’d need […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Faith in Action, Gratitude, Joy, Lent
was dying not of her hemorrhages but of her deadly isolation. Here’s her story. “Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she has spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her” (Luke 8: 43-48). Almost certainly this patient was suffering from menorrhagia, excessively […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Community, Faith in Action, Faith/Trust, Healing, Lent, Suffering
teaches us how to access and trust the God within. Jesus tells a parable about a vulnerable widow who goes before a jerk of a judge who “neither feared God nor cared what people thought ” (Luke 18:1-8). He brushes her off, again and again. But she keeps after him, until finally he relents and […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, authority, Awareness, Faith in Action, Grace, Lent, Now/ the Present, Patience, Surrender, Transformation
are fire walkers. These three young Jewish men were exiled in Babylon because King Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Israel and brought them to his kingdom as captives. Yet like their fellow Israelite, Daniel, the three were recognized as gifted and rose to prominence in the court of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:1-30). All wonderful—until Nebuchadnezzar did the typical […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Belief, Faith in Action, Lent, Salvation, Surrender
Matthew 2:1-12 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” Stars are everywhere at Christmas—they top our trees and stud the skies of nearly every holiday card. It all began with the visit of the Magi, royal astrologers from Babylon, who showed up in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is he who has been […]
by David Anderson 2 Comments Filed Under: Advent, Awareness, Awe, Beauty, Daily Practice, Discernment, Epiphany, Faith in Action, Faith/Trust, Guidance, Joy, Mystery, Seeing, Surrender
Isaiah 2:1-6 “They shall beat their swords into plowshares,and their spears into pruning-knives.” On October 7th Yaron Bob was happily living in his kibbutz, one mile from the Gaza border. Then terror struck. “A lot of my friends were killed,” said Bob. He survived after hiding in a safe room for 33 hours with no […]
by David Anderson 1 Comment Filed Under: Advent, Conflict, Faith in Action, Healing, Justice/Peace, Peace, Transformation
Genesis 7: 11-24 “They went into the ark with Noah, two and twoof all flesh…and God shut him in.” On Noah’s ark there was no rudder. God gave Noah incredibly detailed instructions for constructing this floating zoo, dimensions of roofs and decks, but no steering mechanism. Have you ever noticed this? Noah doesn’t need to […]
by David Anderson 14 Comments Filed Under: Advent, Belief, Discernment, Faith in Action, Faith/Trust, Letting Go, Surrender
Abraham Joshua Heschel said, “The act teaches you the meaning of the act.” This is pure wisdom, but we have mostly counseled its reverse. We have tried to teach people the meaning first to see if we might coax them into the act. If we taught people to believe that God calls us to love […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Belief, Daily Practice, Faith in Action, Happiness, Love, Service, Transformation