Category Archives: Other voices

The Silent Teacher

“Some of the most powerful moments of teaching occur when the teacher has enough discipline to remain silent.” [1] I’ve experienced this as both a teacher and a student. Silence is uncomfortable but it allows the student to wrestle, to formulate and eventually own an answer. The easy path is to just give the next…
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Inseparable: Assurance of God’s Presence

God is ever present, or omnipresent if you’re trying to impress. As Westerners we can discuss this intricacies of this doctrine in a detached way, engaging only our mind, especially when life is smooth. But what does His presence actually mean when circumstances turn us upside down? How does our heart understand it? Presence is…
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The Kingdom of Heaven

He told them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like … Matthew 13:33 Jesus repeatedly points to the Kingdom of Heaven but there is some debate about what exactly it is. The term doesn’t appear in the Hebrew Bible yet the Jewish sages refer to it in their writings. Jesus spoke of it as something…
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Lift me up, please

Our society makes self-reliance and independence a virtue. Western culture pervades my thinking and the temptation to tackle things myself is strong. We root for characters like John Wayne, Jason Bourne, Indiana Jones and, need I say, the Lone Ranger. I’m applauded if I try to “pull myself up by my bootstraps,” which is ironic…
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