… The Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. … “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” … Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding… Read More
False shame vs. guilt
False shame is a fear of being found out, exposed, humiliated, and abandoned. Guilt is our friend, a gift from God that drives us to God, keeping us on the right path (John 16:7–14). False shame says, “I am a mistake.” Guilt says, “I made a mistake.” False shame says, “I am wrong.” Guilt says,… Read More
Is your default setting a heart of stone?
For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Matthew 13:15 (NIV) If you are a Bible reader, you will recognize both descriptions of humankind below:… Read More
Aggressively forgiven
. . . if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but… Read More
Colossians 1:13-14 Out of the pit
We were (still are) wallowing in the pit–repeatedly sinning with no possibility of perfection or purpose. But the beauty of it is, our God loved us enough to bring about the most glorious and important intervention. God himself (through the person of his Son) paid the penalty for the sins of any and all who… Read More
Cleaning out the fridge
After listening to me whine about having to clean out the fridge–there were fuzzy things growing in containers in the back–a coworker told me a way that she avoided that job altogether. Every evening as she does the supper dishes, she goes through one shelf in her refrigerator, checking the viability of the leftovers and… Read More
Insatiable Self
Every person in the human race is born with a condition I call insatiable self: “It’s all about me.” As we grow in age and stature, we add another sentence: “It’s all about me. It’s never enough.” Hopefully, the maturation process brings the realization that everything doesn’t revolve around the earth, but the earth orbits… Read More
Kathleen S Evenhouse 