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The temptation of Jesus is one of those Bible stories where it is easy to conflate the different accounts. We see come across it and pay little attention to whether it is Matthew, Mark, or Luke telling the story, we just pull the same old lessons out of it.

For some, the lesson goes like this: You will face temptation. Memorize a bunch of Bible verses to say when tempted. Believe this will make the temptation go away.

[Read more…] about Jesus’ Temptation … and Ours

Luke 9:28-36 tells this wild story traditionally called the Transfiguration. In it, Jesus takes three of his follower up on a mountain to pray. While praying Jesus’ face changed and his clothes became radiant. Then Moses and Elijah, two dead men, show up and start talking with him about his pending crucifixion in Jerusalem. The whole thing feels a bit outlandish, so what should we make of this story?

[Read more…] about Transfiguration: Torturous or Transforming?

Growing up a Boy Scout, I learned early on the value of a good map when it comes to navigating unknown lands. I remember on more than one occasion a leader would hand me a map and say, “This is where we are going.” The first thing I needed to determine? Where we were.

[Read more…] about A Map of Your Psyche

Contrary to resolutions, reformations, and even revolutions, reconstruction is not about fixing yourself. In a society fixated on personal growth and self-improvement, this is a radical and subversive statement. This is even more true in a religious landscape that focuses on sin and what is wrong with us. It is easy to find ourselves constantly bombarded by the message that we are broken and in need of fixing.

[Read more…] about The Fixing Fallacy

What can you do with a haunted past? Almost all of us have regrets. There are those things we wish we did and others we desperately want to undo. Yet as much as we try and leave them in the past and move forward, they always seem to linger. It might be material, lingering in the form of fractured relationships or debts. Sometimes they hang on to our psyche, haunting our thoughts and feelings. Others remain in the form of longings and desires so we find ourselves compelled to do the very things we despise.

[Read more…] about Three Things to Do With Your Haunted Past

Guilt is a good thing. A gift. Something essential if we are going to step into a journey of reconstruction.

Yet it used to terrify me because I did not know what to do with it. So instead of stepping into the gift of guilt, I did everything I could to avoid it. For decades I did this to the detriment of both myself and others.

[Read more…] about The Gift of Guilt