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Advent – The Hope of Hosea
Advent is a season of reflection that has largely been hijacked by the commercialism that accompanies Christmas. However, in the Christian tradition, Advent is a time of longing and expectancy as we reflect on the birth of Christ and ultimately, our hope in his second coming. This week, the first candle of Advent, known as the Hope (or Prophet’s) Candle was lit in churches around the world. Some traditions mark this as time to remember the prophets from the Old Testament, as well, who foretold of the birth of the Christ child. These prophetic words from the Old and New Testaments intersect with our lives with regularity. When our “spiritual…
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Advent – Season of Hope
As Christmas approaches, churches around the world will commemorate the season with the lighting of the candles of Advent, a word that means “coming” or “arrival”. It is a time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and anticipate His second coming. Advent begins on the first Sunday of December with the lighting of the HOPE candle. The word HOPE in the Greek is ELPIS which when translated actually means “joyful, confident expectation”. In my mind, I have loosely tied the word HOPE to something resembling wishful thinking, Phrases like “I hope my car starts this morning” or ” I hope my client decides to put an offer on this…
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Cultivating Deep Friendships
Recently, I attended an event for Christian men and was randomly paired with a group of men who, to my surprise, quickly jumped into deep water by sharing their hearts with what was essentially a group of strangers. It’s interesting that some men will dive right into the deep end while others will only dip their toes in the shallows with conversation on ACC basketball or who got voted off of the latest episode of Survivor. Most of what was shared centered on a feeling common among many men – they are lonely and struggle to cultivate deep friendships with other men. Talking about marital struggles or their heart’s desires can feel…
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The Holy Spirit as the Wild Goose
The reference to the Wild Goose in this blog is an ancient one, a Celtic term for the Spirit of God. Christianity was thought to have taken root on the Scottish isle of Iona in the sixth century through the work of the Christian missionary named Columba. The Celtic culture highly revered the natural world and believed that their land was a “thin place”, a spot where the veil that exists between heaven and earth could be so thin that the Divine could be more easily experienced. The Celts symbolized the Holy Spirit as a Wild Goose – unpredictable and free as compared to the more docile and delicate dove espoused by…
