John 13:36-14:1; "Lord,' Simon Peter said to Him, 'Where are you going?' Jesus answered, 'Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.' (37) 'Lord', Peter asked, 'why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for You!' (38) Jesus replied, 'Will you lay down your life … Continue reading Don’t Let Your Heart Be Troubled
Tag: thinking
Long-Term Thinking
1 Peter 1:10-12 "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow. It was … Continue reading Long-Term Thinking
Lenses and Images
It is not clear to me that I am in a place right now where I can say something other than what I need to hear myself. I am preaching things I need to get myself. I was once having a conversation with with someone about the need for truths known in the head to … Continue reading Lenses and Images
My Two Biggest Fears
My two biggest fears are; 1.) Not having sufficient emotional abundance and availability to really be helpful on that level to those who are closest to me, primarily my wife and possible children in the future. 2.) Getting stuck at a level, personally, professionally, and spiritually that is well below my potential. Why these thoughts … Continue reading My Two Biggest Fears
Press In
So, what if you find yourself in that place, maybe too busy, or just feeling off track? If you are struggling, if you don't feel loved, if you feel empty, if you feel broken, guilty, ashamed, or dirty: press in. Press in when you would rather withdraw. Press in with God. I’m not going to … Continue reading Press In
Finding Your Way
If I were to paraphrase Isaiah chapter 58 in one sentence, it would be something like, “You need to evaluate your practices and discern what is pointless versus what is actually conducive to the truth of God blossoming in your lives.” Roughly speaking, that is the context of the quote which came to mind recently … Continue reading Finding Your Way
A Path for Miracles
"A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of … Continue reading A Path for Miracles
To Give Meaning
"In the beginning was the Word..." -John 1:1 "What makes us sick are those things we cannot see through..." - Alice Miller, 'The Drama of the Gifted Child' "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate" - Carl Jung Recently, I was considering the mystery of … Continue reading To Give Meaning
I am the Pharisee
The topic of conversation was the process of head-knowledge becoming real at the heart-level. Then the person I was talking with asked me, “How do you know when that change has occurred?” Unprepared to answer that question, I briefly paused and then gave the first answer that came to mind: “When I no longer feel … Continue reading I am the Pharisee
The Wrong Question
"What does the Bible say?" That is the wrong question. Looking for the divine, tradition misses the humanity, misses the incarnation of God's Spirit, misses the Spirit dwelling among us. So, the real question is, "What did God say to this person in that instance?" or "What did this person say to those people in … Continue reading The Wrong Question
Andrew K. Banks 