For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. – 1 Corinthians 4:20 Since childhood, we’ve been told a story about what power means. Powerful people can have whatever they want. Powerful people command respect. They sit at the head of the table. They chart the course. Power means having your …
Hello, my name is Micah, and I’m a sinner. When I say that I’m a sinner, what I mean is that I’ve been fighting with God all my life. I choose my twisted version of the world over the truth and beauty of the Creator. I prefer empty idols to the whole grain bread of …
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to be a hero. The stories that captivated as a child all featured a leader – or sometimes a whole team of of them – who make bold decisions, take decisive action, and generally drive the plot. These special individuals are portrayed as changing the course …
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger] Curly: This. Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean [anything]. Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?” Curly: [smiles] That’s what *you* have to find out. From City Slickers (1991) …
When Solomon became king, he inherited an Israel at the height of its power and wealth. Solomon’s father, David, had spent decades fighting numerous wars to carve out territory for himself and fighting off rivals. David’s legacy of violence permeated his whole family, and his heirs fought over who would inherit royal power. Early on …
In his 1965 masterpiece, DUNE, Frank Hebert imagines a desert world in which water is the most precious substance and life is a constant struggle to survive. The indigenous inhabitants of this world, the Fremen, are a people totally adapted to scarcity. They are a people accustomed to hard decisions and brutal efficiency for the …
One of the core teachings of the Quaker movement is that Christ is inwardly present in all times and all places. In seventeenth-century England, when holiness was restricted the tightly controlled religious rituals of an elite clergy, Friends made the bold claim that the real presence of Jesus was not to be found in the …