I returned to the Cincinnati zoo to take more photos of the wonderful animals that call it home. It was a cloudy day, but many of the animals were active and ready to pose for their pictures.
Year: 2022
Here's the posts on Year: 2022
Made in God’s Image
We are all made in the image of God and the world wants us to forget this. Instead, they offer a fallen image that we are tempted to pursue instead. The world also wants us to forget that others are also made in the image of God, because how we see others affects how we see ourselves. Instead, we should work to live up to the image of God by seeing ourselves and others as image bearers of God.
Made by God
Everyone wants to be wanted. It’s how we understand our self worth. We can define our worth by what we can do for the world, which enslaves us to the fallen standard of the world. We can also define our worth by what others think, which forces us to abandon who we really are to please others. Instead our real worth comes from God who made us. God thinks we’re priceless, if only we can see ourselves as God sees us.
Even More Undignified
What’s the one thing it seems no Christian can agree on? Worship. The church seems to be deeply divided on what worship is and how we’re supposed to worship. That’s a big problem for a people who claim to be bound together in unity. Before we try and tackle this problem we need to answer the question, “what is worship?”
When I Grow Up
Today is the day. The big one. It’s the day I turn 30 years old. Despite my three decades on this planet, I still don’t feel like an adult. I thought that by now I would have this whole thing figured out and that life would make more sense, but it turns out that’s not the case. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing. In fact, that might be the way you’re supposed to live life, as a child.
Review: The Confessions
St. Augustine’s Confessions is a foundational work of the western Church. Within, St. Augustine explores the deepest depths of the human soul, muses on the relationship between humanity and sin, and explores the nature of God and creation. It is a profound work of the early church that should not be missed.
Augustine’s Search for God
Who is God? It’s a universal question that everyone, even non-Christians, ponder. We are all seeking answers to who we believe God is. Even hundreds of years ago, Augustine, the bishop of Hippo, wondered the same thing, and he shares about his search in a poem he wrote in his confessions.
Lean In
Jesus once asked his disciples who they thought he was, and it was Peter who spoke up and called him the Messiah. Because of this, Jesus revealed that he would have to suffer and die. Peter, ever zealous, spoke up and said that he won’t allow that to happen. That’s when Jesus utters the famous line, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter knew that Jesus was the messiah, but he didn’t really grasp what that meant. Jesus gave his life for us, but in return he also asks us to give our lives for him. That’s the scandal of what Jesus is saying here. If you want eternal life then you have to give your life all to Jesus.
The Upside Down Kingdom of God
One of the craziest things Jesus said was the beatitudes. It shows that the world works with one set of rules, but Jesus tells us that we are to live our lives in a different way. The way we live won’t be popular and won’t make us successful according to this world, but Jesus gives us a twist in this story. God’s kingdom is upside down. Those who are on the bottom here on Earth end up on top in the Kingdom of God.
Is Jesus Lord?
The triumphal entry marks the start of the last week of Jesus’ life. To the disciples, it must have felt like things were finally looking up. People were finally recognizing Jesus as lord. Jesus knew though, that this wasn’t a triumphal entry. Instead, it was more like a funeral march. These same people who were shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna!” Would soon be shouting, “Crucify him!” It’s easy to judge the crowd, but they display something common to all of humanity, even to us today. We can call him lord in one breath and crucify him the next. How does this happen to us and how can we avoid it?
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