Author Archives: jwfisch

Hot or cold

Posted on February 6, 2019 by jwfisch

“Oh ‘spew thee out of my mouth!’” Marti chose one of my favorite biblical phrases to write about yesterday. Growing up on King James English, at least where the Bible was concerned, this used to be one our favorite sayings … Continue reading →

Posted in discipleship | Tagged | 3 Comments

Outside your comfort zone

Posted on February 5, 2019 by jwfisch

[Marti weighs in with this one.] by Marti Fischer One of the more important messages for us today as believers can be found in the words of Jesus to the seven churches that take up the first few chapters of … Continue reading →

Posted in discipleship | Tagged | 5 Comments

Super apology

Posted on February 4, 2019 by jwfisch

Well everybody, after all is said and done with Super Bowl LIII, I think I would have rather had church.

Posted in sports, Worldview | Tagged | 13 Comments

Losing my religion

Posted on February 1, 2019 by jwfisch

With grace, you just have to learn to let a lot of things go — things you trusted in before that don’t matter anymore. Yesterday we talked about what was scary about grace, and we found out that there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

What’s so scary about grace?

Posted on January 31, 2019 by jwfisch

What’s so scary about grace? Plenty. First off, we don’t receive very well. It’s an affront to our pride. Like two men fighting over the bill, it’s all about pride. You lose that battle, you feel like you’re the little … Continue reading →

Posted in grace | Tagged | 8 Comments

Why grace is so hard to believe

Posted on January 30, 2019 by jwfisch

Let’s face it: grace is hard to believe. Why is that the case when it’s so easy to get? Well that’s actually one of the reasons right there. We are all taught that to get anything valuable, you have to … Continue reading →

Posted in grace turned outward | Tagged | 11 Comments

Not the strong man

Posted on January 29, 2019 by jwfisch

  Those who are indwelled by and dependent upon the Spirit of Jesus are humble and self-effacing. They are deeply touched by the weakness and suffering of others. They are gentle and kind. They long for goodness in themselves and … Continue reading →

Posted in kingdom of God | Tagged | 3 Comments

Character, not conduct

Posted on January 28, 2019 by jwfisch

For far too long, Christianity has been defined by behavior. We love keeping spirituality on the basis of what we do and don’t do, because then we are in control of it. We can demand certain codes of conduct for … Continue reading →

Posted in 12 Steps, grace turned outward | Tagged | 8 Comments

Away in a manger — far away

Posted on January 25, 2019 by jwfisch

It’s gone. Christmas is gone. The only signs that indicate Christmas may have stopped by recently are a pretty sad-looking partially-shriveled poinsettia by the fireplace and a dry Christmas wreath on the front door. Marti was playing with the idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas | Tagged | 6 Comments

Who owns Christmas?

Posted on January 24, 2019 by jwfisch

I tried to make it — I really did. But Candlemas (February 2) is nine days away and our Christmas tree is beyond dead. (Some of you might remember that Christmas was last month.) For those of you who are … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, grace turned outward | Tagged , | 4 Comments