Elisabeth Bloechl
Ideas have consequences. What we believe, how we imagine the world, these things motivate, and help us make sense of, our actions individually and as a society. They shape the very fabric of our culture. Take a modern example: for decades Chinese leaders openly taught that for the good of the nation each family ought […]
The Reality of Idolatry Since Adam, all humans are idolators. We all perpetually break the first commandment by loving creation more than the Creator. As Calvin famously said, “the human heart is a perpetual idol factory” (Institutes I.11.8). In some cultures, this looks like offering sacrifices to man-made statues (e.g., Hindu-influenced India). In other cultures, […]
“Only a life of prayer and meditation will render a vessel ready for the Master’s use” (George Muller). “Prayer is the distinctive mark of the Lord’s powerful servants. All of them, in spite of considerable differences, offer to us this common trait: They are men who pray much and who pray fervently” (Adolphe Monod). For […]
As a child I remember a Christian leader advising his disciples not to read the Bible unless they felt like it. He himself was taking an extensive hiatus from personal Bible reading. He found it freeing. Even as a child, I knew his advice was unsound and unwise. God’s Word is the source of truth. […]
An Unexpected Ministry I sit cross-legged on the floor in front of one of my cleaning clients. She looks younger than her eighty-five years as she bounces and tickles my son while teasing my daughter. The pictures of my children are on the shelf next to her own grandchildren. After a few more minutes of […]
Nine sweaty Tanzanian women hunch close together, shoulders over their Bibles. Fragments of read scripture quietly slip through the thick air of my students’ cramped, worn-wall, room. “He has sent His Holy Spirit.” “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” “He saved us, not on the basis of works done in righteousness.” These […]
“The world is spinning out of control.” “These are unprecedented times.” “I thought things were going to go back to normal.” Behind these common statements often lies an underlying fear and anxiety. Many of us see the chaos and unpredictability in today’s world and dread the future. We wonder, “will we face persecution, an economic […]
We accept as common knowledge that there is a growing sense of disunity, even division, among American Christians. Some groups feel ostracized, oppressed, orphaned. Others feel misrepresented and villainized. How are we to address this discontinuity and tension? How can we move toward healing a broken world? Sho Baraka seeks to answer these questions in […]
In a culture of contention, confusion, division, and demonizing, Christians need to hear a different message. Shai Linne brings us this message in his book The New Reformation: Finding Hope in the Fight for Ethnic Unity. Linne’s book is a hope-saturated, grace-filled alternative to many recent books on this topic laced with hate and animosity. […]
Stress and anxiety steal our joy and blind us to our purpose. In 2019, Rebekah Lyons offered a solution through her book Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose. Recently, she came out with a companion journal and planner. As the book offers practical and measurable solutions to […]
Nonconformity is all the rage. Our culture applauds rebellion against social norms and encourages boldly standing apart. Sometimes this nonconformity is minor. It looks like fuchsia hair, living in a tiny house, eating only fruit and veggies. Other times nonconformity is something more extreme. The most immediate example is gender nonconformity. Biologically sexed males and […]
I wake up and spend some time reading the Bible and praying. I need it. Then I am jolted into the day. Family devotions, exercise, breakfast. I try to snatch several minutes of reading with my toddler before trundling her into the car. We go clean together. Rather, I clean while she plays and sleeps. […]
How do you love when you know it will break your heart? When my family started their 24-hour drive back to Wisconsin after dropping me off at college, my heart ached. I was in a foreign land. People didn’t dress the same. Their manner of doing business was different. The houses looked shabbier, and the […]
“Have you heard about what is going on in nursing homes? The residents are not allowed out of their rooms. Things keep happening and the staff take away more private property and putting it in storage. Now, the residents don’t even have their own clothes; they are wearing hospital gowns. They are supposed to exercise, […]
Imagine this. You finally arrive at church after one kid finds his missing shoes and another won’t sit still long enough to let you braid her hair. You and your husband fought all the way over about who is responsible for taking out the garbage that you left overflowing in the kitchen. Now you stand […]
