Tag: justice

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Understanding Sexual Abuse | Book Review

georgepwood

“In our society today, it is estimated that up to one in four girls and one in six boys experience sexual abuse in childhood. Experts also estimate that as many as half of the incidents are not reported. Millions of people, both children and adults, face each day with this hidden, complex pain.” Tim Hein opens Understanding Sexual Abuse with this astounding and depressing statistic. It’s one that pastors and church leaders need to think about. Although we’d like to claim that sexual abuse happens out there (the world), not in here (the church), we all know that’s false. Sexually … Continue reading Understanding Sexual Abuse | Book Review

1 Corinthians, Politics & Culture, The Daily WordLeave a comment

The Radical Impermanence of the World and the Permanence of Christian Love

georgepwood

Today is the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11. The Friday after 9/11, I wrote this devotional for my church. Providentially, in this devotional, I was working my way through 1 Corinthians 13 that week, Scripture’s “love chapter.” I’m reposting that devotional today because, fifteen years later, it still expresses my heart and mind in the light of that horrific event. OPENING PRAYER This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! O God, grant us a vision of this city, fair as it might be: a city of justice, where none shall prey upon the other; … Continue reading The Radical Impermanence of the World and the Permanence of Christian Love

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Review of ‘Faith in the Voting Booth’ by Leith Anderson and Galen Carey

georgepwood

Leith Anderson and Galen Carey, Faith in the Voting Booth: Practical Wisdom for Voting Well (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016). Today (March 15), voters from Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio cast ballots in the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. Since I am a Missourian, I performed my civic duty and cast a ballot along with them. Voting is so routine in American life that we Americans often take it for granted. We shouldn’t, however. It is a great privilege and an awesome responsibility. It also can be hard work. Choosing a candidate or supporting a referendum requires informed … Continue reading Review of ‘Faith in the Voting Booth’ by Leith Anderson and Galen Carey

Revelation, The Daily Word1 Comment

O Sovereign Lord, How Long? (Revelation 6.9–11)

georgepwood

Submission, peacemaking, generosity, and hospitality all require patience: Patience with a corrupt government to reform, with the violent to act peaceably, with the poor to move from dependency to productivity, and with the sick to heal. The last two items are borne with comparative ease. The first two items? Not so much. It is fascinating to me that after describing the devastation wrought on earth by the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rev. 6:1-8), John turns again to a scene in the throne room of heaven (6:9-11). There, he sees “under the altar the souls of those who had been … Continue reading O Sovereign Lord, How Long? (Revelation 6.9–11)