in our translation today, John tells his followers, those snakes, to “produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives.” That phrase, “change your hearts and lives” that is what our translation uses for the word we’re used to hearing as “repent.”
Tag Archives: Advent
Advent isn’t about nostalgia
Nostalgia can be powerful. So this season, I want to invite you, to the degree you can, lay the nostalgia aside. Do it for the sake of your mental health, for the sake of those around you. Realize this Christmas isn’t going to be like any Christmas before.
Blue Christmas: There are no Shortcuts with Grief
Whatever sorrow you are carrying, whatever grief, know: the message of Christmas is that God chose to show up in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Seems foolish to the world, but there’s God’s wisdom. God chooses to walk with us when life hurts. That is the only plan.
Who do you think you are?
Small things with great love may be a healthier distillation of Advent than the narrative our world offers, asking us to muscle the best holiday we can. Small things with great love could certainly be a tag line for John the Baptizer.
Mike Angell 