Category: Life Lessons – Experience
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When Religion Wounds and Grace Heals
Part Five: Perfect Love Casts Out Fear (Faith That Endures When Certainty Fades) Core Thesis of the SeriesFear-based religion relies on control, punishment, and anxiety to shape behavior.Covenant faith invites trust, honesty, healing, and relationship with God. When Fear No Longer Works There comes a point in life when fear loses its power. Not because…
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When Religion Wounds and Grace Heals
Part Three: Walking in the Light, Not on Eggshells (1 John and Freedom from Fear) Core Thesis of the SeriesFear-based religion relies on control, punishment, and anxiety to shape behavior.Covenant faith invites trust, honesty, healing, and a relationship with God. When Faith Feels Like Surveillance For many of us formed by fear-based theology, faith became…
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When Religion Wounds and Grace Heals
Part Two: Hebrews 10 — Fear or Covenant? Core Thesis of the SeriesFear-based religion relies on control, punishment, and anxiety to shape behavior.Covenant faith invites trust, honesty, healing, and relationship with God. A Gentle Note to the Reader Before going any further, I want to say this clearly:If Hebrews 10 has ever frightened you—if it…
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Faith with Scars: Finding Quiet Comfort in a Troubled World
Psalm 19:13–14 | Philippians 3:4b–11 Snow is falling today—steady, quiet, and heavy. The forecast says eight to twelve inches, but the deeper weight is not in the storm outside. It is in memory. At seventy-six years old, I have lived through hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards. I have sat beside hospital beds as people I loved…
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From There to Here
Reflections from 76 Years of Living This is me holding a chicken standing near the chicken coop on our farm in Mississippi in 1954 This is me in 2026. I am 76 and I live in Springfield, MO. When I look back across seventy-six years, the distance from there to here feels both long and…
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Between Stillness and Resistance
Psalm 46, Romans 13, and Faithful Living Under Fear-Driven Power “Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities…” — Romans 13:1 Few passages in Scripture have been more misunderstood — or weaponized — together than Psalm 46 and Romans 13. When placed carelessly side…
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Christmas Confession: Turning Our Hearts Back to God
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus—Emmanuel, God with us. Yet the incarnation is not only something we remember; it is a truth that confronts us. God came near in Jesus to heal, to reconcile, and to call humanity back to God’s ways. On this holy day, joy and hope must also make…
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Joy That Cannot Be Shaken
A Third Sunday of Advent Devotional The Third Sunday of Advent—often called Gaudete Sunday—invites us to rejoice. Yet the Scriptures appointed for today do not sound, at first glance, like what we expect from a “joyful” season. Isaiah speaks of cosmic upheaval. Hebrews warns of a shaking that will test everything. Even John the Baptist…
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Many Ways to Worship the One God
A Reflection by Roy Pearson One of the gifts of the Christian faith is its beautiful variety. Across centuries and cultures, believers have found countless ways to worship the God who created us, redeems us, and sustains us. Some traditions offer written prayers, icons, and a rich liturgy; others prefer spontaneous praise, simple gatherings, and…
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Can Eastern Self-Mastery Help Christians Renew the Mind?
Romans 12:2 calls believers to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.”This invitation sparks a thoughtful question: Can teachings on self-mastery found in Eastern traditions help a Christian renew the mind? The short answer:✅ Yes — certain disciplines of thought and self-awareness can support Christian growth❗ As long as Christ remains the center and…
The Curious Pilgrim 