To Be Alive Is To Be Broken;

Being The Beloved Is Our Identity, The Core Of Our Existence. It Is Not Merely A Lofty Thought, An Inspiring Idea, Or One Name Among Many. It Is The Name By Which God Knows Us And The Way He Relates To Us

The Fierce Words Of Jesus Addressed To The Pharisees Of His Day Stretch Across The Bands Of Time. Today They Are Directed Not Only To Fallen Televangelists But To Each Of Us. We Miss Jesus' Point Entirely When We Use His Words As Weapons Against Others. They Are To Be Taken Personally By Each Of Us. This Is The Form And Shape Of Christian Pharisaism In Our Time. Hypocrisy Is Not Hte Prerogative Of People In High Places. The Most Impoverished Among Us Is Capable Of It. Hypocrisy Is The Natural Expression Of What Is Meanest In Us All.

The Conversation Of Most Middle-class Americans, We Are Told, Revolves Around Consumption: What To Buy, What Was Just Bought, Where To Eat, The Price Of The Neighbor's House, What's On Sale This Week, Our Clothes Or Someone Else's, The Best Car On The Market This Year, Where To Spend A Vacation. Apparently We Can't Stop Eating, Shopping, Or Consuming. Success Is Measured Not In Terms Of Love, Wisdom, And Maturity But By The Size Of One's Pile Of Possessions.

Jesus Hung Out With Ragamuffins.

* Recognize That God Is With You. * Acknowledge God Knows What He's Doing. * Search For God's Will: The Path He Desires You To Take In Life. * Consider What God Did For You When He Sent Jesus To Die On The Cross (forgiveness And Righteousness)