macdougallsa.bsky.social
@macdougallsa.bsky.social
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Christian, what the world needs now is not better culture warriors, but better neighbors.
Today- Ash Wednesday- marks the beginning of Lent, when Christians around the world will take part in a forty-six day period of fasting and reflection leading up to Good Friday and Easter... 1/3
March 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Xian, if our theology allows- or encourages- us to sound more like a cable news host than like Jesus, we need a more Biblical theology.

Did Jesus practice tough love at times? Yes- especially when dealing with religious know-it-alls- but when ministering to the lost & broken, He was gentle & kind.
March 3, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Xian, the love of God should fuel our love of others.

The grace of God in our lives should overflow & impact those around us.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in us should transform us to live as lights in this world.

Jesus frees us to live out the two Great Commandments & the Great Commission!
February 28, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Christian, there are two questions in Scripture that-- all too often-- are used as a cover for corruption, neglect, abuse, and cruelty:

"Am I my brother's keeper...?"

"Who is my neighbor...?

Be wary of those who employ them "in the name of Christ..."
February 27, 2025 at 6:04 PM
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it...”

But, what's more, he who denies the sins of past is usually complicit their revival...

Too often, we label as "ignorance" what's really a knowing and willful desire for the return of past evil in a new guise...
February 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Greatest Super Bowl halftime show...

Sunday, February 3rd, 2002… Less than five months after 9/11… U2 took the stage and offered up a 12 minute mini-concert that was both a tribute to the fallen… a lament for the broken… and prayer for hope….

youtu.be/kbHoLo9KwrI?...
U2 Superbowl 2002
YouTube video by Alan Adair
youtu.be
February 9, 2025 at 10:51 PM
"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is GOOD. Abstain from EVERY form of evil."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22
February 5, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Christian, I believe that God still speaks-- that the gift of prophecy is still active in His church today.

But beware those dole out "prophetic words" like candy-- especially to build a platform for themselves-- for God deals very seriously with those who take His Name in vain....
February 5, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Truth will out...
February 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
"There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."
- Luke 12:2-3
February 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Christian, love and grace are the currency of heaven- we've been saved, adopted, and made new through the love and grace of our Heavenly Father!
Yet this grace & love is not a license to sin- just the opposite!
It's the means by which we pursue righteousness and justice, and love our neighbors!
January 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
- Martin Luther King, Jr. ('Where Do We Go from Here?')
January 21, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Christian maturity is less about being right and more about admitting when we're wrong....
January 17, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Christian, the chief testimony to our faith is not found in what we say we believe about God, but in how we live out what we believe about God.
If we say, "God is love," but disdain our neighbor, do we really believe what we say? Our actions and attitudes speak louder than words!
January 15, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Xian, if we seek to move on from the rubric of grace & love to one of law & power, we leave the gospel behind...
God's Kingdom will not be brought about by the might of man, but by the work of the Spirit moving in & thru weak & broken people who've been forgiven much & love much!
January 13, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Christian, may we never lose our sense of wonder at the reality that the God of the universe invites us to meet with Him, that He rejoices in the midst of our singing and readily hears our prayers, and that-- when our words fail-- His very Spirit gives voice to our pleas!
January 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Power and influence may at times seem effective in bringing about Christian "ends," but they're not the "means" by which Jesus has called us to make His Kingdom known...

Rather, He sends us out as heralds of good news, lovers of neighbor, agents of peace, and servants of all.
January 8, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Christian, the greatest measure of our faith is not a doctrinal checklist, a denominational allegiance, or a political affiliation, it is a love of God and love of others that is ignited by the gospel of Jesus Christ and daily fueled by the Holy Spirit!
January 6, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Christmas reminds us that the Person and Work of Jesus Christ draws all of Scripture together... 1/5
December 16, 2024 at 6:39 PM
Advent points us to a greater reality than what we see day to day... It reminds us that the Creator is intimately involved in His Creation, that heaven is real, the darkness is passing, the Savior has come, and that one day the Kingdom of God will fill all the earth!

#Advent2024
December 13, 2024 at 4:24 PM
At Christmas the veil between heaven and earth seems to thin ever so slightly... we are reminded of our homesickness... and our hope that there is more to life than what we see day in and day out around us... 1/2
December 11, 2024 at 4:07 PM
The Season of Advent reminds us that longing is an essential part of living in this broken world... 1/3
December 9, 2024 at 6:37 PM
"Christ came chiefly for this reason: that we might learn how much God loves us, and might learn this to the end that we begin to glow with love of Him by whom we were first loved...

1/2
December 4, 2024 at 8:55 PM
The Season of Advent reminds us that while the darkness of this world may seem at times overwhelming, it will not last forever... 1/3
December 2, 2024 at 7:55 PM