An Unexpected Touch
Luann Budd
It started out as my husband’s idea. Just an early morning adventure to view Los Angeles from the top of Mt. Wilson. We received much more than we had hoped for.
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President's Blog
Luann Budd, president of NEWIM, blogs about the spiritual life of a leader, shares insight from what she is reading, and reflects on the call to Christian leadership.
Filtering by Category: Theology
Sometimes I Need A Little Bit of Hangin'
Luann Budd
A story is told of a mother who pleaded with Abraham Lincoln on behalf of her son who had committed an act of treason. A war court found him guilty and sentenced him to hanging. His mother sought a pardon. Lincoln granted her request but said, "I wish we could give him a little bit of hanging." Sometimes, we, too, need half a hanging because nothing drives home the blessings of a pardon like standing on the block with the noose around your neck and hearing your sentence read. Thinking about God’s justice is like a little bit of hanging.
Read MoreCreator God
Luann Budd
From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals himself as the Creator of the heavens and earth. I spent a year contemplating what difference it should make in our lives to know that our God is the Creator God. What I learned transformed my life.
Read MoreGod is Eternal
Luann Budd
On one level, we know a woman in America is expected to live about 80.2 years on average, but we really don’t know it; it feels like we’ll have tomorrow.
Read MoreOut of Nothing
Luann Budd
We mistakenly think he is the Grand Designer of the universe. But he is not just a Designer. He is the Creator. I learned a few years ago that recognizing this subtle error in my thinking made a significant difference in how I perceived the world.
Read MoreCreation is God's Gift
Luann Budd
God has created us to perceive his glory and goodness in the beauty we find all around us.
Read MoreImmersed
Luann Budd
We often live as if heaven were far away, lost somewhere beyond the clouds. Yet, we affirm that Jesus said he would never leave us and we know the Holy Spirit lives within us. If the Presence of God brings heaven to us, if as Paul told the Athenians “we live and move and have our being in Him,” we don’t want to miss Him, living as if there is a distance.
Read MoreCrooked Timber
Luann Budd
How can we make progress in our struggle against sin?
We are "fearfully and wonderfully made," yet we find in ourselves an incredible bent toward selfishness and overconfidence in our own abilities. Earlier generations expressed this truth by saying that we are “crooked timber.”
Is there anything that we can do?
Read MoreFloating in the River that is God's Love
Luann Budd
Are there prerequisites for Christian ministry? I think so.
Jesus really wants us to know His love. When we get to heaven, I think He will ask us, “Did you know that I loved you?” He wants us to float in the river that is His love. He doesn’t want us to just stand alongside the bank of the river getting splashed every so often. He wants us to jump in, be fully immersed, letting the current carry us downstream. That's a prereq for ministry.
Read MoreLearning to Pray from the Puritans
Luann Budd
I’ve been surprised to notice how often the Puritans prayed that they could enjoy TODAY one of the blessings we are promised in heaven. For example:
"Let there be unrestrained fellowship with Jesus, today.”
“In heaven we will hear the Divine Accolade, may we hear today, “Well done”.
“In heaven, we will breathe joy. May we be filled with joy as we receive the gifts You give.”
Read MoreDwell
Luann Budd
Moses begins his psalm, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations..." Moses did not say that he lived in the palace in Egypt, nor the back country of Arabia, nor the desert and crags of Sinai, but the Lord was his dwelling place. It seems that if I could learn a little bit about what it means to dwell with the Lord, then I wouldn't get so tossed about in the turbulence of life.
Read MoreBirds and Prayer
Jackie Rettberg
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)
This is a wonderful verse for anyone who thinks there is only one way to pray!
The Lord is a creator of variety!
Read MoreGod's Great Love Statement
Jackie Rettberg
In the book of Malachi chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, God makes one of the most amazing statements to His disobedient children, the nation of Israel! He says simply and clearly, “I have loved you!”
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