JourneyWise
Articles
Engaging insights and educational musings to guide and inspire you on your journey from the scholars and thinkers at the JourneyWise network.
ARTICLES BY TOPIC
Advent
Christmas
Lent
Easter
Health & Wellness
Bible Reading
Faith
Joy
Love Jesus
Grief
Press Releases
Advent
Advent: The Gift of the Unexpected
I love Christmas because it is about surprises! We sneak around and buy gifts, then we wrap them and place them under our Christmas trees. There is still a little kid in most of us. Have you ever gotten one of those gifts that totally caught you off guard? Have you ever given a gift that you could hardly keep secret because you knew the person opening it would be so surprised? There is so much joy in watching someone receive a gift they never expected.
Looking for Lights of Christmas
Oh! Think of the possibility if we experience the awe and wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a child. What is it that draws us close to children during the anticipation of what we know as the Advent season? Children are so full of what our hearts should desire....
We Can’t Just Sit There
Jeremiah 23: 5-6 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David [a] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name...
Christmas
Epiphany of Epiphany
I was asked to write this article on Epiphany by Chip, and in all honestly my first question was, “Chip… what is Epiphany?” You see, most of the great folks I work with have a Methodist or Anglican background. I, on the other hand, have a Baptist background, and we Baptists don’t celebrate Epiphany. When I asked Nicolet, “What is Epiphany?” she laughed and said, “Chip probably doesn’t remember you’re a Baptist.”
Unpacking The Nativity for Every Day
Charles Dickens was on to something when, in his novel A Christmas Carol, he described humanity’s journey through the lenses of past, present, and future. The hero (begun as the villain) of the story was Ebenezer Scrooge — a prominent, self-centered, greedy old man. Scrooge despised good cheer and celebrations like Christmas because he had long forgotten the winding roads of his own journey. In doing so, he left behind the avenues of fond memories, lost loves, and compassion for his fellow human beings. You know how the story goes, as Scrooge’s descent into a broken life engaged the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come. Through some not-so-pleasant windows into Scrooge’s life, the spirits convinced him that he needed to change, and motivated his transformation.
Twelve Days
I was having a conversation with a young(ish) pastor about a book the other day, and he mentioned that he and his family were “wrapping up the twelve days of Christmas.” I just looked at him. “Um… how can you be wrapping up the twelve days of Christmas, when they haven’t started yet?” He told me he thought it started on December 13, and wrapped up on the 25th, and didn’t really believe me when I told him the season starts on Christmas morning, and ends on Twelfthnight (January 6). It’s what is called “Christmastide,” and is a celebration that begins with the birth of Jesus and end on Epiphany, the day we celebrate the three kings arriving to meet the baby Jesus. My background is in medieval church history, and I think there are rich Christian traditions surrounding the holiday season that are often overlooked or forgotten. So, just in case you weren’t clear on your church history, I thought it would be good to talk about Christmastide.
Lent
Ordinary Time, Explained
During those times of year when we shift away from the high celebrations of the church, think about how the early followers of Jesus felt as they no longer had the physical presence of their Lord.
Preparing for Holy Week
Holy Week is the centerpiece of the Christian year. During this week, we celebrate the events leading to his crucifixion and resurrection.
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Jesus encourages us to love with real openness and honesty, but such love also brings great vulnerability. By loving and living in a way that we mourn deeply, we open ourselves up to incredible heartache, trouble, and hurt. But! We also draw closer to Jesus, and, with Him, there is potential for great joy because Jesus has overcome the world. (See John 16:33.) In other words, the risk of grief or mourning can be overwhelming. It is not easy to love people to a point where we mourn over hardship and loss. But, through it, God promises life-changing joy if we are willing to take the chance.
Easter
Ordinary Time, Explained
During those times of year when we shift away from the high celebrations of the church, think about how the early followers of Jesus felt as they no longer had the physical presence of their Lord.
Preparing for Holy Week
Holy Week is the centerpiece of the Christian year. During this week, we celebrate the events leading to his crucifixion and resurrection.
Our Comfort in Mourning
As Advent is a season to prepare for the coming of Jesus, Lent is a time to face the reality of death in the world as we look forward to the resurrection power brought to us on Easter. As we sit with the brokenness, death, and suffering we see around us, we can learn from Jesus who took our mourning seriously.
Health and Wellness
Use Visualization to Interact with Scripture
Visualization is a technique that can be helpful in your Christian walk and can be used for Scripture memorization, stress reduction, a more meaningful prayer time, and a more intentional interaction with Scripture.
Practice Makes Progress, Jesus Makes Perfect
So here it is again, a new year-January, 2023. And with the new year all of us are faced with that daunting task of trying to make this a better year than the previous one both for ourselves and for those around us. That usually entails something like New Year’s resolutions. We know they are needed, we know we probably won’t keep them and yet we keep making them. So what is the problem? Is it that we make poor resolutions or that we are just pitiful people and cannot do the right thing no matter how hard we try?
Bible Reading
Discipleship
Jesus did not stutter or make a suggestion. He stated a divine demand: “Make Disciples.” What many believers set aside as optional, Jesus stated as an essential command to be obeyed. When Jesus returns, His first words to His church just might be, “Why aren’t you doing what I demanded?”
Cultural Differentiation
In Daniel 3, every but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. These three men refused to bow down, even though it came on penalty of death (though we know that the Lord delivered them from Nebuchadnezzar’s hand).
He Meets Us Where We Are
When we receive something from someone without seeing our need for it, we tend to be less grateful toward them. We don’t take the gift seriously, and it doesn’t affect our lives as much. A similar result can happen in our relationship with Jesus. He meets us where we are, but if we aren’t in a place where we recognize our need for Him, we can easily brush Him off.
Faith
What Are You Planting?
A few years ago, my husband and I traveled to Montana in April. We were so excited for our trip to fly fish, horseback ride, and hiking- all the great things you do at a ranch. We kept watching the weather thinking it was going to be great weather. The forecast was showing around 70 degrees during the day and in the 50’s at night. We were imagining sitting out by the fire at night, enjoying fishing in the creek with fresh green grass all around us.
Preparing for Lent: A Time for Fearless Inventory of Your Life
Lent is a six-week season of intentional self-denial and focus in preparation for Easter. Many followers of Jesus Christ struggle with understanding the meaning and purpose of Lent. Does it even matter?
Cultural Differentiation
In Daniel 3, every but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. These three men refused to bow down, even though it came on penalty of death (though we know that the Lord delivered them from Nebuchadnezzar’s hand).
Joy
Have a Cup of Cheer
“WOOOOWWWW!” I hear for the 100th time followed by pitter-patter feet as my little girl races towards the Christmas tree. She never gets tired of it. Time after time, we come down the stairs, we round the corner, and her reaction is the same:
Looking for Lights of Christmas
Oh! Think of the possibility if we experience the awe and wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a child. What is it that draws us close to children during the anticipation of what we know as the Advent season? Children are so full of what our hearts should desire....
Love Jesus
What Are You Planting?
A few years ago, my husband and I traveled to Montana in April. We were so excited for our trip to fly fish, horseback ride, and hiking- all the great things you do at a ranch. We kept watching the weather thinking it was going to be great weather. The forecast was showing around 70 degrees during the day and in the 50’s at night. We were imagining sitting out by the fire at night, enjoying fishing in the creek with fresh green grass all around us.
Discipleship
Jesus did not stutter or make a suggestion. He stated a divine demand: “Make Disciples.” What many believers set aside as optional, Jesus stated as an essential command to be obeyed. When Jesus returns, His first words to His church just might be, “Why aren’t you doing what I demanded?”
Preparing for Holy Week
Holy Week is the centerpiece of the Christian year. During this week, we celebrate the events leading to his crucifixion and resurrection.
Grief
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Jesus encourages us to love with real openness and honesty, but such love also brings great vulnerability. By loving and living in a way that we mourn deeply, we open ourselves up to incredible heartache, trouble, and hurt. But! We also draw closer to Jesus, and, with Him, there is potential for great joy because Jesus has overcome the world. (See John 16:33.) In other words, the risk of grief or mourning can be overwhelming. It is not easy to love people to a point where we mourn over hardship and loss. But, through it, God promises life-changing joy if we are willing to take the chance.
Our Comfort in Mourning
As Advent is a season to prepare for the coming of Jesus, Lent is a time to face the reality of death in the world as we look forward to the resurrection power brought to us on Easter. As we sit with the brokenness, death, and suffering we see around us, we can learn from Jesus who took our mourning seriously.
Broken-Hearted: A Lenten Journey
I was lying there looking at a bank of monitors on the wall. They all had images of my heart on them. No, not the little red hearts like valentines, but my beating heart. It was like an out-of-body experience. The medicine I had been given made me feel like I was in a dream.
Press Releases
JourneyWise Network Announces Partnership with Museum of the Bible and its ‘New Testament Experience’
MEMPHIS, TN — The Moore-West Center of Applied Theology and the JourneyWise Network has partnered with Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. as they are set to open the “New Testament Experience”. The “New Testament Experience” is a three-part immersive experience...
He Meets Us Where We Are
When we receive something from someone without seeing our need for it, we tend to be less grateful toward them. We don’t take the gift seriously, and it doesn’t affect our lives as much. A similar result can happen in our relationship with Jesus. He meets us where we are, but if we aren’t in a place where we recognize our need for Him, we can easily brush Him off.
How to Pray for Healing
How should we engage healing prayer? Approaching any type of prayer involves recognizing the comforting reality that Jesus is already interceding on our behalf. This revelation alleviates the pressure of our prayers, our role is similar to a child assisting parents with household chores. What’s truly remarkable is that our imperfect prayers are joined with Jesus’s flawless ones. This connection is rooted in the joy of the gospel, where we exist in Him, and He resides in us, eliminating the need to impress or convince God. Rather than proving ourselves, we align our minds, hearts, and wills with Jesus, who is actively interceding with the Father. It’s a reminder that the Spirit of Christ dwells within us, supporting us as we embark on the journey of prayer.