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‘I witnessed God’s glory in every broken life.’ Living Waters participant We just finished our Living Waters group at St. Thomas More’s in Kansas City. It was a hard group–a handful dropped out and the deep needs that remained in the group seemed overwhelming. It helped that we met in the sanctuary where we were constantly drawn up into the huge Crucifix above the altar, a reminder that He was assuming the unbearable. Just below, we raised a 10-feet image of the Divine Mercy

A tough woman careful to avoid the gaze of others hears a man asking for her help. She turns toward Him. Jesus needs water, yes, but more than that He wants to give her what she needs—mercy that will well up from her depths and satisfy her forever. We discover her morally broken state later on in JN 4; all that matters now is that Love has come to her and that Love alone can make her whole. Chastity is all about wholeness. Far from the pale and passive face we ascribe to it,

‘Be angry; don’t sin.’ (Eph. 4:26) Anger cuts both ways. It can incite one to drive idols from the Father’s house; it can drive others to fill that house with idolatry. We each face resistance to what we perceive as worthy goals. It helps to access the passion that motivates us to go against the grain. Anger may activate us to bore a hole through the hard wood of injustice, or at least what we perceive as unjust. Maybe that’s the catch. What begins as ‘justice’ may devolve in

I grieve for the church. I grieve that the church offends God by misusing His Name. Mostly I grieve for the young homosexual Christian who no longer has any clear direction and truth to follow. I grieve with everything within me. Ole was among the first international interns we had at Desert Stream in the early nineties. A same-sex struggler, he fought hard for his healing. Now alongside his wife and many children, Ole fights for the freedom of same-sex strugglers throughout

Jesus’ humiliation has been eclipsed with glory. So is ours, as we testify of how His mercy has washed us and solidified the new creation. Over lunch the other day, a friend recounted his healing story. To do so, he began with his shame, which was founded upon a history of early childhood sexual abuse. Staggering into young adulthood with same-sex attraction, he sought the help of two pastors who abused him sexually and spiritually. He vowed to trust no-one. Yet he knew Jesus

Obama’s ‘gay marriage’ commitment is hypocritical and an affront to true justice. He vows ‘gay marriage’ then jets to Hollywood where a band of celebrities who mock marriage give the president $15 million for championing ‘gay marriage’. (Do Clooney, Pitt, etc. hope that same-sex couples will be more monogamous than they have been?) Or perhaps these celebs and their president know what ‘married’ gay sex columnist Dan Savage does. He implores all couples to follow the tendency

As one who shares that struggle, I often feel like the rather clueless disciples, stumbling about in the dark with the risen Christ. Disoriented by mixed signals from the church and world, ‘harassed at every turn’ (2 Cor 7:5), I fail to see Him among us. And yet in blessed moments, He opens our eyes and we see Him as He is. His tender power surpasses our deepest need and transcends moral abstractions. In an instant we realize that our need is only Him—His Real Presence, the l

This is the seventh and concluding post of my Holy Week Meditations for 2012. Please click here for the archive list of posts. Annette and I, as well as the staff here at Desert Stream Ministries, wish you a deeply blessed Easter. He is Risen! — Why was Mary Magdalene the first disciple Jesus entrusted with His resurrection? According to John’s Gospel, Peter and John raced to the empty tomb but could not comprehend Christ resurrected. Both John the Beloved and Peter the Rock

Mary Magdalene anoints the feet of Jesus Christ, watched by the apostles. Original Artwork: Engraving by W Greatbach after the painting by Rubens. (Photo by Spencer Arnold/Getty Images) This is the fourth post of my Holy Week Meditations for 2012. Please click here for the archive list of posts as they become available. — Intimate Authority: Holy Week Meditations, 4 Mary Magdalene, in her recognition and reliance upon her Merciful Deliverer, became authoritative in holy love.

— Intimate Authority: Holy Week Meditations, 3 Intimacy with Jesus made an ex-prostitute the bearer of the most important event in human history. God entrusted a woman, not one of the 12, with Christ’s resurrection. That’s why the Roman Catholic Church names Mary Magdalene the ‘Apostle of Apostles.’ Mary’s surrender to Christ was marked by weeping and lingering, two earmarks of loving another with all one’s heart. Such sustained intimacy gave Mary authority. Such reliance on

— Merciful Eyes 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 38 To see the image of God in every sister—all love of neighbor must flow from this motive. (861) May I never boast except in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world…what counts is a new creation. Peace and Mercy to all who follow this rule. (Gal. 6: 14-16) Jesus, grant us merciful sight for the lost and deeply loved. Anchor our sight in the truth of

— Mercy for the Church 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 34 What a joy it is to be a faithful child of the Church! O how much I love Holy Church and all those who live in it! I look upon them as living members of Christ, who is their Head. I burn with love with those You love; I suffer with those who suffer. I am consumed with sorrow with those who are cold and ungrateful. (511) Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to those through whom they

— Urgency and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 31 I have eternity for punishing sinners, and so I am prolonging the time of Mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them who do not recognize this time of My visitation! (1160) A strange power has been pushing me into action, not giving me a moment’s peace. A strange ardor has been lit in my heart, urging me to action and I cannot stop it. (569) What business is it of mine to judge those outside of the Chur

Please join us in Spirit (or in person) as we fight for marriage (and a new generation) in Washington State on Friday, February 3, from 4-7pm (pst) at Hillcrest Chapel, 1400 Larrabee, Bellingham, WA, 98225. For more info, contact Ann Armstrong at aarmstrong@desertstream.org. Young Lungs for Marriage As the Washington State Legislature strives to adopt ‘gay marriage’, let us raise our voices to declare the truth that never changes and that always brings hope. Hope for the inte

I wanted you to know that on Easter (April 2011) this past year I was confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church. That significant decision began three years ago and involved two rounds of RCIA (the adult catechism course), wise counsel, and much prayer. I want to emphasize that my decision is a personal one. Desert Stream Ministries has not become Catholic; it remains ecumenical and will continue to serve a variety of churches, mostly evangelical, which seek to minister to broke

— Merciful Eyes ‘To see the image of God in every sister—all love of neighbor must flow from this motive.’ (861) How we see others must be anchored in how God sees them. ‘To love a person means to see him as God intends him to be,’ in the words of Dostoevsky. Above all else, God wants us to walk in the dignity of bearing His image and likeness. That means all men and women represent Him in their humanity; such a high call distinguishes us from the rest of creation. Sin may ha

— Mercy for a Broken Church ‘Observing myself and those who are close to me, I have come to understand how great an influence I have on other souls, not by heroic deeds, but by small actions like the movement of a hand, a look, and many other things too numerous to mention, which effect and reflect in the souls of others.’ (1475) We as the Church have been tainted and shamed by her sexual brokenness. St. Faustina is right: the holiness and hellishness of each member impact th

— Mercy for the Church ‘What a joy it is to be a faithful child of the Church! O how much I love Holy Church and all those who live in it! I look upon them as living members of Christ, who is their Head. I burn with love with those You love; I suffer with those who suffer. I am consumed with sorrow with those who are cold and ungrateful.’ (511) Above all, St. Faustina was a child of the Church. She regarded the Church as she regarded herself—the least yet much loved member of

— Urgency and Mercy ‘I have eternity for punishing sinners, and so I am prolonging the time of Mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them who do not recognize this time of My visitation! (1160) ‘A strange power has been pushing me into action, not giving me a moment’s peace. A strange ardor has been lit in my heart, urging me to action and I cannot stop it.’ (569) How can we not experience the disquiet of St. Faustina? We live between the ‘now’ of Mercy and the ‘not yet’

— Humility and Mercy ‘God has surrounded me with His special Mercy precisely because I am the weakest of all people.’ (1099) ‘Humility is nothing but the truth.’ (1502) Mercy opens our eyes to the Creator who upon the Cross gave us everything. Mercy opens our eyes to the magnificence of our God. In the light of His splendor, our only honest response is humility. He created all yet we are but one of a billion created beings—humbling. He never sinned yet He gave up everything t