Thin Places in the New York Times!

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

As you may know, I’m in the middle of a series of blog posts focusing on thin places. I’m trying to examine the concept of thin places from the point of view of biblical theology. So, as you might expect, I have thin places on my mind. How surprised I was to see that thin places have also been on the mind of the New York Times. One of my readers added a comment (thanks Rhstigge!) alerting me to the... Read more

Lenten Devotional Doodle for Monday, March 12

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

Living in God’s Presence: Inspiration from the High Calling

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

Living in God’s Presence Psalm 116:1-19 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. And so I walk in the LORD’s presence as I live here on earth! Psalm 116:8-9 Recently, I’ve been thinking about what it means to live all of the time in God’s presence. I’m not focusing on the fact that God is always present in my life. This is a given, a wondrous implication of God’s grace. He is always... Read more

Lenten Devotional Doodle for Sunday, March 11

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

Lenten Devotional Doodle for Saturday, March 10

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

More Thin Places in Exodus

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

In my last post, I examined Mt. Sinai as a thin place, that is, a place where God is experienced with unusual propinquity. (Now there’s a word I haven’t used or even thought of in about thirty years. “Propinquity” means “proximity.” It is the state of being physically close to someone or something.) If ever there was a thin place, this would have to be Sinai, because that’s where God first revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush, and... Read more

Lenten Devotional Doodle for Friday, March 9

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

Mt. Sinai as a Thin Place

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

If a thin place is defined as a place where God’s presence is known with particular immediacy, then there are several stunning thin places in Exodus . . . sort of. As we’ll see, they don’t exactly seem to fit the definition, though they certainly are thin. Moses and the Burning Bush at the Mountain of God In Exodus 3, Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flock when he came to “Horeb, the mountain of God” (3:1; Mt. Horeb is more... Read more

Lenten Devotional Doodle for Thursday, March 8

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

The First Thin Place

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm By Mark D. Roberts

Today, I want to begin some theological reflection on the idea of thin places. As usual, I will get into the theological issues by examining relevant biblical passages. My question, at this point, is “How does Scripture lead us to think about the idea of thin places?” In case you missed my first post in this series, let me explain once again that thin place is a metaphor with Celtic Christian origins. A thin place, in this tradition, is a... Read more