MSI Press Blog

  (The divine works in mysterious ways. I was looking at the mountains this morning. I don't know exactly what I was looking for, but I thought that was the place to look. And then this came up in my memories. It was the first piece I had published in a newspaper following the book [ A Theology for the Rest of Us ]. Besides the comforting thought, I had the distinct impression the divine was stifling a laugh.) When young children are hurt or sad, they want a kiss to make it better. Or a hug. Yes, hugs can work well, too. And ice cream. Ice cream is the best. As adults, however, we know that whatever the injury or problem, kissing it is not going to make anything better. It is ironic that there is so much pop psychology advice that, especially in times of crisis, we need to connect with our inner child. Idyllic notions of childhood aside, the truth is that childhood is often about feeling powerless and ever so small. There is a reason why children are so taken with dinosaurs. Dinosa...

  Excerpt: THE WOMAN WHO TOUCHED JESUS (Gospel account in Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:24-34: Luke 9:43-48)   A large crowd was following Jesus, pressing around him. A woman crept up quietly, trying to touch him. This dear lady had an internal bleeding disorder. For twelve years, she’d suffered under the care of many doctors and spent all her money to pay them. But, instead of getting better, she grew worse. She’d heard of Jesus. So, she pressed through the crowd and slipped up behind him, thinking, “If I only touch his clothes, I’ll be healed.” As soon as she touched his cloak, she felt the bleeding stop. Background This brave lady risked public humiliation by approaching Jesus unbidden. Women of her day were often not treated with dignity. She knew she would likely be ridiculed, but she was enough desperate to choose to face the consequences. The disciples would not be sympathetic. They fancied themselves to be Jesus’ palace guards, shooing the riffraff away, especially women an...

This book contains 100 miracles from the Gospels -- and similar true-story miracles for today, for a total of 400 (!!) miracles described, explained, and discussed in the book, with questions for individual or group reflection. Here is one of those miracles with its modern-day counterparts: A BIG FISH STORY  (Gospel account in Luke 5:1-11)  Peter and Andrew were fishermen by trade. They’d caught thousands of fish and no doubt loved to swap fish stories with their friends, but this particular fish story topped them all. Here is what happened: One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to hear this charismatic street preacher. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge—their owners had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. Then he sat down in the boat and continued teaching the people. When he finished speaking, he s...

Sent to the printer today: Jesus Is Still Passing By by award-winning author J. Bennett Easterling. Look for pre-orders on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as early as next week. This is a great book for individual devotions and for group study. From the Bible: 36 miracles, each explicated by Easterling in a background information section. Every miracle of Jesus in days of yore finds three (!) parallels in real life stories from today.Reflection questions that cause pondering and self-development accompany each of these life applications -- in all, well more than 100 study, reflection, and discussion questions. A rich resource for all Christians and those wanting to know more about the Christian religion.