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The Simplest and Most Difficult Commandment
Although we are in the Fifth Sunday after the resurrection, our gospel passage today comes from shortly before Jesus’ betrayal and execution. Jesus and the disciples are gathered together in an upper room that they rented to spend some time together and to observe the Passover. During this time, Jesus took of his outer robe (like someone…
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Speaking of Sin
That Reformed Blog is a relatively new blog community begun by a group of friends and acquaintances who all try to live out what it means to be “Reformed” in daily life: Ministry, work, marriage, singleness, parenting, and just about everything else. It is a great collective of writers, and I am humbled to be…
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Hump Day Hymns: O Thou from whom all goodness flows
O Thou from whom all goodness flows, I lift my heart to Thee; In all my sorrows, conflicts, woes, O Lord, remember me. When with a broken, contrite heart, I lift mine eyes to Thee; Thy name proclaim, Thyself impart, In love remember me. In sore temptations, when no way To shun the ill I…
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Waiting for the Mail Carrier
There is nothing like the excitement of waiting for a package to arrive in the mail. Internet tracking allows me to see exactly when it is going to arrive, and it is a day which brings eager anticipation. The items in the package are not that exciting, simply utilitarian items. I know what they are,…
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Hump Day Hymns: If Christ is mine, then all is mine
If Christ is mine, then all is mine, And more than angels know; Both present things and things to come, And grace and glory too. If Christ is mine, let friends forsake, And earthly comforts flee; He, the full source of every good, Is more than all to me. If Christ is mine, unharmed I…
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“Do you love me?” – Sunday’s Sermon
It has been quite an emotionally exhausting few days for the disciples. The entry into Jerusalem was followed by extraordinary events in the temple, a Passover meal unlike any other, an intense experience in the Garden of Gethsemane, and unexpected betrayal from one of their own, an armed arrest, a series of denials, a pro…
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Gazing out the window
I have this thing…I need my desk, or wherever I work, to be near a window out of which I can easily see. As I work (read, study, write), I spend a good deal of time gazing out the window. Right now I am looking out of our front window, and there is nothing particularly…
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Hump Day Hymns: Father, whate’er of earthly bliss
Father, whate’er of earthly bliss Thy sov’reign hand denies, Accepted at Thy throne of grace, Let this petition rise. Give me a calm, a thankful heart From every murmur free; The blessings of Thy grace impart, And let me live to Thee. Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine My path of life attend;…
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Seeing with New Eyes
I wonder what Moses saw. After wandering with a rag tag group of refugees recently liberated from slavery, Moses stood atop a mountain and was given a view of the Promised Land, the land that God was giving to this people, the land which he spent so long looking for. But it was also a…
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Pulling Back the Cobwebs
Well, dear readers, I have been absent for a while — a long while — without any explanation. Over a month. Perhaps you may have thought that I have abandoned writing, or abandoned my blog. Neither of these are quite accurate. I have abandoned neither writing nor this blog, I have not been able to…
Matthew van Maastricht
Shepherd of Souls | Spiritual Director | Psychotherapist
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Matthew van Maastricht 