Tag: Hope

We Need Forgiveness, ALL THE TIME!

Published on by Dominick Santore2 Comments

One of the most regular, and familiar parts of the current contemporary mainstream evangelical church service is the altar call.

Whether for first time believers walking the aisle wanting to hand their lives over to Jesus, or old mainstays in the church that go up for prayer for some sin or struggle in their life. Inevitably, and without fail, there will always be those repeat offenders that return week after week. Those repeaters run the aisle after every service, needing prayer for the same thing again. Continue reading “We Need Forgiveness, ALL THE TIME!” →

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A Journey, The Struggle, And Encouragement

Published on by Dominick SantoreLeave a comment

“Life is a journey” We hear that a lot.

From TV and movies, to fluffy little news pieces,  to quaint concise sayings on Twitter and Facebook, these can all seem like bold declarations of “finding direction for your life.” It’s all around us. Frankly, I’ve never been more tired of it. But, there is some truth to the initial saying. It’s just with so much media access, it can seem like overkill, as well as beyond confusing because every person with a blog, TV show, or conference wants to tell you what that journey is supposed to be about.  I guess this could be counted as one more. I mean, I’m not really going to tell you what that specific journey is, or how to achieve nirvana by following it. I’m just going to quickly(or not so quickly), tell you about one of the journeys I’m on and maybe it will encourage you, and maybe just maybe it will be so awful you’ll puke. Either way at least I’m getting a reaction. Continue reading “A Journey, The Struggle, And Encouragement” →

Loving God or Creating an Idol?

Published on by Dominick Santore2 Comments

Is it possible that we make an idol out of loving God?

I wrote last week on the concept of being “so heavenly-minded that you’re no earthly good”, which you can read HERE. I think it’s a ridiculous expression, and the heart behind saying it is a form of idolatry. I don’t know what it might look like in practice but I imagine to some extent it’s a circling of the wagons. It is cutting yourself off from the world to protect yourself and maybe your family from the dangers lurking behind every crevice of this sin-infested habitat.(as if that’ll work) In reality, being so heavenly-minded you are no earthly good means that you might not be very heavenly-minded to begin with. This brings me to my original question born from that previous article: Continue reading “Loving God or Creating an Idol?” →

A New Snow, A Saving Grace*

Published on by Dominick SantoreLeave a comment

*This was written last winter, but it still applies… I hope you enjoy it. 

While in the midst of cursing this winter that never seems to end, I was confronted in my mind with a particular insight as I watched the snow come down this morning. As snowfalls go, this has been one of my favorites. The giant drifting snowflakes gently coming down remind me of the manna falling from heaven to feed God’s own people. The flakes so large, look as if they’re of a greater, tangible substance and not just water that melts away in the warmth of your hands. There’s no wind blowing violently to turn it into an icy sheet and the weather is just warm enough for you to stand outside and enjoy it without having to rush back in. This is the kind of snow you want to see on Christmas Eve. It is “Postcard Perfect” in the way it falls and in the way it lies on ground before people go about the business of brushing it all aside. Continue reading “A New Snow, A Saving Grace*” →

On The Edge Of Sin

Published on by Dominick SantoreLeave a comment

We’d like to think sin is hidden away where no one can see it, but it’s not. It’s not simply done in the darkness that comes with the night, but in the darkness of our hearts and minds in the middle of the day. There are days that I walk oblivious to it all. Not paying attention to my surroundings. There are other days, where the darkness screams out at me from others all around. It’s not my judgement of them, but what I so acutely recognize of myself in what I see. I see the hiddenness of sin with a foothold in the daylight. I see what was once hidden away now embraced by a world tainted by the thistles and thorns of hell. Continue reading “On The Edge Of Sin” →

Me Too…

Published on by Dominick Santore4 Comments

(Originally written in 2015 – and sadly still relevant for me too)

As I began this post, It’s the Saturday morning before Christmas and I’m tucked away in a corner booth in a local diner all by myself. While I wait for my eggs, I go for the comfort food of choice, Rice Krispies. It doesn’t have quite the same “snap, crackle, pop” I remember, but it’s a wonderful connection to memories past. Something about hearing those sounds and feeling the airy crunch makes me long for no responsibility except waking up early enough for Saturday morning cartoons. Continue reading “Me Too…” →

“Perish” The Thought

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 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.  And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.  And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”  And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”  –  Matthew 8:23-27

Have you ever felt like you were at the end of your rope? That if something didn’t happen soon, you’d feel like you “just can’t go on”, “everything is ruined” or “your going to just die”? Maybe you’re thinking, “I need something to happen in my life to remove  this feeling of dread, of utter despair! God, why don’t you do something!” Continue reading ““Perish” The Thought” →

Hypocrisy From A Hypocrite (or Just Another Nut Talking!)

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I am a hypocrite.

For so many reasons that I don’t care to mention, it’s what I am. Right now, in this moment, I’m a hypocrite for calling you one for calling out other people as hypocrites. The irony is tangible. This will probably go down in the decades, years, umm, months of blogging as a “rant”. I can live with that. I’m just a little tired of all the people who love to assess a person, group or situation without first looking at themselves so that maybe they might choose their words wisely or wisely just shut up! Again, I know I’m just as guilty and probably more so. Continue reading “Hypocrisy From A Hypocrite (or Just Another Nut Talking!)” →

Stop! Rest! It’s OK!

Published on by Dominick SantoreLeave a comment

So I was considering a sermon I heard recently about “rest.” Specifically, resting in Christ and how by our very nature, rest can be difficult for us. We don’t like to rest, even on vacation. We use that time to squeeze so many activities into it, that by the time we are done “resting” we need a, umm …rest. We are just not built that way. Could this be a result of that fleshy, sinful nature that demands we be our own savior? Maybe. We certainly don’t like to leave our fate in the hands of anyone else. Even when we become Christians, busyness and work seem to follow us and we are not necessarily disappointed. In a way, it gives us the feeling that we are contributing to our salvation(whether we outwardly admit it our not) or in the least doing our part to show God, “we’re with the plan.” Continue reading “Stop! Rest! It’s OK!” →