The Cross should offend the world by the extremity of its love—not Christians by the poverty of theirs “Always consider the other person to be better than yourself.” — Philippians 2:3 There is a scandal that belongs to Christianity. God becomes man. The Creator kneels before the creature. The Sinless One sits among sinners. The Judge refuses to condemn the woman thrown at His feet. The Lord washes the feet of those who will abandon Him. And when nails are driven through His h

Abiding in Christ when there is nothing left to hold “Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord is an everlasting rock.” — Isaiah 26:4 There comes a time when prayer is no longer chiefly something we say. It becomes where we stand. The Name of Jesus ceases to be one devotion among others, one practice among many, and becomes the place where the heart abides when it no longer knows where else to go. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Perhaps this is why the Name m

The Name Above Every Name: The Revelation of Christ in the Heart The Jesus Prayer and the Life of Communion I am grateful to share that The Name Above Every Name: The Jesus Prayer and the Life of Communion is now available, the second volume in a series exploring the wisdom of the Christian desert and the recovery of the inner life. The first book, The Monastic Heart and the Future of the Church: Recovering the Inner Kingdom in an Age of Fragmentation, began with a conviction

The Jesus Prayer begins not with our search for God, but with the discovery that He has already drawn near. “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” — Philippians 2:10 There comes a moment in the life of prayer when the Name of Jesus begins to mean something different to us. At first, perhaps, we simply say it. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” We repeat the words because we have been taught that the Jesus Pray

When the Name of Jesus Becomes the Place Where the Heart Abides “You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake; but he who endures to the end will be saved.” — Matthew 10:22 There is something almost frightening in the simplicity with which the Lord speaks these words. He does not tell His disciples that they will be misunderstood because they have failed to explain themselves adequately. He does not suggest that hostility will disappear if they become sufficiently winsome,