Liz Petruzzi

Tag

All Show, No Go

Pharisees…..the bad guys of the Bible. No one likes Pharisees - the legalistic, narrow minded, religious rulers of Jesus’ day. Shaking their heads and wagging their fingers at Jesus – He healed on the Sabbath, hung out with sinners and His disciples ate without washing their hands. Matthew 15:7-9 (NIV) You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their…

I Keep the Dollar

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.--Matthew 12:36 NIV If there’s a scripture that scares the heck out of me, this is the one. I remind myself I’m forgiven and under grace. The truth is, when I’m giving an account for every careless word I’ve spoken, I’m going to be there a loooong time. I have what I call moments – moments that cause…

Faith Reloaded

“There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” --Morpheus, The Matrix, 1999 I’m about as unlikely a Matrix fan as you’ll ever meet. I avoid violent movies and in general, I’m not a sci-fi fan. In 2006, I was working as a freelance writer/reporter for a branch of Tribune Communications and wrote an article about a young man who started a paintball ministry to reach teenagers for Christ. His favorite movie was The Matrix and in preparation…

What is Love?

Over the years, I’ve worked hard to become emotionally healthier. I’ve participated in counseling, attended groups and taken an Inner Healing Bible Study our church offers. I’ve worked hard to understand what hurts cause hang ups and why I do some of the things I do. In the process of allowing God to heal me, I now desire healthy people and relationships. I don’t want to go on the ferris wheel of crazy with unhealthy people and patterns. I used…

Jesus Calls Me to Cannonball!

“You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward -  just take the next step.” --unknown The Healing at the Pool Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”…

Bad Waiter

I’m really bad at waiting - or rather, I hate to wait. I’m a bad wait-er. I’m a foot tapping, sighing, “oh my gosh, I’m going to die here” wait-er. When I was a kid, the worst possible answer was, “let me think about it” followed by the equally disturbing, “I’ll talk to your father." Every kid knows it's the answer that is no answer. In my faith walk, I’m starting to realize waiting has purpose. [bctt tweet="God isn't a…

God Loves Twinkies

  In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be My disciples. –Luke 14:33 Is it just me or has Western Christianity become a spectator sport? It seems we’ve domesticated our wild, radical Jesus and reduced His call to a Sunday service. In the book, not a fan., Kyle Idleman writes, “And I think Jesus has a lot of fans these days. Fans who cheer for Him when things are going well,…

What Controls Your Life?

“What consumes your mind, controls your life” --Unknown I finished reading, All the Places to Go, How will You know? By John Ortberg. It’s a book about open doors and choices - how to recognize God’s leading. This caused me to reflect on decisions and choices I’ve made or failed to make - stuff that directed or changed my life (if I only went left instead of right). In his book, Ortberg says, “We make decisions, and then we make…

One of Those Believers

“You know how you can pray for me?” asked a non-believer I was talking with, “God save us from your Believers.” Ouch…I’m sorry. I’m sorry you’ve been hurt by us, sorry our churches caused you to feel on the outside. I’m sorry in our zealousness for you to come to belief you were wounded. I’ve done it. I’ve been one of those believers you speak about. When I read my Bible, I notice Jesus never debated with people about who…

I’m No Saint

I saw him the moment we walked in the gym – an older man watching my son. When you have a kid with disabilities, it isn’t unusual for people to stare or watch them. My son, Joey, is often stared at – I typically feel we are the stage show of the waiting room. The way I handle this depends on the day. Sometimes I engage them, other times I ignore it or if it’s really obnoxious, I might position…