Lynne Baab
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Love fulfills the law, parts 3 and 4
Lynne Baab • Thursday June 18 2026
Overall theme from January until next month: God’s law is love
Lesson 11: Love fulfills the law, parts 3 and 4 (1 Corinthians 13:8-13; Romans 13:8-10)
Key verse: The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9
God’s character and actions
Movies, TV shows, novels, children’s books, and many other forms of media present diverse pictures of love. We see erotic love, romantic love, love for country, and love between friends. We hear about sacrificial love and loving people enough to...
Read full article »Love fulfills the law, parts 1 and 2
Lynne Baab • Friday June 12 2026
Overall theme for the next few weeks: God’s law is love
Lesson 11: Love fulfills the law, parts 1 and 2 (1 Corinthians 13:8-13; Romans 13:8-10)
Key verse: The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9
Stepping into the Word
Four rivers flow together to form the Jordan River. One of the rivers originates in northern Israel in a spring in Banias, a town known as Caesarea Philippi in Jesus’s time, where Peter was the first person to call Jesus...
Read full article »The Sabbath, the law, and love, parts 3 and 4
Lynne Baab • Tuesday February 3 2026
Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love
Lesson 2, parts 3 and 4:The Sabbath, the law, and love (for parts 1 and 2, look here.)
Passage: Luke 14:1-6
Key verse: Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?” But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Luke 14:3-4
3. Reframing the Sabbath
Some Christians have argued that Jesus abolished the Sabbath, but most scholars argue that he redefined and reshaped it, returning it back to God’s original intent: a day of feasting and enjoyment that reflects the abundant love of...
Read full article »The Sabbath, the law, and love, parts 1 and 2
Lynne Baab • Tuesday January 27 2026
Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love
Lesson 2, parts 1 and 2: The Sabbath, the law, and love
Passage: (Luke 14:1-6)
Key verse: Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?” But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Luke 14:3-4
2. Stepping into the Word
Imagine that you want to be healthier, so you decide to try to eat more vegetables. You wonder how to approach this commitment. Should you count the vegetables you eat? Should you make a list of different kinds of vegetables and try to...
Read full article »
Almost Peaceful: My Journey of Healing from Binge Eating
I've never written a book like this before! A personal story with photos from my life and Dave Baab's beautiful watercolors. I pray it will bring encouragement and healing to readers.
Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest
Sabbath Keeping is Lynne's most popular book, available in paperback, audiobook, and for Kindle. Grounded in her 18 months living in Israel, it is practical, biblical, and reflective about why rest matters so much today.
Meeting God in Grief and Gratitude
Lynne Baab • Wednesday January 22 2025
By Lynne M. Baab, author of Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeNurturing a contemplative stance for navigating challenging times
Lynne Baab • Friday August 11 2023
By Lynne M. BaabYes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.
Lynne Baab • Saturday October 9 2021
By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021
Lynne M. Baab, Ph.D., is an author and adjunct professor. She has written numerous books, Bible study guides, and articles for magazines and journals. Lynne is passionate about prayer and other ways to draw near to God, and her writing conveys encouragement for readers to be their authentic selves before God. She encourages experimentation and lightness in Christian spiritual practices. Read more »
Quick links:
- Two latest books: Draw Near: A Lenten Devotional and Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide (illustrated with Dave Baab's beautiful watercolors)
- Most popular book, Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (audiobook, paperback, and kindle)
- quick overview of all Lynne's books
- more than 50 articles Lynne has written for magazines on listening, Sabbath, fasting, spiritual growth, resilience for ministry, and congregational communication
You can listen to Lynne talk about these topics:
"Lynne's writing is beautiful. Her tone has such a note of hope and excitement about growth. It is gentle and affirming."
— a reader
"Dear Dr. Baab, You changed my life. It is only through God’s gift of the sabbath that I feel in my heart and soul that God loves me apart from anything I do."
— a reader of Sabbath Keeping
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Featured posts
- Drawing Near to God with the Heart: first post of a series »
- Quotations I love: Henri Nouwen on being beloved »
- Worshipping God the Creator: the first post of a series »
- Sabbath Keeping a decade later: the first post of a series »
- Benedictine spirituality: the first post of a series »
- Celtic Christianity: the first post of a series »
- Holy Listening »
- A Cat with a Noble Character »
- Welcome to my website »
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Archive
- June 2026 (4)
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July 2025 (6)
- Praying about the flow of time: Praying about AND — again
- Praying about the flow of time: Praying for our ordinary lives
- Praying about the flow of time: Wind and water
- Praying about the flow of time: Paying attention to our stories
- What I learned from the past year's blog posts
- First post in a new series: Journey
- June 2025 (4)
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- December 2024 (3)
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November 2024 (5)
- Praying about the flow of time: Small actions with big benefits
- Praying about the flow of time: The overlap of the sacred and the ordinary
- Praying about the flow of time: The joy of the kingdom of God
- Praying about the flow of time: Advent can be confusing
- Praying about the flow of time: Why Jesus had to come
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October 2024 (5)
- Praying about the flow of time: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year
- Praying about the flow of time: A month of celebrating renewal and moral responsibility
- Praying about the flow of time: The Feast of Tabernacles calls us to stay fluid and flexible
- Praying about the flow of time: Daily rhythms of prayer
- Praying about the flow of time: All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day
- September 2024 (3)
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March 2024 (5)
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying about distractions from empathy
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying to keep empathy flowing
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Everyday initiative
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying for guidance for ending conversations
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Reflecting on the series
- February 2024 (4)
- January 2024 (2)
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December 2023 (6)
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Initiating
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying about listening roadblocks
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying to love the poverty in our friends
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying for “holy curiosity”
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying for “holy listening”
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying to give affection extravagantly
- November 2023 (4)
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October 2023 (5)
- Friendship, loneliness and prayer: A listening skill with two purposes
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Saying “thank you” to friends
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: One more way reflecting helps us
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Lessons from two periods of loneliness
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Types of reflecting, a listening skill
- September 2023 (4)
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- July 2023 (5)
- June 2023 (3)
- May 2023 (6)
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- December 2022 (5)
- November 2022 (1)
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August 2022 (6)
- Draw near: Confessing sin without wallowing
- Draw near: A favorite prayer about peace, freedom, and much more
- Drawing near with Desmond Tutu: God’s love is the foundation for prayer
- Draw near: Worshipping God with Desmond Tutu
- Draw near: Yearning, beseeching and beholding with Desmond Tutu
- Draw near: Praising God with Desmond Tutu
- July 2022 (2)
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- December 2020 (5)
- November 2020 (3)
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- July 2020 (5)
- June 2020 (4)
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May 2020 (4)
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of separating thoughts from feelings
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of welcoming prayer
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: a kite string as a lifeline
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of God’s distant future
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April 2020 (7)
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: the lifeline of God’s constancy
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of accepting my place as a clay jar
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: the lifeline of memories
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: the lifeline of “Good” in “Good Friday”
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of “easier does not mean easy”
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of nature
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: the lifeline of God’s voice through the Bible
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March 2020 (7)
- Important anniversaries in 2020: The first Earth Day in 1970
- Important anniversaries in 2020: Florence Nightingale was born in 1820
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: Weeks 1 and 2
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: God's grace as a lifeline
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: The lifeline of limits on thoughts
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: Wrestling with God for a blessing
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: Responding to terror by listening to Jesus voice
- February 2020 (4)
- January 2020 (5)
- December 2019 (4)
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- March 2019 (4)
- February 2019 (4)
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January 2019 (5)
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Jesus as Friend
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Friendship with Christ and friendship with others
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Who is my neighbor?
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Friendship as action
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Hymns that describe friendship with God
- December 2018 (3)
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November 2018 (5)
- Connections between the Bible and prayer: Sensory prayer in Revelation
- First post in a new series: Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Strong opinions and responses
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: My conversation partners about friendship
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Two views about communication technologies
- October 2018 (4)
- September 2018 (4)
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August 2018 (5)
- Providing Christian Care in Our Time
- Providing Christian care in our time: Seven trends in pastoral care today
- Providing Christian Care in Our Time: Skills for Pastoral Care
- Providing Christian care: The importance of spiritual practices
- First post in a new series: Connections between the Bible and prayer
- July 2018 (4)
- June 2018 (4)
- May 2018 (5)
- April 2018 (4)
- March 2018 (5)
- February 2018 (4)
- January 2018 (4)
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- November 2017 (4)
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- August 2017 (4)
- July 2017 (4)
- June 2017 (4)
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May 2017 (5)
- My new spiritual practice: Separating thoughts from feelings
- My new spiritual practice: Feeling the feelings
- My new spiritual practice: Coping with feelings that want to dominate
- My new spiritual practice: Dealing with “demonic” thoughts
- My new spiritual practice: Is self-compassion really appropriate for Christians?
- April 2017 (4)
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