Have you noticed people are becoming more and more inconsiderate out in public? If not, can I come live where you live?
An argument for why Christians should strongly consider not voting in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Multiple times, Jesus was asked to “Go Away” in his ministry. Let’s look at why.
I don't know about you, but sometimes I have moments that cause me to say something along the lines of "Seriously, God?"
When some things (or everything) simply doesn't make sense in my life, I quickly discover a bit of entitlement I hold in my heart - that God owes me a life that makes sense, or at least an explanation when it doesn't.
I know this is completely contrary to many scriptural examples, but sometimes I'm way too selfish to care.
One of my hobbies is trying to manipulate God.
I don't think it's a particularly healthy hobby, and it's certainly not a productive one, but what can I say? I'm really self centered, and like a car with a "pull" to one side or the other, I often find myself drifting over the line into this silly behavior when I'm not fully engaged in living an emotionally and relationally healthier life which Jesus calls me to.
My goal in the deals I offer God is to make what I'm offering so helpful, so useful to God, that God would have to be crazy to say no. And since we know God isn't crazy, it basically a full proof plan.
To steal from the Godfather, I make God an offer he can't refuse.
I don't know who came up with the phrase, "sticks and stone can break my bones, but words can never hurt me", but that person was at best gravely mistaken and at worst delusional.
Words are perhaps the most powerful thing in our world. I find support for this idea in the scriptures:
The creation narrative of Genesis involves God speaking to give purpose to all he has created.
John opens his Gospel by drawing a direct parallel between God and the Word of God.
Words draw their power from the fact they come from the essence of who we are.
When I say, "I love you" or "I hate you" or "I forgive you", I'm revealing the very core of my being - things that exist far deeper than the level of my intellect. It's conveying a part of who I am.
Matthew at one point records Jesus explaining to a crowd who believed that ritual eating laws led to holiness, "It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth." (Matthew 15:11)
Sticks and stones indeed...words are far more like weapons of mass destruction - or at least they can be.
I was talking with a good friend recently and he asked me a good question: What's the difference between having hope in God during a difficult time and simply putting our own expectations on God?
Hope is clearly supposed to be an important part of a life of faith. According to Paul, it's one of the three most important things in life, but expectations can be a killer.
So what's the difference between hope and just making a list that I want God to complete?
God has created each of us for a purpose, yet the very nature of God's engagement with this world - through mysterious and confusing uses of his power - often leads us wondering if we're totally out of step with what God is doing in us and through us.
I usually tell God that if I only knew what he was up to, I'd be good to go. But unless I think I'm a better person than people like John the Baptist and Esther, I'm probably just fooling myself.
Let me explain...
Recently, I came across a line which the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Philippi: "I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!" (Philippians 3:10 emphasis mine)
What the heck?
Why would Paul say he wants to suffer with Jesus?
I love Jesus. I would prefer to love Jesus without great pain or suffering or loss, if given the choice.
All of this leads me to ask a question: Is there a redemptive value in suffering?
God has a habit of not doing what I want, when I want, how I want.
That's probably a good thing seeing as how God is way smarter than I am and way more loving than I am.
Seriously. God loves me, my family, and the whole world; and he promises that he'll make everything come together for a good result.
If I really believe that last sentence, I'm never going to worry about a thing. Turns out sometimes I have a hard time believing that last sentence, because I wrestle with worry pretty often.
I seem to have two choices: get on board with the reality of a place of eternal torment or ignore the whole thing as best I can.
I'm not the kind to ignore stuff, and I can't get happy about the first option, so here are some perspectives I apply to the concept of hell as I try to put it into proper perspective in my life of faith:
Evangelism.
When you see that word, what do you think?
Do you picture a guy with a bullhorn?
Do you picture yourself telling the lady sitting next to you on the plane about how she's heading for hell?
Is it the 'Jesus sales pitch' you learned in Sunday school complete with visual examples, like your keyring?
I gotta tell you, I don't get excited by any of those situations. Let me explain why: I love genuine relationships and chances to build community with people. But when somebody has an ulterior motive, it ruins the chance for relationship.
If you start telling me about how you think I'd be a great sales rep for your multilevel marketing business, we're probably done talking. I don't think you're interested in me, I think you're interested in what you can get out of me.
But on the flip side, I take Jesus seriously, and he talks about making disciples throughout the world. So how can I spread the Good News of Jesus without coming across as a disingenuous huckster?
In the last couple of years, conversations about race in America have gotten louder and more inflamed than they have ever been since my adulthood (I was 14 when the LA riots happened in the aftermath of the LAPD-Rodney King incident).
From Trayvon to Ferguson to Eric Garner to Freddie Gray, the conversation has been growing, especially on social media.
Hoodies. Hands up, don't shoot. I can't breathe. Black Lives Matter.
As a white man living in a suburb, what am I supposed to do with all this? Anyone who isn't white may be disheartened to hear this, but It would be pretty easy for me to ignore all this.
Well, I didn't win the $1.5 billion Powerball.
You can tell because I'm not writing this from my new gold plated space shuttle.
I know some people will have a problem with this, but I bought a ticket. I never for a minute thought I would actually win. The reason I bought it was so that my family could enjoy the entertainment of the 'what would we do with it' conversations.
I’m not too disappointed that I did not win, because the thing is - that much money would probably ruin my life.
Forgiving is hard. Jesus wouldn't lead us to do this just because he wanted us to be miserable. If Jesus calls us to do something hard, it's because it is the path to something better - the path to a fuller life
Forgiving people who have wronged or harmed you or a loved one is difficult, but life giving.
Let's look at the reasons why you should forgive someone who harms you.
Breaking News: we have a presidential election occurring here in the US later this year.
You may have missed it, or perhaps you noticed a web article about it.
Or newspaper article. Or magazine article. Or a TV commercial. Or news coverage. Or trending twitter topics. Or one of the debates. Or a billboard. Or a robo-call to your phone. Or unending posts about it on your Facebook feed.
It’s hard to miss, is what I’m getting at here.
My question is this: in the midst of often 'spirited' debates, how can Christians debate and discuss who to vote for and retain our identity as the Body of Christ?
I recently got the chance to do a radio interview on a show called The Forum with George Penk on Life FM in New Zealand. It was a lot of fun talking with George and getting a chance to interact around some ideas which I have written about recently!
The topic from our first broadcasted conversation is around 'Loving Your Enemy'.
On this Valentine's Day, when we celebrate love, let's also remember that Jesus challenges us to be WAY more loving than any of us would choose if left to our own ways and means.
Check it out!
On Valentine's Day, kids give and receive cards to one another. Restaurants are filled with couples. Those of us who are in relationships (and wish to remain in them) purchase cards, candy, flowers, etc and give them to those who we love.
It is a celebration of love, as evidenced by all the hearts and cherubs adorning the seasonal aisle in our local stores.
I'm not here to complain about the holiday. Love is a wonderful concept for us to celebrate, and the opportunity to give nice notes and gifts to others (even at a huge markup) is a good thing.
But love is more than red hearts and naked baby angels. It's more than spending quality time with a special someone.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul tells us just how much more:
Deciding what religion (if any) to adhere to seems like a risky proposition.
I mean, what if you don’t pick the right one? If you pick the wrong one, does everyone else basically get to hear the losing horn from “Price is Right” in the afterlife — if there is one?
I happen to be a follower of Jesus, and I really do believe the things He says about God and the nature of reality. I have found a fullness of life which I simply didn’t have before making the choice to believe in Jesus. I’m never going back.
But if you are not currently a follower of Jesus, I can totally understand why you might hesitate to make a commitment. So allow me to consider what it means if people who take Jesus at His word are just flat out wrong.
Around the New Year, many of us probably jump in on a Bible reading plan. Reading through the Bible in one year is a great goal. Challenging, but not impossible, builds a positive habit, and seems like it will have some good results associate with it. But once the exciting days of Genesis and Exodus are behind you, you find yourself moving into Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and oh man I don't know if this was such a good idea.
From animal sacrifices to genocide to prophets warning of doom and gloom, you start to wonder if there's any value in reading this content.
