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.
Lately, I've come to a realization: that the primary way our world is broken is found in one primary area: relationships.
Where there is a lack of relationships, the void that exists causes great pain to people.
Relationships are not always easy. It involves caring about other people and communicating.
I've had both negative and positive examples of this in my life lately. Lemme share a few with you...
I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I suspect many people share this sentiment.
One multiple occasions after having negative interactions or experiences, I have considered not only removing the apps from my phone for facebook, twitter and instagram, but deleting my account altogether.
Maybe you have considered this as well. When I start feeling overwhelmed by this feelings, I can often wonder whether Jesus can use facebook for any real good in our world.
Most people would probably consider me to be a religious individual. I believe in God and regularly read the bible and pray and go to church. I involve myself in charity work and generally try to be a not-terrible individual. Some days are better than others as far as that goes. Let's put it this way, sometimes, I totally get why Jean-Paul Sartre would say that "Hell is other people".
So, when I tell you what I consider the worst part of being religious to be, you know that I’m doing it not as somebody throwing rocks at the establishment, but as somebody who cares about it.
American politics, and the 24 hour news networks which go along with it, have become conduits of fear mongering. This is in stark contrast with how Jesus interacted with the crowds in his ministry. As followers of Jesus, what do I need to keep in mind if I choose to be involved with the American political system?
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?
makingfaithpractical.com
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!
In the year 325 AD, the council at Nicea decreed that the 40 days leading up to Easter would be a time for fasting (not including Sundays, which means Lent technically lasts 46 days).
For me, lent is a time to set my living personal faith upon the shoulders of brothers and sisters in the faith who came before me. Inviting tradition into my faith as a guide which lends strength and guidance.
Engaging in a traditional faith observation like Lent is a frame in which your faith can stretch out and grow as you pray and consider scripture over 40 days.
