Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
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“How terrible it will be for you, legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You travel over sea and land to make one convert. But when they’ve been converted, they become twice the child of hell you are.” — Matthew 23:15 Jesus didn’t mince words, did he? That’s one of the many things I love him for…and …
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. – Matthew 6:11-12 Jesus could have followed “bread” with a totally new sentence beginning with “Forgive.” That would have been grammatically correct, because every grammar teacher knows you don’t begin a sentence with a conjunction. But Jesus …
“I go to prepare a place for you…” – John 14:2 (NRSV) Whenever I need to go to a happy place, my mind wanders back decades to one evening on the farm. It’s late spring, just after sunset. I’m in the johnboat on the small lake down the hill from our house. Deep crimson and …
A quirky passage in Deuteronomy frames the breaking apart of the United Methodist Church quite nicely. Deuteronomy 15:1-6 presents a beautiful, idyllic vision for the Israelites. Personal debts would be forgiven/cancelled every seven years. If everyone honored such grace, Israel would find itself being a utopia: “Of course there won’t be any poor persons among …
All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands. – Matthew 22:40 When Jesus said we had only two commandments to worry about, I thought that was a license to let grace triumph over legalism. Love God and love your neighbor. Period. That means there are asterisks we can put after some of …
God’s purpose is now to show the rulers and powers in the heavens the many different varieties of his wisdom through the church. –Ephesians 3:10 What’s not to like about flying? Endless lines. Baggage fees. High ticket prices. Cramped seats. Rude passengers. Canceled flights. Lost luggage. Have I missed anything? Yet, the complaints don’t quite seem …
First of all, when you meet together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. – 1 Corinthians 11:18 Paul sounds as if he’s surprised there were divisions within the Corinthian church. There are divisions within any church, ancient or modern. People have different backgrounds, ages, expectations, political …
Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2 The horror of the elementary school murders in Uvalde has followed the script with which we’ve become all too familiar. Shock. Pain. Grief. Sorrow. Outrage. Calls for gun restrictions. Thoughts and prayers. There was one reaction that surprised me, though. …
But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8 As I reflect on my life, I don’t always like what I see. Mistakes made in choices, conversations, relationships, actions. I look back and ask, “What was I thinking?” I hadn’t awakened one morning and said, “Let’s see how I …
Then he called a little child over to sit among the disciples. — Matthew 18:2 It’s easy to go through life without ever thinking about who it is you’re going through it with. Who are you? Why do you say, do, and think the way you do? Why do you surprise yourself in how you …