Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
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And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” – Matthew 20:11-12 (NRSV) These workers are angry because they’ve been working since dawn and the ones who were …
He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ – Luke 16:34 This request from the rich man in hell is easy to gloss over, because of the drama of the whole scene. Yet, look …
There are two defining virtues for a Christian: honesty and humility. Honesty: Christians have the courage to try and see themselves as they are, as objectively as possible. We search for blind spots, masked prejudices, self-justifications, and so forth. (Wasn’t that the point of Wesley’s small groups?) Humility: We admit we are hopelessly and unconsciously …
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal. – 1 Timothy 6:10 That phrase, “love of money,” in the original Greek, carries with it the sense of the passionate, emotional attachment you have with a lover. It’s all-consuming. It drives you. …
[Jesus said to the women on Easter morning,] “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”– Mark 16:7, NRSV I’ve read the Resurrection account innumerable times. It was just a few years ago I noticed a quirky …
“Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it?” – Luke 15:4 Well, not necessarily. It’s according to how stubborn that 100th sheep has been. Does the animal continually get out? Ignore the care …
“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” Right away, they left their nets and followed him. – Matthew 4:19-20 After following Jesus for fifty-plus years, I still can’t figure it out. Why do I take seriously someone who supposedly lived 2,000 years ago? It really doesn’t make sense. The …
“[My Father] makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.” – Matthew 5:45 The older I get, the more I’ve come to recognize so many gifts I’ve taken for granted. The older I get, the more I’m amazed at this body, a …
Rejoice always. Pray continually. – 2 Thessalonians 5:16-17 Our default prayer life, like it or not, revolves around “I want.” It’s the genetic basis of religion. God’s bigger and wiser, and if we get on God’s good side, we’ll get what we want. Prayer is that token we put in the celestial gumball machine. Of course …
We’re praying this so that you can live lives that are worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way: by producing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. – Colossians 1:10 We’re born with a limited view of God, and sometimes have difficulty growing out of it. …