Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
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Psalm 91 My first response to this psalm is, “Yeah, right.” It implies that if you trust in God, you’ll get special privileges. Everyone else can get flu shots, but you don’t need them, because you believe. Faith will protect you from viruses. Our experience tells us that this isn’t the case. God-fearing, even “Bible-believing,” …
Luke 11:9-13 When Jesus gave the “Ask and it will be given you…” teaching, it was heard differently by Matthew and Luke. Matthew ended it with, “your Father in heaven [will] give GOOD THINGS to those who ask.” (Matthew 7:11) Luke, though, ended it with, “your Father in heaven [will] give the HOLY SPIRIT to …
Abraham Lincoln followed a vision that transcended partisanship. In his second inaugural address, with the Union’s victory assured, he could have piled on. He could have condemned the South and spoken about an eye for an eye. Indeed, our current political climate would have repeatedly fostered animosity through endless tweets. But Lincoln saw the bigger …
Matthew 5:14-16 A young man, who’d been in my youth ministry twenty-five years earlier, walked into my church one day. After catching up with each other, he got to the point. “I stopped by to say thanks for saving my life.” That’s a conversation starter. He went on to explain how, as a youth, he’d …
Exodus 17:8-13 The ancient Hebrews painted this story with broad strokes of melodrama. When the Israelites, in a battle for their lives, saw Moses on a hill with his arm raised, they were inspired. When he grew tired and lowered his arm, they lost inspiration. Putting yourself in Moses’ sandals, it is a bit tiring …
Old-fashionedly, I have an aversion to foul language. Maybe I’m too sensitive, but it seems like there’s been an exponential increase in the use of it over the last few years. Every popular show or movie seems to have a script calling for interesting variations of the f-word. Maybe my language-prudishness comes not just from …
Luke 10:38-42 Martha’s flaw in this story isn’t her attention to detail. Actually, her attention to detail is admirable. Who doesn’t want a clean house when you’re entertaining? However, Martha’s words reveal what’s going on in her heart, and that’s the problem. “Don’t you care that my sister has left me to prepare the table …
1 Corinthians 13:8-11 Having served as a campus minister for several years, I became acutely aware of how traumatic the transition between high school and college could be. Many young people, having been raised in sheltered environments, had to discover shocking truths. Clothes don’t wash themselves. Bathrooms don’t clean themselves. Checking accounts have to be …
According to an article in the Christian Post, the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church recently passed a resolution affirming belief that God created the world “in six natural days.” This might come as a surprise to the Creator, since we know earth to be over four billion years old. There’s irrefutable proof of that, as Bill …
John 20:1-18 Jean Vanier (pictured above) encountered the neglect and suffering of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities. He decided to do something about it and established a global movement (“L’Arche”) that provides authentic care and community for them. He once said, “The big thing for me is to love reality, and not live in the imagination …