Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
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Doom to those who call evil good and good evil, who present darkness as light and light as darkness, who make bitterness sweet and sweetness bitter. — Isaiah 5:20 Optical illusions are fascinating. They make you believe that what you’re seeing is real, while it’s really just a trick your eyes are playing on you. …
I met Jesus as a teenager growing up on a farm near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The preacher at the 1st Methodist Church pointed me in his direction. I walked and talked with Christ by the lakeside, through the woodlands, and in the pastures. It was a me-and-Jesus type of thing, and I value that to …
“In the same way, when you have done everything required of you, you should say, ‘We servants deserve no special praise. We have only done our duty.’” — Luke 17:10 People were always asking things from Jesus. Heal. Raise the dead. Settle family disputes. Feed. Give compliments. And we, too, ask things from Jesus. After …
Many people saw them leaving and recognized them, so they ran ahead from all the cities and arrived before them. When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. — Mark 6:33-34 One of the theories about why Neaderthals went extinct was that they had …
Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think you’re better than anyone else…Don’t think that you’re so smart. — Romans 13:15-16 I’m writing this the day after the attempted assassination on former President Trump. That horrific event seemed to epitomize the reality …
Everyone is tempted by their own cravings…Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin; and when sin grows up, it gives birth to death. — James 1:14-15 The phrase, “sowing wild oats,” dates back to the 1500’s. It refers to seeds that look like any other seeds that produce good crops. However, once wild …
Some people trust in chariots, others in horses; but we praise the Lord’s name. — Psalm 20:7 With July 4th this week, I thought it might make sense to offer a prayer for those who govern. David, who was as political as they came, also had the spiritual insight to know that in the end, …
Words spoken at the right time are like gold apples in a silver setting. Wise correction to an ear that listens is like a gold earring or jewelry of fine gold. — Proverbs 25:11-12 I think a good writing guideline is to use prepositional phrases judiciously. The writer of Proverbs (some think Solomon wrote many …
Stay awake, stand firm in your faith, be brave, be strong. –1 Corinthians 16:13 The 8 a.m. worship service was always interesting. I liked it as a warmup for the other services, and also because you knew the people there were committed. Trade in extra sleep for a chance to sit in a pew? Dedication. At …
Jesus replied, “The most important one is ‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You will love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”— Mark …