Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
Kings aren’t saved by the strength of their armies; warriors aren’t rescued by how much power they have. A warhorse is a bad bet for victory; it can’t save despite its great strength. But look here: the Lord’s eyes watch all who honor him, all who wait for his faithful love, to deliver their lives from death — Psalm 33:16-19 Shell-shocked …
We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. — Romans 5:3-4 Popular Christianity focuses on what Jesus can do for us. We confess our sins, we get heaven. We invest in church, we get rewarded in difficult times. In other words, Jesus is …
Then he said to them, “Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.” — Matthew 13:52 I have become familiar with antiques through marriage. Barbara’s love for them has helped …
A. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. — Matthew 9:36 B. Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. — Philippians 2:5-6 C. “Look, …
Bring in your kingdom so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. — Matthew 6:10 I find theologian Brian McLaren to be very insightful. He’s written about our unseen biases and how they interfere with us being open to new perspectives. He said that arguing with someone is usually counterproductive because we’re …
A little child will lead them. — Isaiah 11:6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger. — Luke 2:6-7 Note that this Christmas text did NOT say that Mary gave birth to the Savior, Messiah, Son of …
Joseph got up and, during the night, took the child and his mother to Egypt. — Matthew 2:14 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Human One has no place to lay his head.” — Matthew 8:20 Two well-known groups of people, the immigrants and the homeless, prompt society to ask, “What …
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain…Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. — Matthew 17:1,3 We should always remember that those who have gone on before us haven’t really gone very far. When my Dad was dying …
God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them. — Genesis 1:27 I ran across an article from a conservative podcaster and pastor who was upset that the Anglican church just approved a woman to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was proof of the decline of the modern church because “1,400 …
People were overcome with wonder, saying “[Jesus] does everything well! He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can’t speak.” — Mark 7:37 Have you ever been given something that was overwhelming, a complete surprise, and you thought you hadn’t done anything to deserve it? If so, how did you …