Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Isaiah 49:13-18 That’s the estimate of how many times a child will be changed before earning their potty training degree. 7,000. A daunting number that could prompt any sane couple to double-think the parenting thing. Yet they choose it. Sometimes they even choose to have an additional child before the first one has graduated from …
Ephesians 5:8-20 When you’re asleep, you mistake delusions for reality. In daylight you know that you’re not really falling or that you’re not taking a final exam in a class you’ve never attended. The only danger is to believe those dreams are real when you’re awake. It’s easy to live in a dream-like state that …
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. –– Genesis 4:8 The earliest story of sibling rivalry doesn’t end well for either brother. One dies a quick death while the other pays for his action a little …