Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
Job 23:1-9; Job 23:16-17 Job is an amazingly contemporary book. The words of an anonymous Hebrew writer living in a confusing, painful time give voice to our spirits today. Lingering with the passages above, you can find three things to remember when you are facing a grueling situation that may appear utterly hopeless. Be honest. …
Ephesians 3:1-7 The world continues spinning because of competition. You have winners and losers. The winners reap the harvest of success, while the losers look at the celebration from the visitors’ dugout. Before his conversion, the apostle Paul had lived his life in relentless competition. He wanted to prove how his way of living, being …
Acts 8:9-25 Superstitions are irrationally ground into the human psyche. Something bad once happened when you walked under a ladder. So, to determine your fate, don’t walk under ladders. Magic is the next step up. It’s the illusion that you can control things in a mystical way. Simon the Great was a magician who gave …
2 Corinthians 5:16-20 This disclaimer, tagged at the end of an investment opportunity, usually means that just because something good happened in the past, it doesn’t guarantee it will happen in the future. But there’s another way to look at it. As a college student, I was once caught in an horrific ice storm/blizzard. Wind-driven …
Joshua 6:1-5 God would have flunked West Point. With a walled city and its skilled army blocking your path, what’s your strategy? March around it for seven days then blow your trumpet. The walls will tumble down. Right. Yet there’s something both wise and refreshing in this old tale told around Hebrew campfires. I’ve spent …
Mark 9:2-9 Taking selfies is such a fun thing to do. But why do we do it? With iPhone in hand, we can release our inner toddler. “Look at me! Look at me!” Why else would we want to interject ourselves into a panoramic sunset or a chance meeting with a celebrity? If Peter had …
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 …