Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
Actually, the problem is with the words, not the values. It arises when you use a phrase, understanding what you mean by it, but the reader or listener takes it another way. A conservative newspaper columnist recently wrote of her apprehension that liberals were pushing the LGBTQ agenda. She feared they were attacking the “biblical …
Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. – James 2:5-7 (The Message) When I volunteer at ministry groups serving in the city, I see folks …
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms.” – Luke 12:32-33a At first glance, I like more what Jesus said in verse 32 than in verse 33. Growing up, I was blessed by parents who worked hard to provide …
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to your son and you must name him John.”…Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? My wife and I are very old.” – Luke 1:13, 18 There is a phenomenon in my …
“We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We don’t know what to do, and so we are looking to you for help.” – 2 Chronicles 20:12 I feel powerless when I fantasize that things are getting better only to be repeatedly hit by the realization that they seem to …
I was taught in seminary to always determine the original meaning behind a text. Study the Greek or Hebrew. The literary, cultural, and historical contexts. Comparative passages and themes. That way I would get to know what the author meant. Good work that must be done. However, what happens when I discover that what the …
We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (The Message) In a devotion in the Upper …
“How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You give to God a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, but you forget about the more important matters of the Law: justice, peace, and faith.” – Matthew 23:23 If there’s such a thing as original sin, something we’re all guilty of by …
Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. – Luke 2:8 The message hidden in the Christmas story is this: In God’s kingdom, ordinary people are the real heroes. Shepherds see and hear a heavenly choir. Not the rabbis. A teenage girl gets visited by an angel. Not the princess in …
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. – Isaiah 9:2 There was one part of my job as a pastor that particularly scared me. It was being with people in the darkest point in their lives, and feeling totally inadequate. What do …