Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, Jesus said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” – Luke 24:41 (NRSV) One thing you can say about Jesus with pinpoint precision: He liked to eat. He’s eating with sinners at their parties. He’s eating with Pharisees in their homes. He’s hosting fish …
The ending of the season finale of comedian John Oliver’s show on HBO, “Last Week Tonight,” was cathartic. After an expletive-filled rant regarding how “bad” (euphemism) the year has been, he pressed a trigger and pyrotechnically blew up the gigantic numbers, “2020.” For some reason it feels good to vent anger and pain vicariously like …
God understands [wisdom]; he knows her place; for he looks to the ends of the earth and surveys everything beneath the heavens. – Job 28:23-24 The online encyclopedia, where people contribute articles, is amazing. There are over 3.5 million contributions, with about 7,000 new ones appearing each day. If you want to know about anything, …
“Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.” – Mark 3:35 We sometimes forget how inclusive Jesus was as he walked the earth. When told that his family had come to see him, he expanded the definition of family. “Whoever does God’s will.” I grew up in a culture that restricted who was …
Showman P. T. Barnum had a display in his 1860’s American Museum called “The Happy Family.” It was a cage where natural prey and predators peacefully coexisted. People flocked to see lambs resting with lions without becoming mutton. Asked if he planned to keep the exhibit, he supposedly replied, “The display will become a permanent …
Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us…Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church. – 3 John 9, 10b (NLT) This intimate scene from the …
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. – Acts 4:46-47a (NRSV) I had the privilege of working for the U. S. Census Bureau in 2020. I …
“At that time, the Lord commanded me to teach you all the regulations and the case laws that you must keep in the land that you are entering to possess.” – Deuteronomy 4:14 It’s been well over a year since I retired. Occasionally I ask myself, “Isn’t there something important I should be doing? Teaching? Writing? Pastoring …
I once ran an experiment in a church I pastored. I put black and white beans in a Mason jar and set it on a table next to a sign, “Guess how many beans are in this jar.” People could submit their guesses for a chance to win a fabulous prize (I think it was …
Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. – Philippians 2:3 Humiliation is an important precursor to humility. I once hit a ball over the fence for a homerun in a softball game. It was my first and last time ever to do that. I made a …