Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
[Demetrius said,] “You can see and hear that this Paul has convinced and misled a lot of people, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands aren’t really gods.”…Once they heard this, they were beside themselves with anger and began to shout, …
You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden…Let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven. — Matthew 5:14, 16 There’s a nature trail near our house. Walking it one day, I …
Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness. — Isaiah 43:19 On our trip to Scotland last fall, I saw a trend that was a bit shocking at first. It seemed that if you saw a big, old church somewhere, …
You are the one who created my innermost parts; you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb. — Psalm 139:13 Here’s a fun exercise to put mortality into perspective. Google, “What was the most popular car in the year I was born?” It turns out for me, in 1953, it was the Chevrolet (not …
Just then, Jesus’ disciples arrived and were shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” — John 4:27 The current emphasis upon migrant deportation and the turning away of people seeking asylum is heartbreaking. The foreigner in our land has …
Bring in your kingdom so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. — Matthew 6:10 I see the Lord’s Prayer as something more than a model of how to pray or as something we say as a religious act. I see it as affirming our loyalty to the Father’s kingdom. …
Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing their opinion. — Proverbs 18:2 My daily routine starts with coffee, cereal, and reading the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper (in that order). But in reading the Post today, what stood out to me was the “Opinion” section. That’s where you’ll find letters to the editor and …
With the current political climate, the Diversity-Equity-Inclusion movement has taken quite a hit. Consequently, it’s been fashionable for some companies to scale back their initiatives in this area. Liberal religious people have expressed outrage at this about-face, but for the life of me I don’t see why. Look at Jesus’ ministry. It’s obvious he’d be …
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too. — Psalm 24:1 I believe “converting” to Christianity is a very limiting term. It implies feeling sorry for how you’ve lived, re-thinking things, and reorganizing your life. When I was younger, that described my becoming a Christian. But looking back now, I see all those things …
The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. — 1 John 4:4b I’m writing this on the morning after the “winter storm of the year” started. We had gone to bed with dire warnings of ice, snow, downed power lines, impassable roads–basically, Armageddon–floating in our minds. My wife …