Jesus Died as the Ultimate Sacrifice So That We May Live The Old Testament of the Bible overflows with instructions about offering sacrifices to God and how his people but them into practice. One of those sacrifices served as an annual sacrifice for the sins of the people. The people had to repeat it each […]
Be Careful Not to Judge Others Based on Who We Are or What We Do Over the years I’ve heard many people wonder out loud about the validity of another Christian’s faith based on what they do or some aspect of their life. Often this takes the form of, “Can you be a ______ and […]
The Bible tells the story of a rich young ruler who asks Jesus the question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” His use of the word inherit is interesting—and a bit confounding. His question implies that salvation is inherited. Is this a misconception of the man posing the question? Surely we cannot inherit […]
Whoever Has the Son Has Life In the first of John’s three letters, he writes to the early followers of Jesus, reminding them of God’s essential message about Jesus, light, and life. Jesus, by the way, is the light and he gives life. So amid John’s poetic flare, his words all revolve around Jesus. And […]
Discover How God Can Have One Son and Have Many Sons (and Daughters) The Bible calls Jesus the Son of God. We see this in forty New Testament verses from speakers ranging from his disciples to his detractors, including evil spirits and even Satan. Saying that Jesus is the Son of God suggests there’s only […]
We Get a Glimpse into the Spiritual Realm Through Scripture We live in a physical realm. In our physical world, we experience it with our senses. We see things, touch things, and hear, taste, and smell things. Through our senses, we experience our physical reality. However, there’s also a spiritual aspect of our existence, which […]
Our Perspective on What it Means to Follow Jesus Shapes How We Think and Act I’ve met people so fixated on heaven that they squander their time here on earth. Not only do they miss the opportunities before them, but they also offer a negative example to the world of what it means to be […]
Pursuing the Best in What We Do In Paul’s letter of advice to his young protégé Timothy, he acknowledges the value of physical training. Even better is training to live a godly life. Physical training has some value, but godliness has even more, both in this life and the life to come, in the physical […]
Consider What Jesus Modeled Religious leaders in the Bible often criticize Jesus. It’s understandable. He and his teaching confront the comfortable sacred niche they enjoy in their society. They have a good thing going, and they want to hang on to it. Jesus threatens their status quo, so they attack him. In one instance they […]
The Bible sometimes uses the quaint phrase fallen asleep. It’s a polite way to say that someone died. I smile at this ambiguous language and wonder why Bible writers used a euphemism instead of being direct. But I think there might be more to it. To say fallen asleep is not merely an understated way […]