Meditate on the True Meaning of Easter as a Christian Holy Day of Ultimate Importance Every Sunday morning for several years I have shared my thoughts about God, the Bible, and the church on this blog. Because Easter always falls on a Sunday, one post a year is usually about Jesus’s resurrection. This year’s reflection […]
What are the Ramifications When We are Kind to the Poor? The book of Proverbs, most of which is written by King Solomon, reels off a list of pithy one-liners. Such is the passage for today’s reading. One that captured my attention is “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,” (Proverbs 19:17). […]
We Need to Love People Who are Different from Us, Just Like Jesus Did Last night I had a dream, the kind you remember when you wake, the unsettling sort that you can’t shake. Even as I sit down to write an hour later, it remains lodged in my gut and won’t go away. I […]
The God of the Old Testament Seems Different Than in the New The book of Hebrews says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And since Jesus is God (John 1:1), doesn’t that mean the God never changes? That’s what I’ve been taught. That’s what this verse in Hebrews seems to […]
For a long time my wife has wanted a giant Christmas card to display in our yard during the holidays. She discussed the project with a local artist friend, but he moved before anything beyond talk ever happened. Then we lost touch. The Christmas card vision languished but never died. Then we met another artist. […]
The self-righteous protester’s sign is etched in my mind. His assertion offends me, and I can’t shake it; I don’t even want to report the words. This person claims: “Jesus hates fags.” The memory of this appalls me; I shudder at the thought. This is a lie, a brazen lie. Anyone who really knows Jesus […]
Diversity Is Not Disunity Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. said the most segregated hour in the United States occurs on Sunday morning. Based on my experience in visiting more than 52 churches his assessment is still painfully true. We need more diversity in our churches. I long to attend a diverse church, one with racial […]
Paul uses a curious phrase in his letter to the Philippian church. He talks about “the Spirit of Jesus.” Paul writes of his confidence that he will realize deliverance because of the Philippian church’s prayers and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In another place Doctor Luke writes in Acts that as Paul travels to tell […]
When I say giving birth to Jesus, I’m not talking about Mary in a Bethlehem stable, birthing our savior into this world in human form. Instead I’m referring to birthing Jesus in a spiritual sense, of giving him to others. When Paul writes to the church in the city of Galatia he uses an intriguing […]
The phrase “the abomination that causes desolation” occurs five times in the Bible. Daniel mentions it three times in his prophecies of future events (Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, and Daniel 12:11). People speculate what he means—such as the destruction of the temple or something foreshadowing the end of the world—but whatever the interpretation, the important […]