The Creator Rested on the Seventh Day—Maybe We Should Too I’ve written a lot about taking a Sunday Sabbath. My goal is to treat it as a special day, one different from the other six days of my week. I’ve talked about my reasons for doing so, but I’ve seldom mentioned that the impetus for […]
May Our Life Honor God and Be an Example to Others Integrity is largely missing in our world today. It looms as an out-of-date concept. Many even mock it as restrictive, limiting our desire to act however we want. Integrity is an unwavering adherence to moral principles and ethical behavior. It’s being honest. It’s sound […]
We Should Do What Jesus Commands and Push Secondary Pursuits Aside Jesus wants us to be his disciples. Each of the biographies of Jesus mention this. To be his disciple means to set all else aside and follow him (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:26–33). As his disciples he expects us to […]
Isaiah Talks about Peace More Than Any Other Book in the Bible Isaiah talks a lot about peace, mentioning it more than any other book in Scripture. One-tenth of the Bible’s references to peace occur in this one book. That’s a lot of peace in one place. And God is the source of this peace, […]
The Devil’s Army Is Not Cute and Cuddly but Dangerous and Deadly Given their depiction in animated movies, many people view minions as adorable little yellow creatures who bungle through life. Their antics—with varying degrees of incompetence—come across as humorous, even endearing. But this is not true in the spiritual realm when it comes to […]
Shun Division, Disunity, and Denominations in the Name of Jesus Just as church member status divides the church body into two groups, so does our doctrine. Instead of obeying Jesus’s instruction to love God and love others, we make a lengthy list of what we should do and shouldn’t do. We judge others according to […]
Today’s passage: John 13:18–38 Focus verse: “A new command I give you: Love one another.” (John 13:34) Though love is a common theme throughout Scripture, Jesus places an even greater emphasis on it. So does John. John often writes about love. Except for Psalms, John’s biography of Jesus mentions love more than any other book […]
Knowing Jesus and Hearing the Holy Spirit Is Better Than Formal Education Most all churches expect their clergy to have undergone formal, academic education. Many insist on a seminary degree, especially for their ordained ministers. From a worldly standpoint this makes sense. But from God’s perspective I can imagine him laughing. Look at the credentials […]
Learn More about Jesus and What His Life Means Some people view Jesus as a great historical figure, an insightful teacher, or a guru who taught and exemplified the importance of loving others. They’re intrigued by him and want to learn more. They are Christ curious. Other people go all in for Jesus. They follow […]
Jesus Focused on the Kingdom of God, Not Church Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, but we made a church instead. What if he never intended us to form a church? After all, Jesus did tell his followers to “seek first the kingdom of God,” (Matthew 6:33, ESV). Let’s look at where else the […]