Daniel Reads the Scriptures, Fasts, and Prays, Confessing the Sins of His People When I think of praying, confessing my faults to God is not the first thing that comes to mind. And when I am convicted of the need to admit to an errant act or a missed opportunity, I don’t linger there. I […]
With a knowing wink and a smile that was too practiced, the preacher said, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” This irritated me. I couldn’t tell if he was being snarky, condescending, or wise. How can we truly separate the deed from its doer? Should we even try to make the distinction? After all, […]
Last week we talked about Moses’ mistake of hitting the rock instead of speaking to it. He did this in disobedience to what God told him to do. The Bible calls this sin. As a result of Moses’ mistake, that is his sin, he was only permitted to see the land God promised to give […]
We live in a society of blame. People shun taking responsibility for their mistakes and shortcomings. Instead they blame someone else: “It’s how I was raised,” “He talked me into it,” “It’s her fault not mine,” “If only I had a better education,” “I had no choice,” and so forth. In doing so, they fail […]
In the accounts of Jesus’ life, there’s a curious exchange he has with the religious leaders. Although he has many such interactions, this is perhaps the most perplexing. He tells them healthy people don’t need a doctor. True. Then he makes a parallel assertion that his purpose isn’t to help good people (the “righteous”) but […]
The book of Genesis in the Bible gives a concise three-point teaching about sin. This was written about Cain, but equally applies to us so that we can know about sin. 1. Sin Is Crouching at Our Door The word “crouch” reminds me of a cat getting ready to pounce on its prey. The situation […]
In my post Be Careful What You Pray I mention a line in the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Different groups have different wording for this line. There are some I’ve run into: Debts “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” The word debt, conjures up thoughts […]
Jesus said, “It is not healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus came for the sick. (Since he came to heal and to save, we may be able to comprehend this both literally and figuratively, that is, the physically sick and the spiritually […]
My typical day is divided between three activities: writing, job, and personal (which includes work around the house and leisure pursuits). To make matters more complicated, each of these three tasks takes place at home. Sometimes I am self-disciplined enough to attend to each undertaking in its apportioned time, but not always. I too often […]
Reviewed by Peter DeHaan Historically, a “sin eater” is one who ritualistically takes upon himself the sins of a dead person in order to provide absolution. The movie The Last Sin Eater considers this custom in Appalachia circa 1850 amongst a backdrop of superstition and secrets. Although slow starting, those who don’t give up on […]