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The Paradoxes of Christianity
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Now that is a contradiction! Please do any and all children a favor and let them know that sticks and stones, as well as sarcasm, shouts, and silence, hurt. We live in a world dominated by hate crimes, hate speech, hate mail. We live in a world of hurt, yet God calls Christians to remain vulnerable and kind. This played out in real time when recently I was hurt by some of the aforementioned hate. As the Lord ministered to me, I realized that I had two choices: withdraw, retreating from the possibility of getting hurt again,…
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Start With the End in View
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Jesus started with the end in view. From the first day of His earthly ministry to the last, He had His two-fold purpose before Him: redemption and preparation, the cross and the commission. He came to provide redemption for dying men and women. But what good would His redemptive death be if there were no one to tell others what it means? How could He establish a redemptive movement if He had no one to start it? That’s why He declared to His Father before the cross that He had accomplished His will by making the Father known to those He had…
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The Beatitudes Attitude: Introduction
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Today we start a new series drawn from the Beatitudes which describe the abounding blessings of Christ in us. We start with the introduction this week, go to a preview with our next entry, and then we will look at each of the Beatitudes to see what these blessings mean to us as we seek to grow in the Beatitudes Attitude. Blessed are . . . (Matthew 5:1-12) The first recorded words of Jesus to His future disciples were words of blessing, and what blessings they are! These blessings are the essence of life that have endured through the ages and define…
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Let’s Change the Conversation!
With the news of devastating earthquakes in Nepal and the horror of consistent atrocities by Isis and extreme Islamists against believers in the Middle East why is the primary conversation about faith here in the USA centered on conflict between bakers and photographers and same-sex marriage? Where’s the outrage and attendant action to relieve suffering and support our brothers and sisters in Christ facing death or displacement. Let’s change the conversation. I know we feel helpless and frustrated. What can we do? We can pray! For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear…
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About Unruly Mobs, Targeting Curches and #boycottIndiana
As I watched #boycottIndiana unfold I felt like the tectonic plates of American culture were shifting right under our feet. When Governor Mike Pence signed Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, who knew that Miley Cyrus and Ashton Kushner could help unleash a torrent of criticism and threats that eventually brought the government of Indiana to its knees? In one week we saw suppression of dissent against gay marriage by an unruly mob, the targeting of churches and the spread of propaganda—a three-pronged strategy used widely by those aspiring to political power throughout history. Midweek an Indiana ABC affiliate news crew went trolling for any…
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Death or Deny? Do I care?
Imagine being awakened by loudspeakers travelling through your neighborhood blaring an ultimatum to you as a Christian; convert to Islam, pay a religious tax, face death or leave. For those of us who live today in a society protected from such overt Government persecution, it is chilling to read of these very circumstances facing believers in rebel-occupied Iraq. Tragically many of our sisters and brothers in Christ face this horrific choice; recant their faith or face death. Mosul, the capital of the Nineveh province is located about 250 miles from Bagdad and the Wall Street Journal reports this ultimatum demanded by the rebels of Christians in this city of historical…
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God’s Not Dead (The Movie)
“Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully and not remember me or think about me? Because I have been silent for so long, you are not afraid of me.” – God (Isaiah 57:11). I remember the apprehension I felt when I registered for Philosophy 150, World Religions Class. I knew what I was potentially getting myself into. (Out of the frying pan and into the fire.) I expected to be tried and tested in that class, but I signed up anyway. Thus six months ago, when I saw the preview for the movie “God’s Not Dead”,[1] I was very interested in seeing…
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The Tsunami, Birth Pains, Death, and the End of Days
“The world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (2 Peter 3:6-7).
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A Christian Conservative Goes to College, part 2 (Philosophy 101)
“If only you would keep completely silent! For you that would be wisdom” (Job 13:5). “Philosophy” is a word based upon two Greek root words, “philo” meaning “love” and “sophia” meaning “wisdom.” Thus Philosophy is supposed to mean, “love of wisdom.” “Wisdom is supreme,” the Scriptures tell us, “so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). I took my first Philosophy class in my very first semester of college. I was very excited about taking it because I wanted to learn more about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. I wanted to learn about the great thinkers. I was ready for God to teach me His Truth even through…
