In Judaism a minyan is a quorum of ten or more adults assembled for a religious obligation such as public prayer. According to the famous 12th century Jewish rabbi Maimonides, “The prayer of the community is always heard; and even if there were sinners among them [i.e., the minyan], the Holy One, blessed be He, […]
Can we “pray a hedge of protection” around our home, church, or city? For many of us, it’s an important question. If there’s anything we understand, it is how much a parent, spouse, or pastor would love to use prayer to create a fence of security around those we love. I often think of the […]
Can a child of God “take authority” over the devil? Can we, by our prayers and appeals to the blood of Christ, “bind” the evil one? Or are such thoughts echoes of what the New Testament author Jude referred to when he said that even Michael the archangel didn’t dare to rebuke Satan but said, […]
When we talk among ourselves about miracles, gifts of the Spirit, or the covenants of God, some of us are apt to remind the others that, according to the Bible, God does not– and cannot change. Others are likely to point out that, over time, the God of the Bible has changed the ways in […]
I’ve been encouraged by the interest and involvement that many of you are giving to this blog. Your comments, questions, and willingness to use the rating tool to show how worthwhile you find a post to be are especially helpful. But here’s something I’ve been wondering. While realizing that all of us have changes of […]
To love well, we must also learn to hate. Some of what we hate, we must learn to love. Much of what comes easy will be difficult to endure. Some of what comes with work will give us rest. Riches are discovered in seeing our real poverty. Safety in a place of risk. More in […]
I don’t like to think about how many times I’ve told someone “I’ll be praying for you,” before only following through in a token way. And when I have prayed repeatedly for those I really care about– with no apparent results– I sometimes wonder why I don’t seem to be able to touch the heart […]
Years ago, I read that there are 31,173 verses in the Bible, and that the median verse, the verse at the absolute center of the Bible, is Psalm 118:8. The same source went on to say that “from the very middle of the Scripture we are reminded that, “It is better to trust in the […]
In the middle of an election year, with gas prices rising, the market falling, and the human costs of war constantly on our mind, I’ve been thinking of how inclined I am to live by the numbers. In so many ways numbers, statistics, and polls can be deceiving. On one hand, we need to measure […]
One of the things I’d like to do with this blog is to think together, not only about the things that are on my mind, but on your’s as well. I’d especially like to come together around ideas that tend to divide us to see if — together– we can find some honest and friendly […]
Why, at unexpected moments, do I have a profound sense of the Lord’s presence? Why do I wake some mornings with a song of praise and worship running through my mind that seems to have come out of nowhere? Why after times of discouragement does my heart turn back to Christ? The thoughts are my […]
Is the secret of contentment to have more than we need? Or does having more than we need prove that no amount of material success can keep us from wanting more of what we have enough of already? Thoughtful people have offered many suggestions for dealing with addictions, jealousy, covetousness, and the problem of envy […]
Last night, at sundown, Jewish families in Israel began celebrating a seven day Passover week also known as the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Meanwhile Israeli security has gone on a heightened state of alert in anticipation that Palestinian militants will attempt to disrupt the celebration of this ancient holiday. My concern, however, is that a […]
Someone passed along to me a YouTube video of a baptismal moment that made America’s Funniest Home Videos. I got a big smile out of it and passed it along to a few friends. But then, I started second guessing the kick I got out of it. On one hand, I find myself thinking, “Oh […]
I started thinking about envy the other day when one of the wives of a polygamous community was asked whether she ever envies her husband’s other wives. Her response seemed honest. She admitted that it happens but is sure that those who don’t practice polygamy aren’t above such problems. She’s right isn’t she. None of […]
In 2004 an article in USA Today raised a question about whether modern polygamy law exposes our hypocrisy. In that article Jonathan Turley writes, “For polygamists, it is simply a matter of unequal treatment under the law. Individuals have a recognized constitutional right to engage in any form of consensual sexual relationship with any number […]
I just remembered a quote from a second century letter that might be a good way to wrap up our series of posts on our “dual citizenship.” This ancient document shows that from very early in the church’s history, followers of Jesus saw their distinct roles as citizens of both heaven and earth. This ancient […]
Imagine Jesus in Washington. Picture him interacting with Senators and Representatives in the chambers of the Capital rather than walking with a group of fishermen on the shores of Galilee. Who would doubt that his conversations with Republican, Democratic, and Independent leaders would sound more like timeless wisdom than political spin? Who could imagine him […]
I grew up in the Midwest during the 1950s and got my introduction to the civil rights movement on a small black and white television set. But I don’t ever remember hearing a word in church about the plight of Southern African Americans. In my world, “conservative” churches stood for the gospel of Christ’s death […]
It’s tax day in Rome. Caesar slouches back in his chair and says to his advisors, “I don’t have much patience with these Christians. They’re so absorbed with their “phantom king” I’m not sure we can keep them under our thumb. Yeh, most of them pay their taxes, but only because “he” tells them to. […]
If God is good, but good isn’t God, how do we avoid making our worst mistakes with some of the best things in life? Seems to me that for openers we might want to say to one another, let’s: Value family, freedom, and a government of the people, by the people, and for the people– […]
FOR 50 YEARS, cartoonist Charles Schulz gave us pictures of ourselves wrapped in a smile. One of the last strips I clipped from our Sunday paper showed Snoopy the dog sitting on top of his doghouse with a typewriter, writing about his life. He titled his story . . . The Dog Who Never Did […]
The news today includes reports about former Jimmy Carter’s plans to meet with Hamas leaders over objections from the Administration and even his own party. In an article by Calvin Woodward of the Associated Press, the former president’s response was, “I think that it’s very important that at least someone meet with the Hamas leaders […]
Ok, here’s the deal. I know that many of us sincerely believe that when God said to father Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you,” he once and for all determined who we should be siding with in the Middle East. But over time I’ve become convinced that […]
In our ongoing conversation about the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, I’ve noticed that God’s promise– to bless those who bless Abram, and to curse those who curse Abram– is a defining factor in how many of us relate to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The promise is so important that I want to make sure […]
I thought twice before posting this picture of a scene I came across just inside Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate. With an armed Israeli Border Patrol in the background, it looked like a human body had been dumped into a garbage wagon. On closer look, I found that a street worker had just crawled into his cart […]
As tensions rise between Israel and her neighbors, the ancient story of the Bible threatens once again to involve all of us. Conflict in the Middle East flows from generation to generation like a river of tears and bad blood. From the days of Abram there has been an unending current of personal rejection, revenge, […]
Some of us have used prophetic studies of the Bible in a way that has cast us as “the ugly Christian” in the eyes of a watching world. But how can we blame our critics for giving us low marks if they see us trashing the environment and expressing detached fascination with the specter of […]
For almost 20 years I have been traveling to the Land of the Bible with our Day of Discovery television team. One of our goals has been to use the historical and geographical backdrop of Israel to talk about the real people, places, and events of the Bible . Another purpose has been to call […]
Israel is in her ancestral homeland after almost 2000 years of dispersion. Her presence, however, is a problem not only for displaced Palestinians, but for a whole international community that is trying to come to terms with rising oil prices, global economic instability, China’s ascendancy, Russian resurgence, and the threat of weapons of mass destruction. […]
I grew up hearing that one of the strongest reasons for believing in Jesus is that He fulfilled hundreds of predictions in the Jewish Scriptures. Years later I found myself wondering where most of those prophecies were. Sometimes I found clear and compelling predictions. But more often than not, when I checked the sources for […]
Over time we all come across ideas that change the way we think about ourselves and one another. For me, one of those thoughts is closely connected with 12 Step programs and the Church that we’ve been thinking about together in my last couple of posts. It’s also one of those perspectives that I think […]
After reading the responses to my last post, it’s clear that a lot of us agree about the need to be realistic about the predictable downsides and disappointments of church life. But at the same time we don’t think that lowering our expectations of one another is the way to go. We share a vision […]
What happens if we lower our expectations for the church? A few weeks ago I expressed a hunch that disillusionment is a problem for many of us who have been around the church for awhile. Since then a number of friends have taken the occasion to tell their own story. Some have struggled with disappointment […]
Today was a full day. Had the anticipated meeting with a group of pastors and church people on the subject of marital abuse. Shared the program with a criminal court judge, an abuse advocate, and a professional counselor. The advocate and counselor had heartbreaking personal stories of their own that they’ve had to deal with. […]
There are reasons so many of us struggle to “forgive” a God who seems to have wronged us. The life he gave us isn’t fair. Helpless children suffer for their parents’ mistakes. Some who work hard are cut down prematurely by accident or disease. Others who hardly work at all inherit the wealth of someone […]
I don’t know of anyone who would say that God has broken his own rules. But neither do I know anyone who hasn’t had issues with God. As a number of us have already acknowledged, when we talk about our struggle to “forgive God” we don’t really mean we think God has sinned against us. […]
Is it right to consider not only whether a law was broken, but why? I’ve been wondering about this after reading how a German court handled the ticketing of a motorist caught speeding by a traffic control camera. When the court learned why the driver had broken the speed limit, charges were waived. Instead, officials […]
