Like Jesus, the Apostle Paul sets high standards for entering the kingdom of God. In his first letter to the Corinthians he writes: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites…will inherit the kingdom of […]
No one could rightly accuse Jesus of having low standards. But he was accused in his day of being “a friend of sinners.” Religious leaders of the lakeshore community of Capernaum, for instance, would have criticized Jesus if he had befriended the kind of people who once lived on the shores of the Dead Sea, […]
None of us can afford to call good bad, or bad good. The prophet Isaiah says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and […]
Over the last few decades, it has become common for followers of Christ to divide over the age of the world. Some of us think we are living on an ancient planet, billions of years old. Another group of us are just as convinced that we live on a young earth, 4 to 10 thousand […]
In 1955, Tennessee Ernie Ford had a big hit in a mineworkers’ song called “16 Tons”. Many of us will never forget his rich voice singing, “Sixteen tons and what do ya get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don’t you call me, cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to […]
Like pride, the closets of humility are filled with different hats and clothes for different occasions. Popular opinion regards it as a doormat personality, and maybe even pride in disguise. Yet our books of common language describe it as the kind of realistic view of ourselves that is necessary to share the pain or joys […]
It can swagger with self-importance one minute before writhing in self-contempt the next. Its closets are stuffed with masks of deception. We think we know what it is. Our books of common language describe it as an exaggerated sense of self importance. We’ve watched it pile pain upon pain. But the more I think about […]
As authorities in China mobilize relief efforts in the catastrophic aftermath of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake, the plight of cyclone devastated Myanmar is growing. According to an AFP news agency article, the United Nations is warning that Myanmar is now facing an even greater disaster that could push the death toll far beyond the current […]
A new convert to the Christian faith wonders how to fulfill his duty to God. An older and seasoned follower says, “Love God with all of your heart and then love your neighbor as yourself. Do these things, and you will fulfill your obligation to God.” Another seasoned Christian joins the conversation saying, “Yes, focus […]
In first century Greek, Roman, and Jewish society, a man was the master of his house. Wives lived under the rule of their husbands and were expected to submit to them. So when the Apostle Paul, in his New Testament letters, encouraged wives to submit to their husbands, those words would not have been unusual. […]
