Starving people don’t care why someone is giving them food. Neither will a drowning person reject the help of someone who is trying to be a hero. Sometimes motives don’t seem that important. Even the Apostle Paul wrote that he was more concerned about the message than the motives of those who were spreading the […]
In April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate stood at 8.9%. Among the states, Michigan currently stands at 12.9%, still leading the nation’s unemployment rate for 28 consecutive months. Neither number reflects “discouraged workers” who according to the Bureau of Labor are not looking for work because they believe there […]
One of the concerns we keep hearing about in the present job market is that in a downward adjusting economy those who are laid off may have to re-employ at a lower base wage than they left behind. And if inflation kicks in? Seems like a good time to review our contract/covenant issues with the […]
On Dec 23, 2006, three Michigan soldiers died when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations in Salman Pak, Iraq. Spc. Chad J. Vollmer, 24, of Grand Rapids; Pfc. Wilson A. Algrim, 21, of Howell; and Pvt. Bobby Mejia II, of Saginaw paid the ultimate price in the service of our […]
Go public with faith-based actions. Hide them. Which is it supposed to be? Jesus taught his disciples to do both: To go public with the good that they did. To keep their good actions as a secret between themselves and God. How are we supposed to sort that out? In the Lord’s Sermon on the […]
Oh no. I remember my sense of alarm when I heard someone talk about the New Testament discrepancy between two different accounts of Jesus feeding thousands with a few pieces of bread and fish. Then I discovered something else. Both accounts were described in the Gospel of Matthew in two consecutive chapters, with a summary […]
A lot of thoughts have been going through my mind as we’ve wrestled together with the issue of how to respond as followers of Christ to the social debate regarding a national public policy on abortion. In some ways I’m unnerved by the fact that this is one more subject over which many of us […]
President Obama’s speech yesterday at the University of Notre Dame, together with the decision of Chief Justice David Souter to retire from the Supreme Court, will heat up the abortion issue this week. Followers of Christ will once again find ourselves in the middle of a debate that will test our wisdom. It will test […]
Since our recent discussion about “why Paul didn’t quote Jesus” I’ve spent more time thinking about the question. Since what follows is about 3 times longer than a post of “reasonable length” you may not have time for it now. But I hope that, if not now, when you have a chance you will see […]
Many of us are trying to understand why an army sergeant turned his weapon on five fellow soldiers at a stress clinic in the outskirts of Baghdad. What was going through the mind of a man who already had his gun taken away before coming up with another? (See article here) The soldier had three […]
Paul’s strategy for spiritual battle ends with a call to intercede for one another in prayer (Eph 6:18). It’s a humbling thought… to realize that we are dependent not only on God, but on each another-even to the point that, while being accountable for our wrong thoughts and choices, we cannot take credit for the […]
Have often wondered what the Apostle Paul has in mind when he talks about putting on the whole armor of God (Eph 6:11). Is he talking about what we need to do in the course of any given day? Or is he emphasizing what we need to believe about who we are and what we […]
What can we do to resist the devil? Do we have the authority to order him out of our lives? Can we “pray hedges” around our homes and children that he and his demons are afraid to cross? The questions are important. If we answer them with either undue alarm or too much confidence we […]
Few disagreements continue on the basis of 100% error. From the beginning, our spiritual enemy told a half truth (Gen 3:5) and ever since we have been unintentionally, falling into his example. Sometimes the art of telling half-truths is intentional. But more often it reflects the limitations of one point of view. Monologues tend to […]
It takes effort to be at peace with ourselves, with our God, and with others. That may be one reason the New Testament author of Hebrews encourages us to work to rest in the living Word of God. Used to think that the reference to the Word of God as a two-edged sword referred only […]
Over the past decade, there has been growing controversy about “a new way of doing church.” Many of our sons and daughters are forming or joining congregations that don’t look or sound like our kind of church. Yet, they are likely to tell us they are just trying to be authentic followers of Jesus, and […]
