Why do you worry? Jesus asked his disciples that question while repeatedly encouraging them not to be consumed by the kind of everyday concerns that bother those who don’t know him and his father. But was the Teacher asking us to detach ourselves from the real concerns of life?… when he said, ” Therefore I […]
Mark Twain has been quoted as saying, “Sing like no one’s listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” Remember seeing an upscale Singapore condominium complex advertised as “Heaven on Earth”. Googled “Heaven on Earth” and got the lyrics of a Britney Spears song of […]
For most of my life, GM has been a big part of our local economy and identity. When traveling outside of the U.S. I often explain that my home is in Grand Rapids, Michigan about 150 miles from Detroit. So when General Motors, became the second-largest bankruptcy in history, it was a sad day for […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
In an earlier post I mentioned that a first meaning of words translated “obey” in the Bible is “to listen” and “to be attentive, as one listening for a knock at the door.” As I’ve thought about the relationship between listening and obeying, I’ve imagined hearing a knock at the door in the middle of […]
In my last post I said that I find it interesting that Job shows up in the time of Abraham, apparently outside of Israel, with such Jesus-like social conscience. Find a similar description of an ideal woman that comes from a time when men were expected to rule their homes, and when daughters and wives […]
As Satan gloats over the progress of his rebellion, God asks, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8). So I find myself absorbed in the memoirs of Job. What made him such a […]
