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Remember the Gospel is GOOD News
Back in 1983, I was a junior in high school, and my eclectic musical tastes ranged from hard rock to the likes of Anne Murray's "A Little Good News." This song really spoke to my heart in so many ways because even at the ripe old age of seventeen, listening to the news of foreign wars, the woes of a bad economy, the uptick of robberies, gun crime, and senseless violence--just the constant barrage of bad reports--left me feeling tense and quite dismal. I longed for good news, like Anne mentions, about things like county fairs, children playing, and people truly caring. I guess most good news is not as…
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I Am Not Ashamed
Oh, speak to me not Of a higher being-- Mine has a name, It is Jesus, my King. An unnamed man did not die on the cross Or breathe his last at such high cost. He had a name unlike any other Force, or being, or "neutral" power. An unnamed man did not rise from the dead After they mocked while He suffered and bled... To raise us to Heaven and with Him reign As sons and daughters of the King again!
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He Invites Us to Sit at His Feet
Have you ever noticed that when God breathes, what seems impossible happens? I'm thinking of Adam, the Red Sea closing over Pharaoh's army, the starry host's existence, a valley of dry bones coming to life, and our very lives being sustained. How much more is the power of His God-breathed Word? He Himself says: "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it…
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Orthodoxy Drift: How Semantics, Euphemisms, & Coined Phrases Influence the Church–Part III
This week, I'm picking up where we left off in the last post and forging ahead to the word "works" and how the semantics behind this word has caused a wide rift between Catholic and Protestant faith traditions and also seems to be shifting to what it was never meant to define, and, therefore, twisting God's truth. As for myself, the tension between Paul and James had left me feeling very confused at one time, because my whole heart was to please the Lord, but it felt like if I "worked," or served the Lord in any way, I would displease Him, and if I did nothing, that would displease…
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Worthy Is the Lamb
You know, Jesus said some really tough things to people when He walked the dusty roads of Judea. For example:
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Orthodoxy Drift: How Semantics, Euphemisms, & Coined Phrases Influence the Church–Part I
I am going to attempt in a series of posts, relying fully on the Lord's help, to point out that many words used by the inspired authors of the bible and coined phrases in use now have experienced or are experiencing a semantic shift in today's culture, words like grace, works, freedom, and unconditional love. A semantic shift occurs when a word takes on a different connotation and meaning over time. For example, the term "gay," back in the thirteenth century, meant "lighthearted or joyful, but in the fourteenth century also took on the connotation of "bright and showy." The term "the gay '90s" refers to the 1890s period of…
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Are Christians Supposed to Make the World a Better Place?
I've often heard people, well-meaning believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, say things like: "We need to make a difference in our world, in our country, in our community, and in our homes." Or, "Let's get out there and change the world." Should we? Or do we, ever so subtly, even by something seemingly good, get sidetracked from our vocation as Christians? I often have felt a check in my spirit when I hear things like this. Up until maybe 4 or so years ago, statements like this confused and weighted me down. I would ask the Lord, "What do you want me to do? Should I start a charity…
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Are You in God’s Way?
I have often struggled with the fact that the Church of our unchanging God and Savior, Jesus Christ, has become so worldly in its methods and judgement. For example, we meld worldly ideas into our mainstream churches as easily as a new fad, as if trying them on like the latest fashion trend. Remember platform shoes? If you were "in," you wore these silly creations and were accepted, viewed as conforming to the current standard of beauty. But the eyes of the world are fickle. Beauty fades with the latest "new" thing, not because it is actually new, but because we are tired of the old. We need a change.…
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“Can’t Tip Someone Who Doesn’t Love Jesus.” Check, Please!
Neo-Nazis. Antifa. The Right. The Left. The Liberals. The Conservatives. Muslims. Blacks. Gays. I can feel the hate. What is fake news, and what is responsible journalism? Where is truth? Then I read the above note quoted in my title, scribbled on a restaurant bill to a lesbian waitress, and my first thought was: have Christians actually forgot that their goal in life is to help lead others to Jesus, to WANT to see them go to heaven? I've read quite a few comments posted in response to this, and many common-sense opinions offered. I wanted to add my own, but decided to pray about it first. I find that…
