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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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In Memory of My Sister
I am going to miss Jodi. I got to know her pretty well over the years. She even adopted me as her sister. I am going to miss Jodi. I got to know her pretty well over the years. She even adopted me as her sister. She’d start her text messages with her usual, bubbly, “Heya Sis!” Her last text to me was about how she made split pea soup and wanted Randy and I to have some, and that she’d leave a container of it outside her patio door in Jack’s kitty condo. My only comment to her was, “Just don’t leave it in his litter box,” to which…
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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…
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Who is Your Enemy?
While it is always good to ask ourselves the question, "Who is my neighbor?," now is the time to ask ourselves, "Who is my enemy?" With all that is going on in the world today, I can’t help but think this quote is timely. In this country, we are a dynamic group of people with disparate viewpoints. Our weakness can be wanting to fight for those beliefs so strongly for our own particular group, that we forget who the true enemy is.
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Spiritual Journey: A Riches to Rags Story
"Blessed are those who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." I have often seen the first verses from our featured passage on literature for poverty relief organizations. Ripped out of context and applied literally, this would mean that Jesus is saying that the physically poor, the hungry, and the depressed somehow have more merit in the eyes of God, and that rich, chubby, happy people are doomed. Hmm. Seems to me there must be something more here than meets the eye--the spiritual eye!
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Turning Points
The bible often tells us to repent. What does that mean? Let's did a little deeper into this Greek word and the contexts in which it is used to better understand the Lord's heart in this matter.
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A Humble Heart
Where can we find true humility these days? It seems that here in the United States--with all the political strife, disrespect for any and all human life, and dishonor given to God--humility has left the building.
