Subscription Lists

So, here I am, reading through Revelation again. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the book not because of anything wrong with it, but simply because it is so full of imagery and symbolism that it's hard to actually say what it really means. Well, that's fine. Given the future nature of it and the 1century authorship of it, it's likely what you'd expect. And it is the only book in the Bible that actually promises a blessing for reading the book (Revelation 3:1), so I do it. So I come across the end part. You know, when the seals and the trumpets and the bowls of wrath and all are done…  ( Click for more )

Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

A "word of the day" entry: "anthropocentric". We can find a dictionary definition, but let's see if we can figure it out from its roots. "Anthropos" is the Greek word for "man" -- primarily "man" as a group, not a gender. You know ... humans. Then there is the "centric" part. I think most of us can figure that out. So, simply put, "anthropocentric" means "centered on humans". On one hand, it is fundamental to humans to be anthropocentric.…  ( Click for more )

"Why can't you be more loving?" they will ask (demand). "Why can't you be more like Jesus was? He embraced everyone!" That's what they'll tell you. Funny thing. Although it appears to be a truism, I can't seem to find it in my Bible. Remember when they came to Him to ask Him about a nasty incident Pilate perpetrated on some of their people? There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the…  ( Click for more )

The king is dead; long live the king. Many of us can remember the day when "John 3:16" was prominently displayed at every televised football game, it seemed. This dear verse was, in its day, the most oft quoted verse anywhere. We (Christians) knew it. Even non-Christians knew it. It was the king of verses from the Bible. Of course, that day has ended. There is a new king of verses. It seems that a new verse has taken the lead in the most-often-quoted category. That would be Matthew 7:1. Oh, sure, you all know that one. Everyone ... together now ... Judge not, that ye…  ( Click for more )

Paul says, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:11-13). Contentment is a good thing to learn. Seriously ... a very good thing. Think of what a difference it would make if we learned to be content rather than always complaining and always wanting more. Paul says he learned it. We would all do well to learn that skill. What…  ( Click for more )

I read the book of Jude the other day. It is only one chapter and it is a very interesting read. The book focuses on a select group of people. Jude tells his readers, "I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). That's the focus -- "contend for the faith" -- because of this select group of people. Jude's first description is ... well ... unnerving. Certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace…  ( Click for more )

Look, you gotta cut me some slack. I mean, I was only a junior high kid. It sounded good when I said it. I don't remember how the conversation came about, but I remember talking to my 8th-grade teacher, Mrs. Proud, at the Christian school I attended about my older sister who had been her student before. We were talking about the decline in morals in society. I told her not to worry about my sister. "When the rest of the world is going nude, she'll be wearing a bikini," I assured her, as if it was a good thing. Remember the story of the two guys camping out on the…  ( Click for more )

I heard a caller make this blithe statement on a radio show to which I was listening on the way home the other day. The show was not a Christian show on Christian radio. The host was talking about who to vote for in the presidential race -- specifically about Romney and his religious views. The host had stated that he would prefer someone with religious views than an atheist because atheists had no moral basis and he wanted someone with a basis for morality. It was particularly interesting because the host admitted he was "not particularly religious" himself. Still,…  ( Click for more )

Most of us have never asked ourselves this question: "Why would/should God forgive us?" I know I haven't. I suppose we haven't asked because we already know the answer -- He loves us. I guess the answer is accurate, but I'm afraid that it's quite incomplete and, in fact, largely misleading. The sense of that answer is, "Why wouldn't He forgive us? He loves us!" The natural conclusion in that sense is "We are lovable." And that would be the wrong conclusion. The Bible offers a radically different reason for God offering salvation to anyone. In fact,…  ( Click for more )

Here are two well-known pieces of Scripture.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:6). Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world -- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life -- is not from the Father but is from the world. And…  ( Click for more )

Have you ever noticed how little "other" plays into our thinking over "self"? It seems as if all of life is aimed at "self" rather than anyone else. Take sex, for instance. Today we've pretty much dismissed the notion that there is anything wrong with, say, masturbation because no one but "self" is involved and it simply provides personal pleasure. Beyond explicitly personal pleasure, we tend to think of all of sex in terms of personal pleasure. Maybe it's "I'm not in the mood" (self) or maybe it's "You're not satisfying…  ( Click for more )

Most translations seem to group these verses together as a single, long, run-on sentence with semi-colons for separating the phrases:

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

In that sense, it's difficult for me to decide to what Paul is referring when he says, "For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." What is? Is it God's will for you that you rejoice always? That you pray without ceasing? That you give thanks in everything? Oh, that answer…  ( Click for more )

David wrote, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1). He wasn't alone in this. Paul said, "... That which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made ..." (Romans 1:19-20). Now, I know that our younger generation is often bored with church and even the older generation can, at times,…  ( Click for more )

Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,…  ( Click for more )

Empire wrote a piece for a Father's Day issue about 10 Movie Father Figures Better Than Real Dads. All were not fathers. There was Obi-Wan to Luke Skywalker, Alfred the butler to Bruce Wayne, Uncle Ben to Peter Parker, and more. Because, as we all know, real fathers just aren't that good. Last year the Atlantic ran an article titled Why Do So Many Father-Daughter Movies = Feisty Kid + Bumbling Dad? Hugo Schwyzer points out that Disney's movies have a string of failed fathers from the over-protective Neptune in The Little Mermaid to the mindless dad in Cinderella all the way to…  ( Click for more )

I'm convinced that a prime problem in our society today is men. Yeah, yeah, I know ... I'm sounding like a man-hating feminist. Don't worry. That's not where I'm going. Let's consider the job description from Scripture. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their…  ( Click for more )

What's more important? Is it more important to be happy or to be holy? Take, for instance, marriage. I'd be willing to bet (if I were a betting man) that you didn't choose your spouse based on his or her ability to lead you to holiness, did you? I'm relatively certain that you chose a spouse who you believed would make you happy. If you were really a good person, you also believed you could make your spouse happy. (Consider, for a moment, the utter irrationality of the proposition. No one has the capacity to make someone else feel ... anything. Just a thought.) It wasn't holiness…  ( Click for more )

The song asked, "What's it all about, Alfie?" It's a question a lot of people ask. What is the purpose ... of life, the universe, and everything? I can tell you without possibility of error that I know the answer. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36). He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created through…  ( Click for more )

Daniel is not one of the most read books of the Bible, I know. But you likely know some of the stories. "Daniel in the lion's den" (Daniel 6) is an ever-popular story for the kids. Most of us know the one where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the king and were saved from the fire (Daniel 3). Perhaps lesser known is the story of Daniel and the "creative alternative", where Daniel and his friends decided not to defile themselves with Babylonian food and offered to go vegetarian instead (Daniel 1). And, of course, the book is riddled with…  ( Click for more )

Twila Paris performed the song, This Thorn. The first verse goes like this: Thank you for this torn embedded in my flesh. I can feel the mystery; my spirit is made fresh. You are sovereign still and forever wise. I can see the miracle opening my eyes To a proud heart so quick to judge; Laying down crosses and carrying grudges. The veil has been torn And I thank you for this thorn.

I was talking to a friend a short time ago and he was telling me about a difficult time he was going through. It was a genuine difficult time. It was indeed an unfair situation and most of…  ( Click for more )

The dictionary says that tolerance is "the willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own". Of course, society includes the sense that "willingness to accept" means "embrace". I mean, if a Christian believes, as an example, that homosexual behavior is sin, simply allowing it to continue would not be classified as "tolerance". No, in order to be classified as "tolerant", you must celebrate it with those who celebrate it. Interestingly, those who celebrate it are not obligated in any form to…  ( Click for more )

How do we determine what "moral" and "immoral", "good" and "bad" are? A congressman who stood against "gay marriage" changed his mind midstream when his son announced that he was gay. Prior to this event, it was bad. Now it's good. In this case, "good" and "bad" are determined by "what's going on at my house". A coworker told her daughters, "If you ever get a boyfriend and decide to live with him before marrying him, I will be disappointed." "Really, Mom?" She told me, "I…  ( Click for more )

Look around. Marriages are in trouble. Indeed, marriage itself is in trouble. Church attendance is declining. Genuine Christians are harder to find. Gross immorality is becoming mainstream. We have bands of young men who think it's fun to randomly knock people down on the streets, crazy youth who decide to shoot up a school, vicious parents who abuse and kill their own children. We have a government that fails to protect its people and provides greater misery instead in the name of compassion. The only genuine source of any moral code is ridiculed in the streets and barred…  ( Click for more )

What is Christmas really all about? It's about white. You know, "white Christmas", like the one I'm dreaming about. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7).

Yeah, white ... like snow. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without trees. Trees symbolize Christmas. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).

The tree is an important component of Christmas. It's not possible to…  ( Click for more )