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An Active Relationship
Many if not most of us can often question God’s participation in our lives. Especially during moments or seasons of turmoil or trial, we cry out to God to save us, to heal us, to modify our circumstances, or the behaviors of those around us so that we, personally, can be happier, more content, or have peace. Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1 NIV
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In Jesus’ Name
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." —John 14:13-14 NET What does it mean to pray "in Jesus' name?" So often we hear or use this phrase, as a salutation, to conclude a prayer in much the same way we might say "amen," as a way for others present to declare their agreement with the prayer. "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."—Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride Do we really need Jesus to sign off on our prayers? .…
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The Plea Bargain
“If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.” —John 9:41 NLT When a man is arrested and brought into court for a crime he is accused of committing, there is a pretrial hearing called an arraignment, as I'm sure you know. Prior to this hearing, the accused (defendant) meets with his attorney and they discuss all the various options available based on the evidence the prosecution has. Regardless of the defendant’s guilt or innocence, however . . .
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Making the List
Blessings or curses. Wrath or favor. Heaven or hell. Why did we all grow up believing that either God rewards or punishes us based on our behavior? Some of us have come to believe that we're either in or out of God's grace because of our deeds. And since we all know (deep down) that we are inherently failures according to God's glorious standard (Romans 3:23), we kind of already know we won't be rewarded by being allowed into Heaven. Some of us try to play the game and attempt to be "good persons" (at least better than the other guy), expecting that, on that Day of Judgment, God will…
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Slaves of Righteousness
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:5-7 NIV When one is enslaved, he has been taken against his will to live and serve a new master in constant fear. Initially, the slave’s desire is simply to escape and return to what he used to know. But as…
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True Crimes
For many, the concept of committing a “sin” is a tough thing to grasp. Before I knew Jesus, I’d heard tell of those who professed to be sinners and attempted to convince others of their morally superior perspective. At that time, the basic concept of sin didn’t mean anything to me. It was used in the context of having broken some secret rules, or at worst, having committed some kind of crime against God. But to me, these always seemed like victimless crimes, since He was God and surely anything I could possibly do wasn’t that big of a deal. Of course, once I was exposed to the Word of…
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Second Skin
“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins (Mark 2:22)." Did you realize that as reptiles grow, they shed their skin to allow for further growth? This is because, unlike our skin, a reptile’s doesn’t grow as they grow. Instead, snakes, lizards, and other reptiles must shed their skin regularly as their old skin is outgrown . . . But, unlike the human body, our spiritual skin does not grow and stretch. Indeed, like that of the reptile, our spiritual skin must be shed…
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Just as Yesterday
Today is just as yesterday, different though the sameThe sky is bluer, the trees more greenNights often brighter than the daysWe’ve been together longer than ever we’ve been apartTrudging through the thick, reveling in the thinWrapped around each other’s heart We were made for this, you and I, since long before we could dreamWe looked ahead to a life together and there we were, you and me We could not imagine the lives we’d shareNor the journey we might takeThe joy of our children each step of the wayAnd the pain as each heart would breakBut we made a choice, just as yesterday, to always do it togetherTo laugh, to…
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New Beginnings
In my book, So What’s the Big Deal About Communion? I show how intrinsically connected the Last Supper, and by extension the Lord’s Supper, is with the celebration of Passover. God had selected this very specific event to tie into His plan for salvation, as the first Passover was the first iteration of this plan designed to culminate with all of what we celebrate now on Resurrection Sunday (Easter). While we realize that we are ultimately celebrating both the Last Supper and the Resurrection each week we gather at church for worship and communion, this Holy Week provides an opportunity for us to extend over the course of seven days…
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The First Communion
A couple of years ago, I got in my head the idea of investigating the true meaning and purpose of Communion (The Lord’s Supper) beyond my own elementary understanding of it, and ignoring the different traditions that surround it. Sure, we all understand and appreciate this mirroring of the Last Supper on the night before Jesus’ death on the Cross, and how sharing in it as a church body reminds us of that Cross and the suffering Jesus underwent on our behalf. We get it. But for me, this wasn’t good enough, because the way the Catholic church teaches and practices it, both in substance and form, differs from how…
