Did Paul Tell Women to ‘Shut Up’ in Church?
I have been somewhat taken aback by the volume of material posted over the last four or five months regarding the oppression of women in the body of Christ. To my shame, I did not recognize this was as widespread an issue as it seems to be. The pervasiveness of the issue is clearly evinced…
Read MoreA Soldier for Jesus
Soldiers, war, battle, fighting, standing firm, armor, victory, and defeat. The imagery of war and conflict is strewn throughout the pages of scripture. There, the Christ-follower is repeatedly characterized as a soldier. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please…
Read MoreForgetting Not God’s Law
A high-visibility battle on varied social media platforms continues as those in various stripes of Christendom engage in a battle of words with those they unflatteringly refer to as “the Torah Keepers.” If you’re not familiar with the term, Torah refers to the first five books of the Old Testament canon. These writings are also…
Read MoreFour Flavors of Prayer
Not too long ago, I had a brief exchange with someone who excitedly exclaimed that the Greek language was so cool because the Greeks had four words for “love.” “No,” I responded. “They don’t. Rather, English is such a limited language that it has only one word to convey four different Greek concepts.” That’s not…
Read MoreHe Who Has Ears
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. Fess up! If you have kids, you’ve performed that aria. Even if you don’t have kids … well … you probably read that with the little…
Read MoreHe Emptied Himself
There are times when I believe western society could not be further removed from what Jesus calls us to be. The call, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ”1 rings hollow and cliché. We strive, rather, for advancement, comfort, status, making a name for ourselves. This is not the way of Christ. For you know the grace…
Read MoreHindered Prayers
“Text out of context is pretext,” our instructor said with resounding forcefulness. He was right, of course, and much misinterpretation of scripture has resulted from passages being ripped from their context and twisted to mean something wholly other than what was originally intended. Take prayer as an example. The Bible speaks extensively of prayer, how…
Read MoreOvercomers
I was once asked if I believed in the power of prayer. “No,” I answered. “I do not. But I believe unswervingly in the power of the one to whom I pray.” Similarly, I do not believe in “the Bible’s promises,” but I believe unswervingly in the one who made those promises that are recorded…
Read MoreBe Holy
Where scripture is concerned, saying it one time is sufficient, but when we are instructed repeatedly1 to engage the same behavior, we can safely reference that as a biblical mandate. “Be holy, for I am holy.” But what does that even mean? In truth, “holy” is such a simple term, but is has been so misused,…
Read MoreIf I Perish, I Perish
I’m not afraid of dying. I fear pain, but not death. Indeed, the older I grow, the more I understand the apostle Paul’s statement that he’s torn between dying and being at home with the Lord, and staying here for the sake of those left behind. Go, gather all the Jews to be found in…
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