Discipleship
Meeting People Where They Are
You knew it was going to happen, didn’t you? Yep, we’re back in Jude. I just can’t seem to shake this power-packed, single-chapter, New Testament book/letter. Responding to Doubt And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment…
Read MoreYour Life in Christ is the Build and the Building
Some of you know that my “day job” is working in IT, more specifically, software development. At various points, a software developer will want to test what they have coded up to be certain it is behaving as desired and not producing any negative side effects. To do so, the developer must execute what is…
Read MoreDiligence
When about to engage strenuous activity, it is common for a well-meaning friend or family member to say to us something like, “Don’t over exert yourself.” The older I get, the more I grow in appreciation for what they are saying. Roughly ten years ago, I became as enamored with the P-90X infomercials as I…
Read More“These Things”
A few weeks back, we looked at various things we can know, wrestling with the question, “What is knowable?” and the list was uplifting and encouraging. This week, I want to zero in on just one of those knowables: the fact we can know we have eternal life. I write these things to you who…
Read MoreThe Calling of Matthew
The confrontations we noted last week wherein the scribes and Pharisees were incredulous that Jesus ate and drank with tax-gatherers and sinners stemmed from (on one occasion, at least) Jesus’ invitation to Matthew to follow him.1 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why…
Read MoreThere Are No Priorities
Originally, the word “priority” was a mass noun, meaning it cannot be modified by an indefinite article and it cannot be made plural. There is only priority, not priorities, and not a top priority with lesser priorities beneath it. From the purist vantage-point, “priorities” is an oxymoron, an incongruity. It is self-contradictory. That said, I…
Read MoreThe Christ-Follower’s Response to National Rioting, Looting, and Outrage (Part 2)
Last week we saw how we are in a battle, and that even though the battle is waged against enemies in the heavenly realm, it is very much ours to fight. It is an unfamiliar battle, one fought not with arrows, bullets, or even rhetoric. Neither is it a struggle engaged on the field of politics or…
Read MoreThe Peril of Willful Disobedience
Some people are oblivious. Or perhaps they are aware but simply do not care. Or maybe it is that they are aware but don’t believe X, Y, or Z applies to them. For months, now, our local Safeway store has had arrows on the floor designating one-way aisles. I have been diligent to observe these…
Read MoreThe Importance of Understanding Hyperbole
We could argue at length regarding what is the most misused word in the English language today, but I do not believe we could argue that one of the top ten misapplied terms is the word, “literally.” It literally drives me nuts! Well, no, not literally. I am still quite sane. “I literally died laughing.”…
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