I doubt there is anything more intimidating than to be in a debate with God. You spend your whole life devoted to religious practice and tradition, only to be told by God that you don’t know even know what you don’t know. In our scripture reading today, we discover this is what happened to the… Read More »
Action Over Knowledge
The kingdom life is not science or philosophy. The goal is not about how much you can learn as much as it’s about how committed you are to following the ways of Jesus. The kingdom life is all about action, action, and more action. The instructions for living the kingdom life are given to us… Read More »
Mommy and God
Most people have mothers who have asked for favors from God on their behalf. Mothers have their children’s best interests at heart and only want the best for their kids. In our scripture reading today from Matthew’s Gospel, the mother of Zebedee’s sons asked Jesus for a bold favor; she wanted her two boys to… Read More »
Let My People Go
Depending on your age, most people have heard this quote from Exodus “Let My people go.” God listened to the people’s cries and answered their prayers by delivering them from their oppressors’ hands in Egypt. Scholars debate how long the Israelites were in captivity; some argue 430 years, and others much less than that. Either… Read More »
Hard Hearts Make For A Hard Life
How does a person get a hardened heart? Do they ask for one? Do they inherit one? How do I know if you have a hardened heart? These are all great questions, and I believe the answer to these questions is not complicated. Humans seek to get as much out of life as they can… Read More »
Forgiveness From The Heart
Jesus pulls no punches when it comes to forgiveness in the kingdom. Since we are forgiven people, we must be forgiving people, with even our enemies, no exceptions. When Jesus told Peter seventy times seven, he was saying there is no end to the act of forgiveness. Some of us have been seriously trespassed against,… Read More »
The Kingdom of God is Now
One of Christianity’s common misconceptions is what is known in theological circles as “escape theology.” The idea that when we die, our soul is shipped off to some faraway place called the Kingdom of Heaven. The reality is there are only a few scriptures that you can interpret that way. The vast majority of scripture… Read More »
Doggie Bag Faith
You may or may not be old enough to remember the day of the doggie bag. This trend became popular in the 1940s’ because times were tough, and people would take bones and scraps home to feed their dogs. Eventually, people got smart and started using them to bring home leftovers for themselves. Today you… Read More »
Please Don’t Judas Me
The song “Please Don’t Judas Me” was written in 1975 by the Scottish songwriter’s Peter Agnew, Manny Charlton, Darrel Sweet, Dan McCafferty and released under their band’s name Nazareth. This song appeared on their best selling album of all-time “Hair Of The Dog.” The song refers to Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus Christ, who… Read More »
Kingdom Redemption
What does it mean to be redeemed? Is God still redeeming humankind? Or has all of humanity and creation already been redeemed by way of Jesus, the cross, and resurrection? What does it take for a person to be redeemed? Are there any in the world that God will never redeem? These are all fair… Read More »