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When He Comes
31 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It won’t be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant with me even though I was their husband, declares…
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Laughter
22 A joyful heart helps healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Prov. 17:22, CEB) When a week of heavy events, life situations, ministry, etc., really begins to beat down… it is wonderful to have things come along to lift me out of hard places. Last night was one of those nights. I had tickets to see a barbershop…
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So, What Happens When You Take the Excuses Out of the Way?
This column by Frank Bruni is typical of how people burned by “religion” want to think of religion. Just as someone in that category would accuse those in “religion” to have their nice, neat categories… Bruni demonstrates his nice, neat categories as well. He isn’t a fan of Christianity. And he sets up the typical stereotypes. “How can someone who…
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Can You Say THAT in the Bible?
Here’s a good verse in the Apocrypha, which is probably why it’s not in the Protestant Bible. 😉 People who are afraid to act are like clumps of cow manure; those who pick it up will shake off their hand. (Sirach 22:2, CEB) A good mental picture that is hard to forget. Learn to get moving! Don’t be caught in paralysis…
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Could I Invite You to LOVE the Body of Christ?
1 Therefore, I have a request for the elders among you. (I ask this as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and as one who shares in the glory that is about to be revealed.) I urge the elders: 2 Like shepherds, tend the flock of God among you. Watch over it. Don’t shepherd because you must, but do it…
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A New Play on the Last Week of Christ
Kingdom Undone is a new production in the Twin Cities. It takes a look at the ministry of Christ and his purposes through the lens of Judas Iscariot and a young zealot named Isaac. The play was well done and a fresh take. The first act added in some great humor, but the refreshing look was seeing how Judas might have…
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Lord, Hasten the Day!
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? You must live holy and godly lives, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming day of God. Because of that day, the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for a…
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Be the Hunter
If there is anything worth hunting… it is wisdom. We live life in “pursuit” of so many things, but the greatest pursuit in the ancient texts is the pursuit of wisdom. And the call is to be as tenacious with that pursuit as you would with any other pursuit. Actually, even a little more tenacious. 22 Pursue her like a hunter, and…
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Nuggets of Wisdom We Miss When We Avoid the Apocrypha
The Common English Bible is incredibly helpful to me when reading the Deuterocanonical Books. The fresh translation helps me with unfamiliar territory. This is the place where I understand more fully the need for “dynamic equivalent” translations for people unfamiliar with the biblical text. Smoother language draws us in. The beauty of the Common English Bible is that it is…
