My Disappointment I was disappointed to read a post on the social media page of a popular Christian author. He wrote on January 9. For logos to be effective in your life, you must intentionally mix it with faith (Heb 4:2). Rhema, in contrast, comes with such vibrancy that it often releases faith with its delivery. Hebrews 4:2 says: (ESV) For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (NASB) For indeed we have had good news preached […]
There is No Joy in the Decision to Strike Down Roe vs. Wade
This ruling cannot erase the death of over 60 million innocent citizens. The persons responsible for the murder of innocent children are still free to murder more. This ruling has no power to change the heart of responsible adults. This ruling does not address the root problem of devaluation of human life, does not recognize that a human death for the sake of the convenience is always murder. This ruling does not address the root problem of sexual promiscuity and behavioral irresponsibility.
How to Answer Accusations of Hypocrisy Against Christians
Forgive. If you have been falsely accused of something that you did not do, forgive the accuser. Drop the offense. Refuse to be personally offended by personal remarks. If you are emotionally hurting or angry, you may not be listening, you may not be able to identify the hypocrisy that has been exposed (because exposing hypocrisy is a good thing), you may be tempted to respond in kind (to attack the person that attacked you) Proverbs 19:11. Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. It is not necessary to say aloud […]
Why are accusations of hypocrisy good for Christianity?
Hypocrisy is pretending to possess specific virtues that are contradicted by your behavior. For example, if I preach that extramarital relationships are sinful while I am unfaithful to my wife, I am a hypocrite. If I expect people to listen to my preaching but to ignore my bad behavior, I am a hypocrite. This week, I listened to a program featuring a celebrity transgender person named Trystan Reese. The turning point of the story is when six-month-pregnant Reese reads a message from a woman that says, “As a Christian, I hope that you give birth to a dead baby […]
How to Ruin Christmas
Strip the nativity Bible narratives of all human traditions that have been added to the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:4-7. Mary did not ride a donkey to Bethlehem. Luke 2:9-15. There is no “innkeeper[a]However, if the house belonged to Joseph, and the guest chamber/κατάλυμα was already full, then Joseph clearly had a host who managed the house and residents while he was away in Nazareth. … Continue reading(and “inn” is a poor translation of the word for an “upper room”). Matthew 2:9-11. The star was capable of standing still above a single house as a supernatural guiding light, not a […]
How to Pray
Prayer is talking to God. Someone told me that they did not pray because they did not know how. If you can talk to me, you can talk to God. Jesus taught how to pray and started by telling his disciples how NOT to pray. Don’t pray because you want to impress other people. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when […]
Should I live however the #*@% I want to live?
Recently, a medical colleague asked me if I thought that vaccination cards were the Mark of the Beast. I knew that this was a reference to Revelation 13:11-18. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the […]
God loves some of us.
Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. God’s eternal love has specific recipients. The love of God is fundamental to the atonement, John 3:16. James Montgomery Boice differentiates between value and intention in regards to the atonement. The value of Jesus’ death is infinite. The question rather is what is the purpose of Christ’s death, and what He accomplished in it. Did Christ intend to make salvation no more than possible? Or did He actually save those for whom He died? Reformed theology stresses that Jesus actually atoned for […]
How to Construct a Worldview
While reading Matthew 5:15 it occurred to me that in the same way that a lamp beneath a basket is obscured, that if a person was under a basket he would not clearly see the world outside the basket. He would experience obstructive filtering of external light. [a]While I do not think that this is the intent of this biblical passage, it provided me with a mental picture to serve as an illustration. Only bits and pieces of the outside environment would pass through a woven basket. If you were inside the basket, you may glimpse a bit of […]
How to Overcome Fear
“Just tell yourself not to fear.” This is not biblical advice. The Scriptures do not teach us to eliminate fear by refusing to think about it. Faith is not a denial of the truth. Faith does not require me to lie to myself or others. There is no incantation to speak over fear that will magically banish it away. Let’s ask the Scriptures about conditions for not fearing. God’s Presence is stronger than fear. Psalm 23 is a favorite. “I won’t fear because You are with me” seems to indicate that God’s presence in our lives can be stronger […]