While living in California, my wife and I enjoyed attending the concert of my cousin Rachel who was a classical musical director at a church in Sacramento. On Christmas we sat in the audience of several hundred people and eagerly anticipated the evening. The musicians came out first and each sat in a designated seat […]
In Defense of Leviticus
I wonder how many people have tried to read through the Bible cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation, only to be thwarted by Leviticus. It happened to me. When I was in high school my senior pastor mentioned that he read three chapters of the Bible every day, which meant that he made it […]
How To Change Your Mind
Five years ago, I believed that only people of a certain level of maturity ought to be baptized; only those who identified as Christians and were able to clear a minimum threshold of biblical knowledge, sincerity, and a capacity to articulate those things. Last summer, we baptized our one-year-old daughter, who couldn’t clear the minimum […]
Waiting In The Wilderness
Everyone has experienced a “wilderness season” before, perhaps more than once. A wilderness season is when you feel stuck or lost in a difficult situation, and your only options are to endure patiently and wait with the expectation that the situation will eventually pass or be resolved. For some people, this period may last a […]
Be Anxious For Nothing
I am no expert in the field of mental health, but it seems that anxiety is crippling more and more people than ever before. Upwards of 40 million American adults are dealing with anxiety disorders. Some have found relief through the help of doctors and modern medicine. Even with this help, it is a constant struggle […]
An Eye for An Eye, and a Tooth for a Tooth
I was reading a news article the other day about another country in which a criminal case was to be settled according to the maxim “eye for an eye.” I started thinking about the scripture in Matthew 5:38 where Jesus says “You have heard it said an “eye for an eye, and a tooth for a […]
God The Gardener
In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener and he prunes every branch that does not produce fruit. A person stuck in his or her ways of sin is like a prickly shrub growing a lot of branches with no fruit. These branches must be removed so good fruit can grow. In the […]
How Anyone Can Study The Bible
“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t,” said the Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. Navigating the Christian life requires you clasp your Bible and use it for guidance in relationships, work, and spiritual life. When you study God’s word, you obey God. He told his people, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. […]
Being Uncomfortable With Comfort
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”-C.S. Lewis In our mother’s womb we are shielded from the world’s ugliness and pain. Then we are […]
Building A Better Me
I think I’ll jump in right where the story gets good. I have many chapters in my life that influenced who I am now, just like all of you. We have all been children before and on the same journey of figuring out what we believe about ourselves. At an early age, we decide if […]
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