It is the first day of a new year, and you can tell by looking at social media. Twitter and Facebook are clogged up with quick motivational messages and reminders to make 2014 the best year of your life. These messages may be sentimental, and some are spot on. However, a constant thread runs though…
Discipleship
On contentment
I have a theory. Now mind you, it is just a theory, so perhaps I could be proven wrong. Nevertheless, here it goes: Genuine thankfulness should result in contentment. According to the commentators for the Macy's parade yesterday, an estimated 45 million turkeys were consumed as families across the United States gathered to take part…
On stupid questions and missing the point
The questions we ask say a lot about who we are. Think about it for just a minute. Questions reveal concerns. We rarely ask questions about things that do not concern us. They expose our understanding of things. We have all sat in a classroom where someone raised there hand and asked a question only…
Continue reading ➞ On stupid questions and missing the point
On the severity of sin
"You must purge the evil from you" (Deut 24:7). This is the constant refrain given in Deuteronomy. As Moses revisits the statutes set before Israel going into the promised land, he provides the above statement as grounding. However, it begs the question, "Why?" Why is it necessary for Israel to purge the evil in their…
Already, but not yet – Part 4
The message of the kingdom is the mission of the church. Over the last three posts, I have discussed the significance of the kingdom of God, pointed out some common misconceptions, and provided a rough description of this kingdom. The kingdom has already come in one sense, yet in another, it is waiting on its…
Already, but not yet – Part 3
We were supposed to be stewards. That is why we were created. In the very beginning, back when God made everything out of nothing, the pinnacle of that creation was man. Man was made in his image and was to rule in his stead. In essence we were stewards, entrusted with overseeing all that God…
Already, but not yet – Part 2
If you do not know what you are fighting for, you are bound to make mistakes. In the last post, I talked about the kingdom of God (or the kingdom of heaven, as the terms are interchangeable in the Bible). The term gets thrown around a lot. We Christian folk are always talking about "kingdom…
Already, but not yet – Part 1
Jesus is concerned about his kingdom. It is pretty easy to agree with that statement if you read the gospel account of Matthew. The kingdom of heaven is possibly the most prevalent theme in the book, and is most often recorded off the lips of Jesus himself. Yet, for most of us, the kingdom of…
When life seems unfair, but really it is not.
The parable of the day laborers has always been difficult for me to comprehend. Perhaps I make it too hard. More precisely, perhaps I do not like what it teaches. In chapter 20 of his gospel account, Matthew retells a parable that Jesus told. In this parable a landowner goes out to find day laborers…
Continue reading ➞ When life seems unfair, but really it is not.
The nations are in your backyard
I am currently staring out the third floor window of my new home, overlooking the busy, downtown streets of Washington, DC. Well, it is my new home for half the week, at least. This is why: Since the dawn of modern international missions, this task has largely seen people leaving the United States in search…
