i have been studying the sermon on the mount for several months now, and i’d like to explore here some insight i have had on what, exactly, holiness is: Matt 5 (ESV) 43 – 48 Love Your Enemies You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But […]
it is a mystery
about one-third of the planet’s current population live in areas that have historical ties to the religion associate with jesus christ — and yet so very few people actually study and follow his teachings. here in indiana, where i live, you’re hard pressed to find someone, anyone, who doesn’t believe in god in some capacity […]
on hurting a burgler
assume you live alone, and are home alone, in your apartment, asleep in bed, when you realize that your apartment is being broken into, downstairs. what is the proper course of action for a follower of christ? don’t assume you have, or don’t have, a gun, a bat, a tazer, or any other weapon: all […]
Plankeye
A friend of mine recently wrote: This is the very reason I stopped attending my youth group. It was so unwelcoming. And, there’s something else, too. It seems to me, that rejection from the church crowd holds a bigger emotional consequence than rejection from other crowds. These are, after all, the people with whom you […]
your job, should you choose to accept it
remember, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. i can’t stress enough: love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love it is the holy […]
the law
when i was a baby, and brand new to the universe, i had specific things i could and couldn’t do. i couldn’t walk, or run, or feed myself, or even not pee myself. i didn’t need rules, i wasn’t aware enough to understand them. this is sorta like adam and eve. eventually, i grew up […]
this is the message we heard from christ
finish this sentence: this is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you… no, really… read it and try to finish it in yer head, knowing that this is the first half of a verse from john, how do you think he’s going to finish this sentence? how would one of jesus’s […]
dealing with “weaker brothers”
first off: i like the ESV. bad NIV translation has spawned the phrase “weaker brother”, which implies that the person must be somehow “under” you, by the -er suffix. the phrase, though, is simply “one who is weak in faith” — regardless of how they’re faith “stacks up” to yours. anyway, on with the scripture: […]
patriotism
patriotism, as most people understand it (regardless of what the dictionary says it “means”) is, in my opinion, not a stance a follower of jesus can take. it means, at its most basic, that one is aligning himself with an agency on earth, rather than with god’s kingdom, where jesus instructs his followers to make […]
“once saved, always saved” ?
let us supposed we have 2 people: billy and franklin (i just pulled those names out of thin air ) i’ll give away the ending of this story first: franklin goes to heaven, and billy goes to hell. now, let us also suppose that billy and franklin are twin brothers: born within minutes of one […]
sharing the truth in love
how did jesus do it? he told stories that made points about heaven, and let people draw thier own conclusions. he had a small group (120) that he encouraged to follow him around, learning how he lived, and an even smaller (12) that he went out of his way to teach deeper meanings to, and […]
“not acting like jesus would”
Matthew 11:19 (Contemporary English Version) 19 But the Son of Man goes around eating and drinking, and you say, “That man eats and drinks too much! He is even a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet Wisdom is shown to be right by what it does. jesus was, as we see here, accused of […]
a look at matthew 5:39-40
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. jesus, throughout these chapters, is giving illustrations, not rules. […]
“your life is your best witness”
i have heard, many times, something along these lines: “your life is your best witness” it is simply not true. your words are your best witness. your life, and the way you live, will prove out what’s really in your heart, but no one gets “saved” without hearing — and sitting there not sinning, but […]