Bible
Eat or Die
Elijah was one of those Old Testament prophets who was bigger than life. He boldly confronted the political and religious leaders of Israel and successfully challenged their false Gods. On one occasion, he actually put to death Israel’s false prophets after defeating them in a challenge between their gods and Elijah’s God. However, Elijah learned […]
Why You’re Being Deleted
I remember being shocked when Barrack Obama won his first term as president, fully believing that the Republican nominee would win (just as I was shocked when the Republican won in our most recent Presidential election). My pastor at the time suggested my surprise was a result of having only friends, and reading/listening only to commentators, whose views aligned only […]
The Devil Made Me Do It!
Readers over the age of fifty may remember the comedian Flip Wilson, whose television series in the early seventies was the second highest rated show on network television. One of the comedic characters Wilson played was Geraldine Jones who often justified her questionable actions by saying, “The Devil made me do it!” While Flip Wilson […]
Christmas Bells: From Despair to Assurance.
Born in 1807, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow became a famous poet and one of the most famous Americans. His life wasn’t all happiness, however. His first wife died in 1835 during a miscarriage. then in 1861, Longfellow’s second wife, Francis, died from injuries received from burns when her dress was ignited when sealing her daughter’s newly […]
Why Do Some Christians Think They Can Love Better Than Jesus?
or Why Sometimes Just War is Necessary It seems like of all people, Jesus’ love would be the most effective to compassionately defeat hate, yet even his love wasn’t enough to overcome hate and violence, thus his death on the cross. So why do some Christians think that our imperfect love has any chance to […]
What Critics of the “Billy Graham Rule” Are Missing
I remember as a young minister hearing about Billy Graham’s “rule” to avoid the appearance of impropriety by not being alone with a woman. I had heard that he would even excuse himself from an elevator, if it was only him and a member of the opposite sex. The explanation I heard was that he […]
What Does a “Healthy” Church Look Like?
Many churches today cannot be considered healthy because they have too many unhealthy members for the church to be considered “well.” Just about any church you go to, there is a mix of healthy and unhealthy members. To what proportion the healthy and unhealthy members exist in a church, to a large extent determines the health […]
Thanksgiving is a Christian Holiday
Many practices and rituals which have become nearly routine, or profane, in the United States have very solid and deep roots in Christianity. Christmas, Easter and while not on the Christian Calendar, Thanksgiving have all been Christian observances that look back to the work of God in the world. However, we have seen over the […]
In Defense of Thanksgiving
Within hours of getting up this Thanksgiving morning, I was faced with a Facebook post that instead of celebrating the work of God in our lives and all that He has blessed us with, it condemned Americans for the things we are thankful for today and nearly apologized to the millions who we have mistreated […]
The Sin of Patriotism?
It’s the 4th of July, Independence Day for the United States of America. Here in Korea (where I currently live), you wouldn’t know it from any other day (unless, of course, you’re on a U.S. military installation). But with the benefit of the Internet, there’s no escaping it…though personally I wouldn’t want to. I celebrate […]
Here I Sit 