The love of God determined that Christ depart the realm of glory to make Himself of no reputation. The result was redemption and a return to glory. It was done for our sakes. This was and is the supreme compromise. By following Jesus, we are clothed to reflect that great love. We do this by finding a meeting point, a compromise with our neighbors in the world and with our family in Christ….
“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). There are victims in this world. There are people who have been subjugated and abused by others more powerful than themselves: the bullies and the bullied, the wealthy oppressing the poor, men of power trapping the powerless, adults abusing…
“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.” I was introduced to this odd little song with accompanying gestures somewhere between my twenty-third and twenty-eighth birthday. I had never heard children’s songs like this. What a fascinating character, this wee little man. Zacchaeus “was a chief tax collector, and he…
Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:2). It’s a powerful statement. The Lord wasn’t speaking about discerning right from wrong. He was talking about how we discern people. We may see the surface behavior, but we can’t see the way the Lord sees. We cannot discern the thoughts and intents of the heart….
“Do you look at things according to the outward appearance?” (2 Corinthians 10:7). Much of the denominational world uses the Law of Moses as a reference for its standards and practices. Often, there is a mix of the ten commandments, buildings referred to as temples or tabernacles, rooms or places accorded a special degree of…
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. We think of a peacemaker as one who stands in the divide between two opposing parties, one who mediates and brings about reconciliation. This is a major function and a needed one between man and man, and between God and man. Christ Jesus…
There is reason to fear God. What we think of ourselves may not stand. No one can escape the truth. The beauty and goodness of what God has done will not be lost on anyone, and many will awaken to the unpleasant realization of failure. We are fashioned by the Heavenly Creator to understand and…
I recently received a call from a research group asking questions about discipleship. I suspected the underlying purpose was for the sake of marketing. I decided to participate, just to see if I could insert something edifying into the conversation. The questions were involved and thorough. The phone conversation took quite some time. One reason…
Have you ever kissed a statue? I have. As a boy, I attended St. Andrews Catholic Church in Abilene, Kansas. I also attended its school from the third to the eighth grades. A part of the school’s routine was to attend Mass. The interior of St. Andrews church building was quite elaborate. High on the…
Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: “O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth” (2 Kings 19:15). God revealed His will for the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. Through Moses,…