Getting Through YOUR Gethsemanes.

Gethsemane

Watching a 3-D movie without 3-D glasses is a bland and boring experience. Looking at your life through the wrong lens can be the same way. Without the proper lens, the picture is flat, the colors confusing and the characters lifeless. However, the moment you look through the right lens, the images come to life. The events in the life of Jesus bring meaning to the events of our own. As a matter of fact, the ups and downs, the joys and challenges of our lives as Christians can be quite confusing to us unless we learn to view our lives in the light of His. The final week in Jesus’ life … [Read more...]

As a Lover or Theorist? – Reading the Bible

Fire of the Word

How do you read your Bible – as a theorist or lover? First and foremost, as a student/scholar or a eager pursuer? Chris Webb, President of Renovare, challenged me recently to rethink how I read my Bible. He points out in his new book, The Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground (IVP), how important it is to make sure we are not just using our heads to read our Bibles, but most of all our hearts. It stands to reason that there is a vast difference between knowing about someone and knowing them personally. For instance, I knew about a young lady named Pamela for three years before I … [Read more...]

No More Jiminy Cricket: Reflections on Conscience

Jiminy

In the beloved classic Pinocchio, the puppet that wanted so to be a “real boy” was devoid of one essential component – a “conscience.” Since he did not come equipped with one, a lovable, and sometimes irritable, companion named Jiminy Cricket entered the puppet’s world and, for a time at least, assumed that role.  Jiminy was Pinocchio’s constant companion forever dictating advice on the “good” and the “bad” in the potential choices he faced. Depending on Pinocchio’s response, the benefits and consequences that ensued in the story proved Jiminy’s judgments right again … [Read more...]

So Help Me God!

Mitt Romney and John F. Kennedy have something in common. They both have come under sharp scrutiny with the press and with some of the public over their faith. But, perhaps Romney and his team should take a few cues from JFK. In 1960, with his bid for the presidency in full swing, many people were worried about Kennedy’s Catholicism. At one point, it appeared that the biggest hurdle for him to clear in order to end up in the White House was a religious one. Among the concerns then were: What would it mean to have a Catholic president? Would the pope now become infallible over political … [Read more...]

Guns or Sons? David Brooks Frames the Debate on Meet The Press

David Brooks

While many obsess over gun control laws, the more pressing question is what we can do to better “influence” the souls that may eventually use them. On Meet The Press (NBC, July 22, 2012), NY Times political and cultural commentator David Brooks was asked by host David Gregory if the Colorado shootings may cause “some kind of national moment” to occur.  Brook’s response framed the issue clearly and poignantly. He said: … [Read more...]

The Bible & New Technology: My New Article in CT

CT June 2012

Here is a link to an article I wrote that just came out in the June issue of Christianity Today. It is entitled, "The Social Network Gospel" and is a look at the changes taking place in Bible reading and study worldwide. It also includes interviews and insights from the people at YouVersion, the Glo Bible, American Bible Society and Facebook-the Bible Page. This link requires a subscription to CT, but it gives you a good intro to the article. I had a great time interviewing for, research and writing this article. Here's the … [Read more...]

An Interesting Elevator Ride: The Book That Sparks Opinion

elevator

If you ever want to make an elevator ride interesting, just casually ask the fellow riders in the car what they think about THE BIBLE. And, then, hope you’re in a tall building, because it seems that everybody has an opinion about the Bible. The varying opinions of the Bible are many. Views range from a “pack of lies”... to “the hope of the world.” One psychologist wrote that in his opinion, “...a person who takes the Bible seriously is demonstrating a sickening form of dependency that ought to be addressed in long-term therapy.” On the contrary, a federal judge once said … [Read more...]

A LifeWord: Off the Pages & Into Your Heart

hearing God

“The life is in the speaking words.” A.W. Tozer God wants to breathe a word into your soul and over your life.  Did you know that? It happened to people in the Bible. It has happened to people throughout history. It has even happened to me and it is a moment not to be missed. It can also happen to you. As a matter of fact, God wants it to. Of course, you may already know that God has written his words in a book, but the fact is. . .he also wants to write one on your heart. He has done so throughout the centuries in the lives of countless followers and you’re no different. God wants … [Read more...]

How Good is “Good Enough”?

overcoming feelings of inadequacy

  “I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion…” - Isaiah 1:14 The Message “It will be an ill day for us if what most humans mean by ‘religion’ ever vanishes from the Earth. It can still send us the truly delicious sins. The fine flower of unholiness can grow only in the close neighborhood of the Holy. Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar.” - Senior “devil” Screwtape in a speech at the “Annual Dinner of the Tempter’s Training College for Young Devils” (from C.S. Lewis’ popular parody, The Screwtape Letters) One of my … [Read more...]

Was Jesus Religious?

why-i-hate-religion-but-love-jesus-spoken-word-video

“I’m after mercy, not religion.” Hosea 6:6 The Message “Christ came when all things were growing old. He made them new.” Augustine Would Jesus be comfortable attending an average church service today? I’m not so sure. You have to wonder at least, don’t you? First, I’m not so sure he would sit still for that long. Second, in some churches, if Jesus showed up as a visitor, he would be ignored. In others, just plain bored. Even though in our church architecture we have certainly succeeded in stamping him onto our stain glass windows, I’m not so sure we could … [Read more...]