Biblical teaching is full of paradoxes, things that don’t seem to make sense and could cause us to lose faith, or they could drive us to a deeper understanding of God and ourselves. One of these perplexing teachings is that we should rejoice when we suffer various kinds of trials. James 1:2 and Romans 5:3 affirm this attitude when we undergo hard times, “Consider it all joy” and “We also celebrate in our tribulations” they…
The Apostle Paul said our words should be tasty, well-seasoned, and correct for the need of the moment. “Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:6 NAS). How can we be sure that our words taste just right to our listeners’ ears? There are at least three habits that can help us say the right thing in the right way more often. Listen first First, develop the habit of…
Under the Law of Moses the Jews observed many rules concerning food, drink, festivals, and sabbath days. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian church urging them not to let anyone judge them on whether they observed such traditions because they were only shadows of the realities found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). The answer to why Christians don’t keep the sabbath day is because we have a better rest that the Old Testament sabbath day…
If you and I fully believed the special status we have in God’s eyes, it would be easier for us to show kindness. The creator, the king of the universe has forgiven us, chosen us, and made us his treasured possessions. We’re rich. People can and do hurt us, but it doesn’t diminish our standing with God. The slights, the insults, the frustrations that others bring cannot change who we are. We have nothing to…
Suppose a stranger rushed up to you and said, “You’re a new creation! The old you is dead. God is at work in you! You’re a participant in the divine nature. You’ve got to think new thoughts and live a new way.” You might think that person was nuts. Those statements sound absurdly over the top. Yet, if you’ve obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ as we discussed in last month’s post (Part 2), those…
Last month, we considered 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 to show our sins create a debt that must be paid. Click here to read that post. Today, I want to explore how we can all avoid being in a certain group of people. A phrase in verse 8 says Jesus will deal out “retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:8 NAS). In the Apostle Paul’s day, those…
The quote in the title of this post is taken from Acts 16:30. The question was asked by a jailer addressing Silas and the Apostle Paul, whom he had thrown into prison less than a day earlier and fastened in stocks. One of the central messages of the New Testament is an urgent plea: that we recognize our need to be saved. This post concerns the grave seriousness of our sins. Every sin we commit…
One great irony in the Genesis account of creation is this: Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil which brought death while neglecting the tree of life, from which they were permitted to eat. As I prepared to write Paradise Unfallen, I found myself pondering a question: What exactly would the fruit and leaves of the tree of life have done? A friend suggested that if Adam…
This is a true story which I emphasize because I’ve been known to make things up. I told Ruby that I have three more books to write in my series set on Earth’s twin planet, Erimea. Paradise Unfallen is just the first book. It’ll probably take ten years to finish. I’ll be almost eighty then. By that point, I should be mature enough to handle being famous. You know, something modest, on the level of…
As modern-day Christians, we often reflect with thankfulness that we no longer have to keep all the rules and regulations God’s people followed under the Law of Moses. Yet we should remember that we serve the same God as the Old Testament Israelites. When God judged and punished His people, it was not because they failed to observe some fine point of the Law. His wrath came because they neglected and rejected His most basic…