Discussion of a biblical passage or topic.
In mid-March, I resumed doing one of my all-time favorite things, teaching adult Bible class. I alternate with another teacher, and now it’s my turn! We’re studying the New Testament book of Ephesians. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Ephesus while he was in prison in Rome. Paul is a fitting example for us, in pursuing his purpose and being concerned about others even when things are going bad for…
One of the most moving expressions of faith that soars with confidence when disaster strikes and the worse is still to come is found in the Old Testament book of Habakkuk. I heard, and my inner parts trembled; At the sound, my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble; Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will attack us. Even if the fig tree does not blossom, And there is no fruit on the vines, If the yield of the olive fails, And the fields produce no food, Even if the flock disappears from the…
Why are we here? Why is anything here? Right before Jesus suffered arrest, a sham trial, torture, and crucifixion, he prayed to God. The prayer is recorded in the New Testament in John chapter 17. The prayer includes these words, “And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.” (John 17:5 NAS) This verse shows Jesus existed with God before the world was created and that Jesus desired to return to…
We normally think of Jesus’s parables as teaching tools to help the hearers understand spiritual concepts. Yet, in Matthew 13 Jesus’s disciples ask why he speaks to the people in parables, and his answer is that he uses the figurative languages of parables so the people would not understand. Doesn’t that seem surprising? In some cases Jesus used parables to separate serious learners from casual listeners. See what he says in verses 13-15. Matthew 13:13-15 …
In the book of Deuteronomy Moses recounts to God’s people all that had happened during the previous forty years of their wandering in the wilderness. That time of suffering began when the adult generation that came out of Egyptian slavery failed to enter the Promised Land as God commanded. The sight of the tall, powerful inhabitants of Canaan filled the Israelites with the fear the Canaanites would kill them and take their children captive. God’s…
In my novel, True Status, one issue the characters grapple with is who gets to decide what is right and wrong. In the real world, each individual has the God-given responsibility to make correct judgments about right and wrong. Does that mean each person gets to decide what is actually right and wrong for them? Yes and no. In Romans 14, the apostle Paul discusses disputable matters in which each person can decide for themselves…
No. There is nothing as scary as hell. I just finished a novel in which one of the main characters had a near-death experience of going to hell; the author created a terrifying imaginary scene. Jesus and his apostles said hell is a real place of endless regret, darkness, burning, and pain; we do not need a fictional account to be very afraid of it. Bible phrases to describe hell include: “the lake of fire”,…
Jesus often sought solitude to pray; sometimes he rose early in the morning to pray other times he prayed well into the night. Jesus knew his heavenly Father always heard his prayers and he thanked God for hearing him. Jesus also thanked God for revealing the gospel first to the common people and not the learned and powerful. When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them to address God as…
When Jesus rose from death he completed the most heroic mission in the history of the world and the greatest comeback of all time. It opened the way to eternal life for anyone willing to believe in and follow Jesus. We can have a new life now Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are steps all of his followers emulate in baptism and in the good life we begin after baptism. So we don’t just look…
Early on the first day of the week, the angel told Mary Magdalene and the women with her that Jesus had risen from the dead and that he would meet his disciples in Galilee; the women ran to tell the disciples. At the same time, the guards who witnessed the angel descend from heaven and roll away the stone that covered Jesus’ tomb went and reported what happened to the chief priests. I am amazed…