Tag: Gospel

Morning Musing: Mark 12:13-14

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It is great to finally be back. My family had a fantastic and much needed several days away. I’m ready, though, to hit the ground running this morning. I’ve got the next few weeks through Mark sketched out and can’t wait to dig into Jesus’ final days with you. We’ll also look at some things going on in the culture around us that resonate with the Christian worldview in powerful ways. You won’t want to miss a single part of the journey that lies ahead of us. Thanks for reading and sharing.

“Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words. When they came, they said to him, ‘Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had someone try and use your words against you? If you’re a parent, you’ve probably had that experience. You draw a line in the sand with one kid, and later, when another kid comes up against the same sort of experience and you’re considering letting them cross it for some reason, the other will loudly remind you of your words to make sure nothing unfair takes place. Or, at least, that’s what I’ve heard. In a larger sense, U.S. citizens have the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution to protect us from our words being unfairly used against us in a legal setting. The experience of having someone take words you’ve said and twist them around for their own ends ranges from frustrating to horrible. As the religious leaders kept trying to find some way to take Jesus down, they sent a group of Pharisees and Herodians to do this very thing.

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Risen

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Jesus is risen! Let us rejoice together in this incredible truth. Today we are talking about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We’re talking about not simply the fact that it happened, but what it actually means for our lives. Thank you so much for taking time to remember the hope we have with me today. This week is Spring Break for my family. This will be the only post for this week. I look forward to seeing you next week. Don’t miss the next stop on our journey through Mark’s Gospel. It just keeps getting better from here.

Risen

I have a bit of a…unique sense of humor. It’s not that I don’t find things funny that most other people do. It’s that I think things are funny that some other people don’t. As a case in point, I’m a big fan of Monty Python. I actually own the special edition version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And while I’ve never gotten to watch their original sketch comedy TV show, I have seen most of their movies.

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Morning Musing: Malachi 3:6

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“Because I, the Lord, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Yesterday, we talked about the fact that when God comes, it will be for judgment. More than that, He will serve as both the judge and the star witness for the prosecution. We talked through the various injustices against which He will serve as a witness. It all ultimately directed us to three points, I said. The first point was that getting religion wrong invariably leads to getting issues of justice wrong. There is a direct connection from one to the other. The second point was that this whole trial scene in v. 5 was fundamentally unjust because there was no one to speak on behalf of the accused. That led us to a third point…which we are going to talk about this morning.

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Morning Musing: Obadiah 15

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“For the day of the Lord is near, against all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; what you deserve will return on your own head.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

Because it occupies such a big place in the halls of pop culture, I’m going to assume you’ve heard of the principle of karma. The basic idea of this Buddhist teaching is that whatever we do in this life will eventually be visited back upon us. If we do good things, then good things will happen to us. If we do bad things, then bad things will happen to us. Somehow, the universe will balance the scales of justice. Now, as theological concept, karma is a mess that Christians cannot endorse in any way. The basic intuition behind it that has been common across all human cultures and religions that justice will eventually be done, however, is not only one we can encourage, we see it right here in the Scriptures. Let’s talk about this for just a minute.

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Digging in Deeper: Micah 7:7

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“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Do you ever feel like the world is going crazy around you?  We hear more news today than any people ever in the whole history of the world.  We know more about what’s going on in the remotest parts of the world…and most of it seems to be bad.  The culture around us is increasingly sensualized as is amply demonstrated in the media.  The political divide only ever gets sharper.  Opposing sides of issues can hardly have civil conversations anymore.  Students have been taught for years that human life is of little value and the fruits of this are coming to bear in the news of school shootings happening all the time including another tragic one just last week.  Psychological disorders are common.  People are more and more addicted to just about everything–social media, exercise, body image, pornography, opioids, alcohol, stuff.  Consumerism and materialism are rising to levels unheard of in human history.  What do we do in the midst of the filth storm that seems to be raging around us? Read the rest…