Tag: Jesus

Digging in Deeper: Luke 15:11

Leave a comment

“And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.”‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

Every comedy featuring kids facing off against some adult villain has a moment when the adult gets it somehow. Perhaps the most famous is the original Home Alone. The Sticky Bandits, Harry and Marv, hilariously work through Kevin’s house of horrors getting hit in the head with irons, paint cans, stepping on upended nails, glass ornaments, getting glued and feathered, having their heads and hands burnt, and finally getting whacked with a snow shovel before they are finally arrested. That’s called justice, and if we pursue a path of evil-hearted foolishness like the younger son in the parable of the prodigal son, we will eventually experience that moment ourselves. 

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: John 8:31-32

Leave a comment

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

When Jesus had been arrested and tried by the Jewish religious authorities, they handed Him over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, because they wanted Him crucified and they didn’t have the authority to impose such a sentence. Pilate was an interesting guy, but one we’ll have to talk about another time. What’s of interest right now is that as Pilate questions Jesus to get a sense of who this man was that so enraged the members of the Sanhedrin, he asks a question that rings far more loudly today than it did then: What is truth? 

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Ephesians 4:31-32 Part 3

Leave a comment

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
– ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:31-32‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

We have so far covered the fact that we need some kind of a foundation for our efforts to be good beyond simple convenience, and that as Christians, citing the Bible as that source is problematic. It hurts both our walk and our witness. It hurts our walk by making us legalistic since a text doesn’t love you, it just tells you what to do. It hurts our witness by leaving us in a position of having to rigorously defend every single part of the Bible or risk losing all of it. Incidentally, the defense of the Bible is a big industry in Christian circles even as looking at it critically is a big industry in skeptical ones. We need—and have—a better foundation than this. Fortunately, we do have one: Jesus. 

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 4:31-32 Part 2

Leave a comment

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
– ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:31-32‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter)

In the first part of this reflection I asked the important question: Why be good? After thinking about it for a bit, I landed on the idea that we need a better foundation for our efforts to be and do good toward the people around us than most of the ones we encounter in our culture. As Christians we have one, but we sometimes forget it and trade it out for one that’s better than average, but still not the best there is. Namely, we often rely on the Bible to serve as our justification for being good. Jesus is better. Let’s talk about why. 

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 1 John 1:6

Leave a comment

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

Sometimes you come across something in the Scriptures that, if you think about it very hard, can make you break out in a cold sweat. It doesn’t happen so often as to make you read with armor on, but you’ve still got to watch out for it. This is one of those places. 

Read the rest…