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Reflect
We are to reflect Christ, but we can also reflect on what we read about Him.
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Was Jesus a tax collector?
A friend sent me an article to read, and this is my reaction to it. Anyone wanting additional context on my reaction should reference that article here. Does Matthew 22:18-22 morally obligate us to pay taxes? What does Jesus mean when he says, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s?” Jeff Barr analyzes this and believes this passage is one of the most misunderstood passages in the New Testament. Let’s look at the passage in question: “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them,…
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[s]indwelling or sin-indwelling
If we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit…. Here is an interesting verse to look at because there is so much packed inside of it—and I would like to unpack some of it: “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”Romans 7:20 ESV Paul wrote this letter to the Romans as a follower of Christ. Paul, like all Christ followers, has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So, the sin that dwells within each Christian must be sharing a dwelling with the Holy Spirit. That sounds like they could be roommates—except that they are…
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How can we resist the passionate call of sin?
In order to help any Christian develop practices that will aid in the resistance of sin, we need to start with studying scripture. The entire Bible is trying to redress the presence of sin and the story of the Bible leads us to its crescendo in the gospels where Jesus is the one that ultimately pays the price for our sins because we are unable to. Basically, the Bible itself is presented as an authority on sin and how to respond to it. The passion of sin For example, in Romans 6:11-14, it talks about the passion of sin: “So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive…
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Working for God
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.Proverbs 16:3 ESV Moonlighting is frowned upon Committing sounds a lot like dedicating. Doing one thing for the sake of something else—for the cause of something else. Why does the Lord want us to commit our work to him? It seems important enough to get its own proverb—so “commit[ting] your work” can’t be an empty platitude or something that has no great significance outside of its symbolism. I think it has to mean something—it has to matter—when you commit something to the Lord. And not just anything—your work.“I am doing this for you God.” As opposed to what?“I am…
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World’s largest frying pan? This means war!
Let’s take a look at the following Bible verse: I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”Psalm 91:2 ESV Trusting in God means making his plan my plan. It doesn’t mean just handing him the steering wheel and reclining the seat as if it were in auto-drive mode. It doesn’t even mean, “Give it a little gas and let God steer.” God did not design us to be passengers. He designed us to be the driver—and every good driver knows that how you get to the destination matters just as much as arriving there. “How you get to the destination matters…
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Fruit bombs, secondhand kindness, and the fruitcake of the Spirit
Have you ever seen a healthy apple tree or lemon tree or an orange tree produce so much more fruit than its branches can handle? I’m talking about a tree that will actually stunt its own growth by unintentionally harming itself simply because its own branches will break under the sheer weight of all the fruit it is producing. If a person doesn’t come in there and harvest the fruit, then that’s exactly what will happen. At least eventually. “The fruit tree with no one to eat from its branches becomes the image of a dying tree” That’s also what can happen to any Christian who is deep in the…
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The Box: A perspective on life and prayer
If you were in a cell—a box—whether it was for cause or no cause….because we all know you didn’t do it, and jails and prisons are full of innocent people—there would be nothing for you to do. Literally. There’s nothing to do. You can pee in the toilet since it’s right next to you. You could lay on the bunk that’s right next to the toilet. If you’re in general detention, there would be a lot of people you could talk to. It would help pass the time. It just might be a small cell with a door instead of the bars seen in movies. The bars are usually in…
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Crazy Love
“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”Ephesians 4:2 ESV Bearing With Someone vs Tolerating Someone Bearing with one another sounds a lot different than tolerance. What does it matter if I say I am tolerating you versus I am bearing with you? Tolerance seems to mean that I am putting up with you and that I am ignoring your sinful nature and your bad behavior or your glaring struggles. When a person tolerates another person, they are not enduring the pains that others are going through. They’re not even aware of them most of the time. It’s like wanting to be able to stand…
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Who would abandon a baby on the side of the road?
Alcoholics Anonymous (aka, Al-Anon or AA) recognizes that having a mentor is integral to success in their program. Al-Anon mentors are called sponsors—who are typically people that have successfully abstained from alcohol for an extended amount of time. They come alongside new members to advise and help them navigate through the challenges of being sober and the struggles encountered during recovery. What does this look like in practice? Sponsors will make themselves available or get someone who can be when desires for alcohol come up. They should also be an inspiration so that others would want to be more like them. Finally, they should be a pillar of strength for…
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Not all love is created equal
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16 ESV YouVersion Bible link Love is a choice. It is a decision that one consciously makes. It is acting for one option to the exclusion of another. Love is associated with desire in a way that illustrates this choice. Though the two concepts are closely intertwined (as these verses highlight) desire and…
