Category: THEOLOGY
35 Years and the Providence of God
I just received this New Testament, Thursday, 35 years late. It had been a gift from my wife with a very special note inside. I thought I lost the New Testament 35 years ago in an airplane. I recall feeling sad about it, but praying some...
How Did Jesus Get His Name?
What is in a name anyway? Maybe you know what your name means, and it is something profound and wonderful. Or maybe your name means something less than fantastic like my name, Kole, which means “darkly-complexioned”. If you met me, it would be obvious that my...
What Jesus Thought Was Wrong with the World: And How It’s Different Than Most People Think
Most people think there’s something wrong with the world. Ask almost any of our nation’s recent immigrants and they’ll tell you that without hesitation. That’s because when they came here to find something better they were fleeing something worse, usually violence or poverty. But it’s not...
That is Not the Way You Learned Christ
Have you ever felt the lure of your old life before Christ? Maybe you ran into some friends who knew you before you became a Christian and their talk of having fun enticed you, or someone you dated before seems interested in reconnecting with you. Paul...
Jesus Died a Hero?
There is a very old bit of graffiti scrawled onto a plaster wall in Rome. It’s a crude sketch of a naked man hanging on a stick-figure cross. The man has the head of a donkey. To the left stands another man who looks up at...
Who is Like You Among the Gods, O Yahweh?
Why did the Exodus happen? I’ll give you a multiple choice. A. To bring the Israelites out of slavery. B. For God to fulfill his covenant with Abraham to bring the Israelites to the promised land. If you answered (A), you would be right. If you...
We Must Live With This
“Let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed.” (1 Cor 16:22, NET) These are such striking words! Can they really be true? The verse seems to dangle there with no immediately apparent connection to what precedes it or follows. Paul placed this thought...
What Happens When You Die?
Death is one of those “common denominator” human experiences. We all will experience it. I’m aware of two historical exceptions—Enoch and Elijah, both of whom were simply taken up by God. I’m also aware that those Christ followers who are alive when he returns will avoid...
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
“My head’s kind of spinning,” my friend said as we turned to walk up the steps to yet another house in my neighborhood. We had just knocked on 5 or 6 doors hoping to engage people about their spiritual beliefs and experiences. This time out, we...
What is Truth?
Pilate, the first-century Roman governor in Judea, asked this question of Jesus in response to his affirmation that He was a king, ruling over a kingdom that is not of this world. “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into...
