Yesterday’s devotional was about being “judgmental.” Contrary to what some people think, it’s actually okay to offer a humble word of constructive criticism to someone—just make sure you’ve first applied the same standard to yourself. Today, let’s go a bit further. After making the previous point, Jesus says: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; … Continue reading Apply this to yourself first
faith
Before you correct someone do this
When people tell you to not be “judgmental” they sometimes cite Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” That’s definitely a powerful word for all of us! But what many people skip over is what Jesus says in verses 4-5: “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let … Continue reading Before you correct someone do this
Can you trick God into a miracle?
Lately I’ve been thinking about miracles. As a part of that, I’ve been looking for patterns in the New Testament stories—particularly the ones about healing. Yesterday I talked about (a) how desperate many of the people were who came to Jesus, and (b) how convinced they were that he could actually help. [You can read … Continue reading Can you trick God into a miracle?
The more prosperous and educated we are
When you read through the New Testament healing stories, you start to see some patterns. One is that the people who come to Jesus for help are desperate. Another is that they are convinced he can actually do something about their situation. For example, in Matthew 9:18 a respectable synagogue leader kneels before Jesus in … Continue reading The more prosperous and educated we are
The nightmare that isn’t a dream
Recently I spoke with Abby, a volunteer involved in the fight against human trafficking in the sex trade. [You can watch a video of our conversation here.] According to the International Labor Organization, there are over 40 million modern slaves, many of whom are sex slaves. That’s more people than live in my entire country. … Continue reading The nightmare that isn’t a dream
Are miracles anti-science?
At the church I pastor, I’m teaching a series about miracles. And one of the things I sometimes hear is this: “I don’t believe in miracles because science doesn’t allow them.” Makes sense, right? Wrong. According to Michael Ruse, a respected philosopher of science, science “deals only with the natural, the repeatable, that which is … Continue reading Are miracles anti-science?
A God-sized dream
We all have dreams… Dreams to be a certain kind of person. Dreams to make such-and-such contribution to your community. Dreams to achieve this or that… That’s great. But I think it’s helpful to occasionally look at yourself in the mirror and ask whether your dreams are too small. That’s right, too small. Life has … Continue reading A God-sized dream
For those who are suffering
There is a lot of suffering in the world. There is personal anguish and anxiety. There is family and relationship stress. There is oppression and violence and war. None of this surprises me because we live in a broken world. But it bothers me. It bothers me because it’s not what God intended. So, in … Continue reading For those who are suffering
Something that contaminates and dilutes faith
In North American, “self-help” is a huge 11-billion dollar industry. In fact, it’s so huge that we don’t even realize how much it surrounds us—like water surrounds a fish. If we’re not careful, it can both contaminate and dilute our faith because it takes the focus off of Christ and puts it on us. So … Continue reading Something that contaminates and dilutes faith
Do miracles still happen?
Miracles are everywhere in the Bible: The world is created out of nothing, water is turned into wine, and dead people come back to life. But there’s a lot of skepticism, and I get that. David Friedrich Strauss once speculated that Jesus must have been walking close to shore so it only appeared like he … Continue reading Do miracles still happen?
