Over the past few days, we have examined Jesus’s words to us when we have offended someone. Tough steps . . . yet essential. But what about when someone offends us? The apostle Peter asked Jesus a similar question.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Grace
Full of Grace and Truth
While thinking back on his days with Jesus, John (one of The Twelve) remembers there was something about Him that was like no one else, during which time His disciples “beheld His glory.” His uniqueness was that incredible “glory.”
Read MoreA Loving Father
God doesn’t sit in heaven with His jaws clenched, His arms folded in disapproval, and a deep frown on His brow. He is not ticked off at His children for all the times we trip over our tiny feet and fall flat on our diapers.
Read More“Won’t Someone Please Stop Me?” Part Two
Strange, isn’t it, how we tend toward extremes? What begins as self-improvement becomes self-enslavement . . . what starts as merely a mellow change of pace leads to a marathon of fanaticism. We’re nuts! Left to ourselves, we’ll opt for extremes most every time. Which explains why God’s Book so often stresses moderation, self-control, softening our sharp-cornered lives with more curves that necessitate a slower speed.
Read MoreA Message for Misfits
Before he ever came to the plate, Jephthah had three strikes against him. He was an illegitimate child. Strike one. He was the son of a barmaid and a brute. Strike two. He was raised in an atmosphere of hatred and hostility. Strike three. Nurtured in an overcrowded cage of half-brothers, he was the constant target of verbal put-downs and violent profanity.
Read MoreLabels
Let’s Label. That’s a favorite parlor game among Christians. The rules are easy to remember. Any number can play. But it’s especially appealing to those who are given to oversimplification and making categorical comments. Name-droppers thrive on this game. And it helps if you speak with a measure of authority . . . looking somewhat pious and pronouncing your words very distinctly, very dogmatically.
Read MoreThe Legal Swamp, Part Two
Yesterday we began talking about the legal swamp—the tendency of people, and even professing Christians, to march headlong into the mire of courtroom battles, often without any attempt at personal reconciliation. And the longer we’re in the swamp, the more our attitude starts to stink. This is especially true when we choose to press the issue from a strictly legal standpoint.
Read MoreThe Legal Swamp, Part One
Law never fails to turn me off. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t think we need it . . . it’s just that it leaves me cold. It frowns and demands. It requires and warns and threatens. With a grim glare, it dares us to forget its rules or even think about disobeying its regulations. I know, I know. It protects us. It gives us recourse when we’ve been assaulted or abused.
Read MoreGod Responds
Did God respond to the plea of Psalm 137? Absolutely! After seventy years in exile, every Jew who wanted to return to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and restore the temple was allowed to do so. And the Jews learned their lesson. While they were certainly not a sinless people after their chastisement, they never again struggled with the issue of idolatry. And to this day, they prize the Old Testament Scriptures above all.
Read MoreGenerous with Grace
Before closing off our study of intolerance, two more sayings are worth our attention: The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. (11:25) The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor,
The wicked does not understand such concern. (29:7)