I was in Biscuitville, a local breakfast restaurant yesterday and an older gentleman encouraged one of the younger cashiers to “Invest in the stock market at an early age.” Not bad advice! Yet, it was his qualifying statement that caused me to pause because he said the reason for investing is that the stock will…
How Should the Church Think About and Respond to Racism and Social Justice?
EPISTEMOLOGY: In the conversation about racism and social justice, the Church must first address the source of our epistemology for the discussion. For the Church, the epistemology and foundation of the discussion about social justice and race must be founded upon the Scriptures for they are our authority for faith and practice. Thus, other epistemologies…
ARE YOU A CHILD OF WRATH OR A CHILD OF GOD?
According to the Bible, God’s Word, not everyone on earth is a child of God. In fact, it is just the opposite. When people enter the world, they are naturally children of wrath according Ephesians 2:3. Sadly, because of our first parents, Adam and Eve, all people, including you and me have a sinful nature…
Christmas: A Story that Must be Told
Yesterday, I took the boys to play basketball at the park. There was a boy there around 11 years old who played with us. After the game, I asked him, “What is Christmas all about?” He said, “It’s about spending time with family.” I said, “Anything else?” He said, “No, not that I can think…
FAITH TO PRESS ON IN MIDLIFE-WISDOM FROM PSALM 102
The older we get, the more we realize our own morality. The ages for when most people enter a midlife crisis ranges from 40-60. Considering I am pushing 40, I can begin to sense what it is like to have lived a significant portion of my life. I am beginning to realize how fast, and…
When Jesus refers to Himself as the ‘Son of Man’, is there a connection to Daniel 7:13? Does the term ‘Son of Man’ imply that Jesus is divine?
In our Bible study last night, one gentleman made a good point about the difficulty of the term ‘son of man’ and the claim to his divinity from Daniel 7: 13. After doing a little research, I was reminded of how complicated the term ‘son of man’ actually is biblically. This term is important in…
SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE RAMADAN AND PARTICIPATE IN IFTAR DINNERS?
A PLEA TO AVOID SYNCRETISM AND TO CLEARLY PROCLAIM THE RESURRECTED CHRIST OF EASTER Christians love Muslim people and there are many sincere ways Kingdom workers seek to display the love of Christ to Muslims. Over the years, some of the ways Christians have sought to love Muslims take place during the Muslim holiday of…
SHOULD YOU PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET?
The Radical Call of Christ to Forsake Everything and Follow Him Mark 10:17-31 It is almost Easter and I have been reflecting on this statement: “Don’t put all your eggs in the same basket.” Such is a statement of conventional wisdom which seems to lack a little trust either in the basket or maybe in…
A CHALLENGE FOR THE CHURCH TO THINK
We live in challenging times and the days ahead will be no easier. For me, the particular concern at hand is the globalization of Islam and its exponential growth worldwide. By the time I am 67, just 28 more years, it is projected the global Muslim population will equal the global Christian population. The post…
The Directional Flow of Sin’s Influence on the Heart: The Black Spot of the Heart according to Muhammad & The Heart of Domineering Sin according to Jesus
Both Christianity and Islam teach about ‘sin’ and both teach that sin is not only external, but also internal. That is, sin is both outside of a person and inside of a person. This is true also of doing good works in that it is important that external ‘good’ must also be done internally whether…
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