How do you know?
During this Holy Week, I have been doing a lot of reflecting about the amazing passion of our Lord — the depth of his love for us, the resolve to endure the rejection and pain, the power over sin, and death that is revealed in the resurrection. And then I was confronted with the question, “How do you know it’s true?” I think the young man’s question was sincere, though he was obviously ready to shoot down any answer I might give. Unfortunately, our time was too short and the situation difficult for me to give him a good answer, a complete answer. What he wanted was some sort of indisputable fact, a God he could see, touch, and hear right at that moment. I don’t know if I gave him a decent answer at all, but I made sure that he knew the story of what Jesus did for him, and what that meant for me.
Bible Chapters for March 29 – April 4
- Matthew 28:1-20
- Luke 24:1-33
- John 20:1-18
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-58
Bible Chapters for March 22-28
- Psalm 22:1-31
- Matthew 27:1-66
- John 19:1-42
- I Corinthians 2:1-16
How committed are you?
How Committed Are You?
Every Christian assumes they have a strong commitment to Christ…. I challenge that assumption. Other than attending worship services few Christians engage in regular spiritual practices.
Bible Chapters for March 15-21
- John 18:28-40
- Ephesians 2:1-22
- Hebrews 12:1-29
- Romans 6:1-23
He Is Stronger
One of my pet peeves is the portrayal of dads on television. The typical TV dad is an inept, bumbling fool who is always one step behind his kids, his wife, and his boss. Or, the other kind of father you might see is the absent father – a guy who left his family years before for selfish reasons and suddenly shows up looking for money or reconciliation. Where are the strong male role models that our society deserves? Where are the dads who love their wives, love their children, live out a life of honesty and integrity, and offer Godly wisdom? I know they’re out there in the real world … so why is it so difficult to portray them on TV?
TEMPTATION
Being a person who needs to continually watch his weight, I often times think how unfair it is to be constantly bombarded by the media with enticements for all of the foods and beverages that I need to stay away from. Then on top of that, I’m being told constantly that in order to live the good life, I must participate in this program or that process or chase after this idea or buy that item. It’s any wonder I’m not 500 lbs. and broke!
Bible Chapters for March 8-14
- Matthew 26:1-75
- Luke 22:1-71
- John 18:1-40
- 2 Timothy 2:1-26
What’s in a Vision?
One of the verses in the Proverbs chapter (Proverbs 29:18) for this week has been quoted an amazing number of times by preachers and Christian speakers over the last decade. This seems to be the ”go to” verse to inspire churches to develop and follow a vision of ministry. While I don’t have any problem with the idea of a church developing and following a ministry vision, I am a bit concerned with how this verse some times gets used. I’m not convinced that God inspired this proverb to be written down so that Churches would go into some great visioning process and come up with a brief, carefully crafted, winsome vision statement. I think its original intent is much more basic than that. This Proverb is about leading God’s people, church, to be always looking for direction from his Word.
Bible Chapters for February 28 – March 6
- I Chronicles 22
- Proverbs 29
- Matthew 28
- Acts 8
