Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Standing Out From The Crowd

red tulip in field of yellow tulips
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10).

It can be rough standing out from the crowd. Don’t expect to be popular if you follow Jesus’ teachings.

As we finish up the Christian Behavior series, we need to look at how the world will react to people who actually follow Jesus. It’s not uncommon to hear that people only dislike Christians when they get preachy about sexual morality. That’s not actually true, though. People speak highly of Jesus' ethical teachings until someone actually starts following them. Then they can get grumpy real quick.

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Impossible Things

nativity scene
The virgin birth of Christ seems to be the miracle the most people have a problem believing. Even many people who believe in the resurrection struggle with the idea of a virgin getting pregnant. Here in the modern world, we know that such things cannot happen, but back in ancient times, they were gullible people who would believe anything. We can imagine how the conversation between Mary and Joseph went:

Mary: Joseph, I’m pregnant.
Joseph: What? You’ve been cheating on me?
Mary: No! I have been with no man! I am still a virgin.
Joseph: Phew! That’s a relief. Well, these things happen you know...

The reality is their conversation looked nothing like that.

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Don't Pick and Choose

house in storm with water rising
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matt 7:24-25).

We really don’t like rules. The day our first parents broke the one rule they were given something crept into our DNA that makes us chafe against any limitations. Nothing makes us want to touch something more than a sign that says “don’t touch.”

We’ve spent the last several months looking at a lot of rules, things Jesus said to do or not do. Human nature is to go along with the ones that suit us and ignore the ones that seem too hard or too limiting. Jesus warns us not to do that.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Not Why But Who

father and son holding hands in a dark place
We’re about to lay my brother to rest. He wasn’t young, but he wasn’t that old. It’s still too soon. He’s not the first my family has lost “too soon,” in fact there have been several in the last 10 years, a few even in their 20s, and we’re hardly the only family to go through that.

Life has always been hard, but lately it seems to be so hard for so many. Lost loved ones, lost jobs, lingering health problems, and hunger surround us. Death, war, famine, and pestilence aren’t just comic book characters. The whole world is hurting.

When we suffer, we cry out to know why and receive no response. If we knew why, would it really make us feel better? Unlikely.

Job is one of the most popular characters found in the Bible; everyone knows his story. When he’d lost everything, Job demanded to know why. God didn’t tell him why. God told him who.