Jesus is Inconvenient

I got summoned for jury duty. I do not have time for this. Another time it wouldn’t be a big deal, but not now. A lot of people just throw them in the trash, but I can’t do that. I have to honor the law, so I go.

Once there, they accept requests to be excused if you have certain issues. I could claim I have one of those, but I don’t. I can’t do that. So I sit quietly and — heaven help me — wish I were at work.

Be Like Jude

We live in a generation with a lot of questions, a lot of doubts. There’s a lot of cynicism, especially where religion is concerned. How do we help people answer those questions or soothe those doubts? How do we, like Pascal said, make Christianity attractive so that good people wish it were true?

One thing we can do is become Jude 3 apologists.

The End of the Matter

We’ve spent the last few months trying to learn from the trials and tribulations of Daniel and the other faithful Jews in Babylon. It’s pretty heavy stuff. When trials come, we’re going to have to take a stand. It won’t be popular, and we’ll find ourselves isolated as we try to serve God in a world that is against everything we stand for. How do we stand strong through that?

For our final Lesson from Babylon, we’ll look at one last recurring theme in Daniel that can help us persevere through the hard times.

A Manual for Manhood

What does it mean to be a man today? Something that has never been an easy question to answer is even harder in an age concerned with #metoo, ending patriarchy, and toxic masculinity. Thankfully there have been a lot of good books written on the topic recently. I want to tell you about one that might be off your radar because it isn’t strictly a “Christian” book.

When Enough is Enough

“Will this ever end?” When we’re undergoing God’s discipline — whether it’s punishment for our behavior or boot camp before better things — we may wonder if the trials will last forever. They won’t.

God puts up with a lot from the wicked. The history of Israel shows that God will use the wicked deeds that evil people do to discipline his people. The actions of Assyria and Babylon were sometimes just as bad as, if not worse than, what Israel did. The same may be the case when we are taken to task. When God’s people suffer, they wonder if there will ever be justice for the wrongs inflicted on them.

For our next Lesson from Babylon, we’ll look at how God brought those he used to punish Israel to justice for their own evil.