Jesus gives a brief story about the interaction between a servant and his master. The conclusion is that the servant should not expect any praise or special treatment for merely doing his job. So too should be our attitude when we do what God expects of us. Instead, we—I don’t think I’m alone in this—have […]
By James Rutz (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)In The Meaning of Life, author James Rutz takes a new look at some of the standard thinking about God. He examines anew God’s creation, corrects common misconceptions about what heaven and hell are really like, revisits history to address its central theme and approaching conclusion, addresses the problem […]
In the post on forgiveness, I cited the instructions of Jesus: when someone treats us wrongly we are to first confront (“rebuke”) them about the issue. If they apologize or acknowledge their error (“repent”), then we are to forgive them. From this, we can infer a three-step process: Which evokes several questions: Frankly, I don’t know […]
Once when teaching his disciples, Jesus addresses forgiveness. He says when someone treats us wrongly we are to first confront (“rebuke”) them about the issue. If they apologize or acknowledge their error (“repent”), then we are to forgive them. Although Jesus literally says we are to do this seven times, there is actually no limit to forgiveness. […]
When people approached Jesus, wanting to connect with him, he would offer a variety of instructions. It seems his response addressed their particular situation and issues. What he said most often was “repent and follow me.” “Repent” simply means to change our ways, to do a U-turn; “follow” means to go after. Sometimes Jesus was […]
The Hip-Hop Church: Connecting with the Movement Shaping Our Culture By Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) In The Hip-Hop Church, authors Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson assert that hip-hop transcends the music on which it is based, forming its own culture that has been largely missed or dismissed by the church. […]
In the post “Hear God” we looked at Jesus’ instruction to “hear the word of God and obey it.” “Hear the word of God” is usually understood to mean “read the Bible,” but it might be more correct to comprehend it as meaning “listen to the Holy Spirit.” Regardless, the concluding part, to “obey,” is […]
I’ve blogged about squirrels in my yard, which I see on a daily basis and rabbits in my yard, which I see almost as often. This is not the case with raccoons. I’ve never seen a raccoon near my house, at least not until a couple weeks ago. I was outside as dawn was peaking forth, setting the lawn […]
Once when Jesus was wrapping up a teaching, he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” What exactly does he mean? Hear God from the Bible In our culture, we often consider “the word of God” to mean the Bible. So the common understanding is we need to […]
I believe God lives outside of the space-time he created. Therefore, he isn’t limited by time—as we are—so our prayers need not be bounded by time, either. This allows me to pray for things after the fact; the timing of when I pray is not as critical as the fact that I did pray, at […]