Jesus’ teaching on binding and loosing is a bit perplexing and worthy of careful contemplation. A parallel passage talks about forgiving sin and is even more disconcerting. Jesus says that if we forgive someone’s sins, they will be forgiven; conversely, if we don’t forgive someone’s sins, they will not be forgiven. That is an even […]
Perhaps you’re one of the 18 million people who’ve viewed the viral YouTube video, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus—and if not, check it out. It is simply a video of a young man reciting his poem. In it, he creatively contrasts Jesus with religion. He does so with passion and conviction, avoiding overproduced […]
In the post about the easy yoke, we learned that a yoke was essentially a Rabbi’s teaching, of what was prohibited and what was allowed. Jesus had his own yoke and he said it was easy. The process of ascertaining what things where to be prohibited, was the act of binding. To “bind” something, was […]
Jesus said that his yoke was easy; that his burden was light. What exactly does that mean? From a simple perspective, we understand a yoke to be a means to harness a draft animal in order to pull a load. Therefore, an easy yoke, one with a light burden, would be something that was not […]
I think it was Reggie McNeal who first said, “People…are not leaving the church because they have lost their faith. They are leaving to preserve their faith.” That statement may be shocking—even heretical—to some, but I suspect that for many it is enlightening, effectively explaining declining church attendance, albeit in a disconcerting and confronting manner. […]
If “wisdom” is the theme of Proverbs, then “path” may be the context. There are good paths and evil paths, straight paths and crooked paths. There are the paths of the righteous and paths of the wicked. For those who are wise and make good decisions, there is the right path, the path of life, […]
Among all the reoccurring words in Proverbs, it is “wisdom” that is the most prominent—mentioned 54 times. Wisdom, in fact, is the central theme of the book, effectively summarizing its focus and purpose. The dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight; common sense; good judgment.” […]
Lately I’ve been meditating on the phrase “tree of life.” It occurs in only three books of the Bible: Genesis, Revelation, and Proverbs. In Genesis, we find the tree of life in the garden of Eden, while in Revelation the tree of life is mentioned in the book’s concluding chapter, which addresses the new heaven […]
The word meditate is a verb. Verbs are action words; they are doing words. To mediate means to reflect on; to contemplate; to think about something deeply (especially spiritual matters). I often meditate on what God tells me in the Bible and through his Spirit. The result of one such season of meditation culminated in […]
Loud, Undisciplined, and Without Knowledge The word “folly” occurs 23 times in Proverbs and only 16 times in the rest of the Bible. The dictionary defines folly as “a lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight; an act of foolishness; or a costly undertaking having an absurd or ruinous outcome.” I think that is exactly […]