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The Faithful Thief
We often study Christ’s crucifixion, its import, its cruelty, its significance. It is seldom, however, that we take the time to consider those two others crucified with Him. Matthew 27:38 tells us these were thieves and political criminals, and Luke, in chapter 32:33 records them being put to death with Christ. We only have one recorded conversation between Jesus and these two, but there is much we can learn from the exchange between Jesus and those put to death with Him. One of these, in Luke 23:39, turns to Jesus, ordering Him to save Himself and them from their fate… Continue reading
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Choosing Life
Every day we are faced with many choices. Many are trivial, and we make them out of habit. Others are more difficult. Paper or plastic; coffee or juice; main roads, side roads, or back roads; narrow path or broad path; life or death. Recently, I had to make a choice between an emergency surgery or letting a pet die. The choice was quick and easy. When given the choice between life and death, I chose life. When there is hope, when there is an option, we choose life. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses sets a choice before the people between good… Continue reading
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High Expectations
What do we expect of one another? What do we expect of ourselves, and what do we think God expects of us? Sometimes we grow frustrated with one another because we expect so much of each other. We can be very hard on those around us; we can be hard on our families; we can be hard on our brothers and sisters in Christ; and we can be hard on ourselves. Is the alternative, however, to simply lower expectations to avoid disappointment? When we lower our expectations of each other and ourselves, we may decrease potential for disappointment, but God… Continue reading
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The Seven Churches and Us
The challenge in examining ourselves is to examine ourselves, not as we see ourselves, but as God sees us. We often hold ourselves to one standard while God may hold us to another. This is true both individually as well as a congregation. As a congregation, we have successes; we have failures; we have challenges; and we have times of growth. In these times, we have to remind our selves this: that God knows our work and our hearts, that He cares about our work, and that He has standards against which our congregation is measured. In Revelation 1:13, Jesus… Continue reading
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Understanding the Term “Christian”
When you hear the term Christian, it probably elicits a response similar to one created by the terms Muslim, Buddhist, Jew, or Catholic. We have preconceptions and assumptions based on the label. It is a term that has been overused and misused to the point that some followers of Christ wish to dispense with the term altogether. In many ways, it has lost meaning and context because of the free way we use the word. Literally, the word means, “that which pertains to Christ,” and it is used only three times in the entire New Testament. Each time this word… Continue reading
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Changing Hearts, Changing Direction
Repentance is more than something God requires of us. It is something He desires from us and something He helps us come to. In Leviticus 26:14-16, God begins a passage about the consequences the children of Israel would pass should they not uphold the law He set before them. Verse 40, however, changes tone, and God begins speaking of the forgiveness available to those that confess their sins and repent. Their humility has the ability to turn God’s judgment from them. Repentance in the Old Testament II Samuel 14, Absalom having killed his half-brother for sexually assaulting his sister, we… Continue reading
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All About Jezebel
Jezebel – it’s a name laced with dark and heavy undertones. We don’t name our daughters Jezebel, and, if we do use the name in a sentence, it’s usually used as a derogatory term. I have to admit, though, Jezebel is one of those Bible characters who has always confused me. First of all, she seems disproportionately well-known for the amount of screen time she gets in the Bible. She gets about twenty verses in the entire Bible, not all together, and roughly half of those twenty (ish) verses cover her death. She’s a bit part, yet I bet you… Continue reading
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Soul Security
Note: This devotional was part of a song service centered around the song How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts? It also contains references to other hymns if you pay attention and follow the readings. What does it mean to us to feel secure? When we have a sense of security, we feel safe. We feel protected. We feel shielded from harm. We treasure our security. We value and protect it. We wear seat belts to feel secure in our cars, have airbags and car alarms to increase that sense of security. We invest in GPS systems to make us… Continue reading
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Bringing Us Together
I have a deep, abiding love for the conductors Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan. They, however, did not seem to share that love for each other – or so it seemed. The two had little to do with each other. They seemed polar opposites of the conducting spectrum, one stoic and dignified, the other emotive and unrestrained. Karajan was a master of subtlety while Bernstein painted in broad, colorful strokes. Their philosophies could not have been more disparate, so it only stands to reason that more than a few music critics paint them as rivals. That relationship, however, may… Continue reading
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A Spiritual Checkup
How do we measure up? We have various standards we try to measure in our lives. How fit are we financially, physically? How fit are we as families? Along with these, we should also be measuring the fitness of our faith. Are we comfortable sitting in an average standard of faith? Are we spiritually unhealthy, or do we hold ourselves to a higher standard? Romans 14:22-23 speaks to having a healthy faith, but how do we know where we stand? How do we measure up? How do administer a spiritual check-up? Checking On Our Faith I Peter 1:6-7 talks about… Continue reading
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