My friend, Aaron, and I walked into a Mosque on a Sunday afternoon looking for a fight. Or at least I was. Aaron was just being nice by going with me. I was in a class that required me to dialogue with Muslims about their faith and my faith with a slant towards apologetics. As an American, my first thought was a real live Muslim? If you’re not from here (America) you probably don’t know...
It’s Friday, 11:20 a.m. and I am so frustrated with my little charge, Giuliana. I just picked her up from school and we are driving back to the house when she asks me what we’re going to do when we get home. I tell her that she can play while I finish up a few chores. “Can I watch TV?” she inquires immediately, and I say no. Because too much TV isn’t good for her....
How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 18:24-25) So said Jesus to the rich young ruler who, when instructed to sell his possessions and follow Christ, wilted and walked the other way. You’ve probably heard the statistics. The income for...
לכן אמר לבני־ישׂראל אני יהוה והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלת מצרים והצלתי אתכם מעבדתם וגאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה ובשׁפטים ג (Exodus 6:6) On the night on which He was betrayed, while their bold and often mystifying rabbi lead them in a tradition that they have practiced all their lives… a tradition which probably invoked the same sort of nostalgia, the same sort of deeply rooted emotional and spiritual emotions which we might associate with Christmas...
Following a day of worship, Easter egg hunts and family dinners (the odd combination of which deserves a blog post all its own), you might be ready to dive back into your weekly routine. But don’t miss what happened after Easter. In the rush to return to normalcy, take time to reflect on the rest of the tale. After all, a story that stars a risen Savior is far from finished. Here’s a rundown of...
It’s 62 A.D. and James “the Just” (the brother of Jesus), stands atop the parapet[1] of the Temple. Festus, the Roman provincial governor, has just died and his replacement, Albinus, has yet to arrive in Jerusalem to restore order. The Jewish Sanhedrin seize this opportune time to strike against its enemies. As James is forced to stand on this dangerous ledge overlooking the crowded courtyard below, the Jewish leaders say: “We call on you to...
I awoke this morning with this thought rolling around in my mind: “What would I do with all that money.” In case you have been under a rock for the last three days, this morning’s thought dawned courtesy of the Mega Millions lottery drawing on Friday March 30th. The story of the biggest lotto ever led the headlines for at least two days. So, the question on my mind had already been the topic of...
In the past three years, I have moved three times. Each time I call upon the great physical strength of my friends – an area I am decidedly lacking in – and then offer them pizza. They don’t care about the pizza; it’s just a gesture. As we lug all of mine and my wife’s stuff down stairs, into a moving truck, and then back up stairs again, two thoughts occur to me. The first...
What is the Biblical concept of remembrance? Well, let’s warm up: Growing up, what do you remember doing with your family for Easter traditions? For some, Easter Egg hunts are almost certainly a part of the picture. Perhaps you remember the annual gifting of some pastel-ey Easter basket filled with chocolates and bright colors. A morning brunch? A spiral ham dinner? But, how different was the Holy Week, or Resurrection Sunday for you, from the...
The boy knew about blood. A sign of sacrifice, it flowed through every festival and feast. His people saw the power and the promise in those streams, the blood of beasts. But when, amid the yearly plans, the old recurring rites, did he learn he was the Lamb? Maybe when his mother told him tales of men who sprinkled drops across the veil. Or when he saw the stains beneath the fingernails...
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