Tag Archives: sin
I find it fascinating that most ancient creation stories begin with a preexistent primordial watery chaos which then spontaneously gives birth to a series of gods whose job it is to bring order to the cosmos. These gods hold up the skies, support the earth, control the weather, and regulate fertility, but when not properly appeased, abandon their posts and allow…..
God created the heavens and the earth and declared it a very good place to live. Adam and Eve then rejected His rule and were expelled into the wilderness. God’s children filed for separation because they confused slavery to sin with being emancipated minors. The Holy playground that God had created became an unholy crime scene. God’s daily walks were transformed into a once-a-year sacrificially supervised parental…..
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” (Mark 1: 3)
John the Baptist came to straighten crooked paths for the Messiah. He knew that the world had…..
In my last blog, I discussed how we could use the idea of the uniqueness of man as an evangelical bridge to our postmodern youth. We discovered that Millenials are obsessed with human uniqueness and make extraordinary efforts to preserve the right to be different. I pointed out that while we both embrace individuality, we differ on its source. Christians believe humans are special because…..
In the popular 1960’s television show, Get Smart, our hero, Maxwell Smart and his organization Control, were locked in a weekly battle with the evil organization, Kaos. While it lacked a certain philosophical gravitas, it still serves to remind us of the ongoing struggle we face every day of our lives. We also want to control the chaos in our world, and while it may be as…..
When Adam and Eve transgressed the Lord’s command they immediately recognized that they were naughty and naked and tried to cover their guilt with some leaf briefs.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3: 7)
Sadly, we have taken their first indiscretion to a whole new level by discarding our fig leaves and dancing around like emperors with new clothes. We have become a colony of…..
While we are called to hand out citizenship applications for God’s Kingdom, we don’t determine who will be admitted. Jesus staffs the border so our entry doesn’t depend on the quality of our human passport but rather by the One who stands at the gate. Do we want to be directed into the lane where our lives are searched for…..
It seems every company has an online help desk to assist us with technical difficulties. The website usually begins by directing us to the FAQ page for solutions to commonly encountered problems, a holy screen that instructs us to perform a few digital Hail Mary’s or Our Fathers to achieve technological absolution. However, when these fail, we are…..
During the recent Olympics we were treated to a wide variety of world-class athletes pushing their bodies to the limit and reaching heights never before imagined. We recognized their accomplishments because we understood the rules defining each event and the challenges the athletes faced as they excelled within those parameters. Sadly, the specter of performance enhancing drugs haunted this amazing international event…..
We Christians are frequently criticized for claiming that Jesus is the only way to salvation. Our critics find it abhorrent that they would be denied their God given right to shop the divine real estate market for their dream afterlife home. The problem is they have become so enamored choosing a designer house they haven’t bothered to check out…..
