God - God versus religion

Trump’s Effect on Evangelical Churches Lingers. Good or Bad?

Evangelical Churches and Trump, Is your allegiance to God or country?

Here’s a headline from Christianity Today: A Year After the Election, Trump’s Effect on Evangelical Churches Lingers. The subtitle says: Political tensions in the pews have calmed, and another survey shows leaders’ Trump support yielded more positives than negatives for evangelicals. That’s all well and good for the feelings of the individuals from a political point of view. However, is it good for spreading the Word of God? You know, for fulfilling things like the Great Commission?

Trump’s Effect on Evangelical Churches Lingers. Good or Bad? More

Did Judas return the thirty pieces of silver to Jewish leaders?

Circumstances around Judas' death

Did Judas return the thirty pieces of silver to Jewish leaders? Well, yes. Sort of. But it’s more a question of did the Jewish leaders accept the thirty pieces of silver? More so, what did they do with the silver Judas tried to return? And of course, why do these seemingly minor detailed questions even matter?

Did Judas return the thirty pieces of silver to Jewish leaders? More

Was Judas present for the Last Supper?

Circumstances around Judas' death

Was Judas present for the Last Supper? This isn’t meant to be a trick question, but it might turn into one. So, I’ll give you a hint. The Last Supper was an event that tied together the Passover ceremony of the Old Testament with Communion in the New Testament. One was the Old Covenant. The other was the New Covenant. So, the question is really about whether Judas was present for that event. The Passover celebration. And, as it turns out, what we could call the first Communion.

Was Judas present for the Last Supper? More

The problem of the circumstances surrounding Judas' death

Judas: Fractured Threads
a haunting echo of broken trust, divine mercy, and human consequence

Circumstances around Judas' death, Echoes of Betrayal: Tracing Judas Through the Gospels

Even a lot of non-Christians know about Judas. He’s the guy who betrayed Jesus. An act that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Something that had to happen. The crucifixion, that is. Without it, there’s no payment for our sins, no salvation, no resurrection, and no eternity in Heaven. So it’s all a really big deal.

But how much do we Christians really know about the events surrounding Judas’ death? And why does it even matter if we know or not?

Judas: Fractured Threads
a haunting echo of broken trust, divine mercy, and human consequence More

Was the U.S. never really a Christian country?

A look at ourselves, Politics, government, religion and God

Christianity Today just asked a really interesting question – Was the U.S. never really a Christian country, or was US Christianity corrupted by politics? If you’ve read much of my stuff, you likely realize I say that with our entanglement of religion and government, we’ve never been a truly Christian country. It’s just not possible when we mix politics and religion. Given my own stance, it will be interesting to see what CT has to say on this question.

Was the U.S. never really a Christian country? More

Don’t waste your cancer. Use it to help others.

Don't waste your cancer

Don’t waste your cancer. Use it to help others. I wish I could take credit for the title. I borrowed it from a short booklet called Don’t waste your cancer, by John Piper. It’s true for more than “just” cancer, not that cancer is a small thing. Rather, my point is that even the way we deal with small problems can help others.

Don’t waste your cancer. Use it to help others. More

The LORD Said. I Think. Oops! That Was Me!

Something from my day

“The LORD Said. I Think. Oops! That Was Me!” Yeah, that really happens. I do wish I could take credit for my title, but I can’t. It’s from a book by T. F. Tenney, titled The Lord Said– Or Was That Me: Some More Advice Unasked For And Seldom Heeded. I’ll hopefully write about it (the book) some day, but for now it’s just the title I’m borrowing.

It’s hard to admit even to ourselves when we do something because we thought it’s what God wanted, but then find out it wasn’t. Worse yet, it’s what we wanted.

The LORD Said. I Think. Oops! That Was Me! More

Did God Forsake You If Cancer Surgery Isn’t 100% Successful?

Don't waste your cancer

Never will I leave you or forsake you. I suppose pretty much every Christian knows that line. Or something like it, depending on which translation you read. It’s from God. But do we know where it comes from? And of course, the ultimate questions related to that line – do we believe God will never forsake us and do we live like we believe it? And for today’s topic, did God forsake you if cancer surgery isn’t 100% successful?

Did God Forsake You If Cancer Surgery Isn’t 100% Successful? More

The Way Back Home

Seeing God in non-Christian music

The Way Back Home. But the way back home from where? And to where? I first wrote this one back on October 25, 2013. I cried when I wrote it. It still makes me cry. Even when I hear this song now, it’s got a whole added meaning to it beyond the obvious words. And today, March 3, 2021, I’m publishing it again.
Get some kleenex, and see a deeper message in this amazing song – The Way Back Home.

The Way Back Home More

what can Christians learn from politics?

What can Christians learn from political parties?

A look at ourselves

I was going for a walk the other day and had this thought -what can Christians can learn from political parties? It’s amazing what we think about while walking our furry friends. Like Donnie, the little guy below. I know, it sounds crazy. Especially from someone who keeps pointing out that politics and religion really shouldn’t be mixed. And neither should government and religion. And yet the question, what can Christians learn from political parties, has a simple answer. A lot. There are so many things we can learn.
After all, it doesn’t matter if Christians are taking a “Biblical” approach to an issue. And yes, I put “Biblical” in quotes for a reason. It’s because when our solution is to go to the government, and / or to act in a way that isn’t loving – it’s also not truly Biblical.

We turn people off. They reject our solutions. But even worse, they reject Jesus’ offer of salvation because we failed to act in a manner consistent with what Jesus taught.

What can Christians learn from political parties? More