Promoting Healthy Spiritual Growth
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote about the growth that comes in the Christian life. He explained that some ministry is like sowing seed, some is like watering plants, but it is God who brings the growth (1 Corinthians 3:5–9). Thus, in one sense, all...
Don’t Skip Over Those Words
We recently purchased a small fire-proof safe for our home in which to keep important papers. As I was learning to work the combination dial, the first time or two I couldn't get it opened. I initially thought there was something wrong with the safe . . . until I...
Be Diligent in Your Hearing
Everyone--whether regular church-attender or casually visitor or interested spectator--will be exposed to "Bible teaching." Sometimes, we default to being merely passive listeners. But that is not the best approach. In his letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul...
Ah, Yes, I Remember It Well!
There’s a delightful Lerner and Loewe song from the movie Gigi(1958) that captures a common problem: misremembering. The song is “I Remember It Well”—an exchange between two friends reflecting on their first date. Honore (played by Maurice Chevalier) and Mamita...
Misrepresenting What Was Said
No one seems to like it. We all want both to be understood and fairly represented. We don't like it when someone misunderstands us, misrepresents what we say, or only selectively references our words to make their own point. But many Bible-readers appear to think...
Welcoming the Surprisingly Unexpected
In his fascinating book The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb brings into view the “impact of the highly improbable.”[1]The title comes from the discovery of a previously-never-seen black swan, first identified in Australia in the early 1900s. His book explores the...
An Imaginary Salvation?
In regular "religious" conversations, you may hear people make reference to Jesus. They'll refer to Him; they'll talk about how they believe in Him. In such moments it is always helpful to ask: "Which Jesus?" If you ask that question, you might get a puzzled look...
A Willing Fighter
You've probably heard the expression—particularly in the face of some desperate situation. "The doctor fought to keep the patient alive." "The first responders fought to get to the people trapped in the rubble." "The pilot fought to bring the damaged plane to a...
Trying Not To Be Casual About It
I know that there are times when, in the midst of a conversation with a friend, I find it hard to track what he or she is saying. My friend isn't "trying to say something;" he or she really is saying something. The problem is that I don't always hear with the...
Anchored Well
The book of Acts is a description; it is not a collection of mandates. In Acts, Luke describes what the experience of the earliest followers of Jesus was like; he tells us what happened. This means when we read Acts we can't simply conclude that how things happened...
