In Matthew 5:40-42, Jesus gave some commands that may seem a little hard to swallow. He said, “If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do…

Every parent (and probably every teacher) knows what this is like.  You tell your kid to do something and the immediate response is something like, “Ok, but first I’m going to do this other thing.”  What’s going on in that response?  “This other thing” has taken priority over whatever the child has been instructed to do.  The child thinks he/she knows better…

This Sunday I will partake of the Lord’s Supper for the 3,819th time. I vividly remember the first time I sat at His table and meditated on all that Jesus had done for me. I have never tired of that time of meditation, and communion is even more moving now than it was that first time. There are some things that we…

There is much talk these days about “privilege.” While this word has been in the English language for hundreds of years, it is being wielded in order to divide this country along economic and racial lines. But, no matter what monetary or societal privilege a group of people may or may not have in this world, nothing compares to the privilege of…

As Israel’s “old” and final judge was nearing his last days, the elders of Israel gathered to Samuel and made their demands.  The first thing they basically said was, “We don’t want you or your sons!”  And then they laid out this directive, “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5).  Notice several things about…

When we think of cleanliness, we think of removing dirt from our bodies, clothes, dishes or our houses, but the Jews used the word far differently. God spoke often to them using this word and almost without exception it applied to being ceremonially unclean. This concept can be seen so clearly in the book of Leviticus where He uses the word “clean”…

A Washington Post article from February 9, 2016 reads, “Assault with a deadly weapon: Florida man charged with throwing alligator into Wendy’s.” If you are not yet familiar, let me introduce you to Florida Man. No, I’m not talking about myself. I’m referring to the phrase that seems to continuously pop up in news articles every other week. Each time you hear…

There are fewer subjects that will get some denominational folks charged up as much as the discussion of works and salvation.  It has seemed over the years that some very sincere religious individuals consider “work” (as used in a “Christian context”) to be a four-letter word that should be avoided. Unfortunately, some have tried to pit some Bible verses against other Bible…