Intelligence

Spiritual blindness is different from eyes that are not functioning properly or are ruined. Spiritual blindness has to do with allowing our lives to be the final authority on what is accepted and true. It is blindness because we are not the authority. When we make ourselves the authority, we can only reflect upon our projections of reality. So, we surround ourselves with a type of knowledge limited to ourselves. This excludes knowing what is beyond us because we cannot admit contradictions to the biases of our fleshly mind. Being impressed with ourselves is a little like being in a room of mirrors, wowed at the seeming infinite, while after all being in a small room.

The Beauty of Misery

On the other hand, productive misery is a lonely, but necessary, journey. It is guided by the hope of something better. We can take no one with us as we examine the fruit of our behavior. No one can think for us. No one can appreciate for us. No one can regret for us. No one can repent for us. No one can yield to the hope of good news for us. God will do none of those things for us. We must do it alone. However, God makes it possible for us to accomplish those things.

Love and Compromise

The love of God determined that Christ depart the realm of glory to make Himself of no reputation. The result was redemption and a return to glory. It was done for our sakes. This was and is the supreme compromise. By following Jesus, we are clothed to reflect that great love.  We do this by finding a meeting point, a compromise with our neighbors in the world and with our family in Christ….

Whose Sin?

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). There are victims in this world. There are people who have been subjugated and abused by others more powerful than themselves: the bullies and the bullied, the wealthy oppressing the poor, men of power trapping the powerless, adults abusing…

Zacchaeus and Public Opinion

“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.” I was introduced to this odd little song with accompanying gestures somewhere between my twenty-third and twenty-eighth birthday. I had never heard children’s songs like this. What a fascinating character, this wee little man. Zacchaeus “was a chief tax collector, and he…

Motes and Beams

Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:2).  It’s a powerful statement. The Lord wasn’t speaking about discerning right from wrong. He was talking about how we discern people. We may see the surface behavior, but we can’t see the way the Lord sees. We cannot discern the thoughts and intents of the heart….

Religious Cosmetics

“Do you look at things according to the outward appearance?”  (2 Corinthians 10:7). Much of the denominational world uses the Law of Moses as a reference for its standards and practices.  Often, there is a mix of the ten commandments, buildings referred to as temples or tabernacles, rooms or places accorded a special degree of…

Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. We think of a peacemaker as one who stands in the divide between two opposing parties, one who mediates and brings about reconciliation. This is a major function and a needed one between man and man, and between God and man. Christ Jesus…

Data vs The Work of God

I recently received a call from a research group asking questions about discipleship. I suspected the underlying purpose was for the sake of marketing. I decided to participate, just to see if I could insert something edifying into the conversation. The questions were involved and thorough. The phone conversation took quite some time. One reason…