There is no such thing as Santa (or the year zero); the truth about Jesus’ birthday
In honor of Christmas, I will be blogging daily until Christmas Day about certain elements of the birth story that have become distorted over time. I will also be engaging in my annual “prank” of rearranging manger scenes so that they are theologically correct. This is a vast improvement...
All Dogs (and even cats!) Go To Heaven
Growing up, my family always had pets. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, hamsters, ponies, spider monkeys – Ok, maybe not all of those; I mean, wouldn’t it be ridiculous to have a pet hamster?! When one of them died, we lost a family member. Inevitably someone would ask, “Will we...
Which Bible should you read?
Time to check the mail… just received this in an email. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the NIV 2011 version. http://www.christianity.com/blogs/alexcrain/11654158/ Every time a new version of the Bible comes out, people immediately want to condemn it – usually to sell more magazines or drive...
The Prodigal Father (aka The Prodigal Son parable) Luke 15:11-32
Centuries ago someone came up with the title The Prodigal Son. As a result, much of its original meaning was lost in translation. The parable is not about the son! Most of us don’t need to be reminded of our rebelliousness; our fathers probably even have photographic evidence to...
Knowledge is Power: Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 12)
Right now there is someone reading this blog wearing Spiderman pajamas and bunny slippers and eating a snack consisting of pretzels, nacho cheese, popcorn, and chocolate syrup. Sound plausible? Maybe. But what if I was exactly right? What if my description was so exact that the person described dropped...
Born to die, Raised so we can live: The humanity of Jesus
Click on the picture and get ready to laugh! I might risk a stoning by saying this, but it needs to be said if we are ever going to learn how to truly live. The miracles of Jesus were not born out of His divinity; the miracles of Jesus...
Letters to an American Lady
I received this message regarding my blog “Forgive and Forget About It” so I thought I should post it along with my response to help clarify things. Enjoy. Hi Jon: Hope you are doing well. I have read the above blog several times, and I do understand that only...
Charlie Sheen isn’t the only one who is winning: more than conquerors (Romans 8:37)
More than conquerors Often I have heard people try to encourage me as I endure the storms that inevitably come my way in life. They’ll say with fist high in the air, “We are more than conquerors!” This phrase has never encouraged me because it begs the question: “if...
Good Friday, Better Sunday
Lift Jesus higher, Lift Jesus higher. Lift Him up for the world to see. He said “If I be lifted up from the Earth. I will draw all men unto Me.” This is a song I used to sing in youth group. Perhaps you sang it loud and proud...
God’s return policy: “His Word will not return void”
“His Word will not return void” If I had nickel for every time I heard this phrase, I would have at least ten dollars. (Guess I should ask for more than a nickel.) Here’s my two cents on this topic. This phrase is a paraphrase of Isaiah 55:10-11. “As...