When We Understand The Text
There’s a popular Christian song entitled Reckless Love, sung by Cory Asbury of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. The first verse goes like this: Before I spoke a word, you were singing over me You have been so, so good to me Before I took a breath, you breathed your life in me You …
Two people are having a spiritual or ethical discussion, one is a conservative Christian and the other more liberal. The conservative calls a popular teacher false, or says a culturally accepted behavior is sin, and points to what the Bible says. The liberal responds by playing the Pharisee card. “You’re so unloving and legalistic …
Burning Man is an annual week-long festival held in the middle of a dessert, and gets its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy. When you go to the Burning Man website, it says, “Burning Man is not a festival.” Oh, my bad. It must have been the costumes, live music, …
In Mark 7:18-19 Jesus said, “Are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) Now, what’s with the parentheses? Cynics will say that modern translators …
Unlearn the Lies is an online ministry that wants to correct many of the false assumptions people have learned about the Bible (kind of like another ministry we know!). While host Lex Meyer seems like a nice guy who just wants to honor God, that “honor” has to fit his Hebrew Roots framework. Like …
The Hebrew Roots movement (not to be confused with the Black Hebrew Israelites) teaches that the church has been corrupted by Greek and Roman influences, and we need to get back to our Hebrew beginnings. After all, Jesus and His disciples were Jews, so to be a good Christian, you must be a good …
It’s popular to say, “No creed but Christ,” as if to say we don’t need creeds, we just need Jesus. Ironically, that’s a creed, and one in need of some clarity. Creeds and confessions are formal statements of beliefs summarizing essential or important biblical doctrines. What does your church believe about Jesus? God? Mankind? …
A pastor told his congregation to speak prophecy to one another. But his definition of prophecy included visions of sharks and pirate ships… Matt Chandler: “‘Lord, what would you want me to encourage [this brother] with?’ And I’m quiet and trying to listen, and then automatically there’s a picture of a ship, a pirate …
Was Jesus a socialist? Well, the Bible says that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16). So Jesus is sovereign, not socialist. But in Acts chapter 4, we see at the beginning of the church that “those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no …
Wait a moment. What’s in this image? Is that a picture of *gasp* God? And are these paintings of Jesus? Even though the second commandment says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above?” Yes, well there’s an explanation behind our opening graphic. …
Legend has it that Gandhi once told a group of missionaries, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” There are two problems with this quote. One is that Gandhi did not actually like the Christ of the Bible. And two, Gandhi did not say …
“Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re of no earthly good.” Have you ever heard that expression before? It is a lie from the pit of hell. More accurately, don’t be so earthly minded that you’re of no heavenly good. Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all …