What strikes fear in your heart? For my sister who celebrated her birthday last weekend it might be a spider. For you, it could be losing your job. Or perhaps the very thought of your significant other walking away from you. What else? Cancer? There are a great many things we might fear. A little fear can be healthy, but the kind of fear that paralyzes, that keeps us up every night with worry, that keeps us from doing what we know is right must be overcome. Thankfully, God gives us guidance on breaking through fear, and promises help along the way.
Up to 50% of evangelical freshmen abandon their faith by their senior year. The most common explanation for this alarming fact is that teens largely live off a borrowed faith – borrowed from their parents or pastors. This may be true, but it begs another question: why do they need to borrow a faith at all? These teen’s families and churches are not entirely to blame (though they should shoulder some of the responsibility), the problem stems from not having a relationship with the person of God. Yes, God is not a distant deity but a living person with whom we are to enter a relationship with.
You’ve heard the expression “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, well neither was anything else in the ancient world. Take the Great Pyramid of Egypt for example, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (and the only one still standing) took around 20 years to build. The Great Wall of China was built on and off over 2,100 years. What’s my point? The “Great” things of the world take time to build and the Church is no different.
Over the last week we’ve been talking about Secular Morality, and while I think you’ve read the most accurate view of recent events right here at Think-Biblically.com, we’re not the only ones who have noticed. Several authors have written treatises regarding the decline of the American Spirit – our unique blend of Christian morality with a capitalist economy and a republic government. All three compare our current nation to Rome after it had been sacked in 410 AD. Some talking-head journalists and commentators have called America a nation in decline, but in truth its scarier than that – we’re a nation in transformation.
Last week we learned that there is more than one kingdom that Jesus talks about in the Gospels. Matthew discusses the Kingdom of Heaven, different from the Kingdom of God used by other gospel writers. The Kingdom of Heaven has traitors in its midst, while the Kingdom of God exists after the wheat and the chaff have been separated. How does this understanding of the two Kingdoms impact our theology? It has to do with a phrase that you may have come across in other readings, “now, and not yet” talking about the duality of the Kingdom.
Last week news broke that Bill O’Reilly was leaving the Fox News channel, shocking news to everyone concerned. Rumors swirled, some news outlets reporting that O’Reilly was fired due to a sexual harassment suite, others that advertisers began pulling from the show due to that harassment suite. Some reveled in the notion that the conservative commentator wasn’t as straight an arrow as he claimed to be, others simply could not believe that the accusations against him were true. Where the truth lies we’ll likely never know as usually cases like this end up with a settlement and a court gag order.
“Reality is whatever you want it to be”, said an acquaintance of mine one day. “That’s not right.” I replied, and thus began our discussion of what is “real”. Many people espouse beliefs like this without thinking the logic of the statement through to its conclusion. “So if you want your reality to be one where you can fly, all you have to do is believe?” That should have been enough to show the error of his ways, but he actually agreed with the statement. “Then let’s go to the roof and you can demonstrate this for me.”
There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about the second coming, and much expectation of the return of Jesus. This is not the first time in history such expectations were raised, and hopes daunted. Even so, never before in history has so many of the signs been fulfilled and yet still we wait. Does our savior tarry? What is he waiting for? Some say it is to build anticipation, but such a thing is only cumulative in a given generation not all that have passed since Jesus ascended to the throne. The question remains unanswered.
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At a public debate among those running for Student Body President one candidate attempted to make “Unity” his platform, saying at one point, “Our student body needs more unity.” A quick-witted reporter for the campus newspaper asked an insightful question, “How much do we have now? And if I may follow-up, how much more do we need?” The question reveals that we have no measure for unity, no way to quantify it. There is no spectrum of unity; it is something you have or do not have. Can the same be said of godliness? Not according to Paul.
Early last week it was announced that a new pyramid had been found in Egypt, about 25 miles south of Cairo in the Dahshur Necropolis (see map) along the Nile’s west bank. This discovery, announced by world-renown Mahmoud Afifi, the head of Egyptian Antiquities, is important on a number of levels. It is the oldest pyramid yet discovered, and its misshapen form may indicate it is the first attempt to build such a structure. Furthermore, it appears to have been undiscovered since its burial in the desert sands, keeping it free of looters. It has already yielded important finds.
This is one of those topics where pastors get themselves into trouble with their congregation, or Christian bloggers get into trouble with their audience. The subject is one of those aching sores in Christian circles and has to do with the very center of our faith. It helps us define what it means to be “saved” and even discussing it threatens our sense of security, making us feel uncertain or angry. As part of the Church Universal, we all affirm that Jesus is both our Lord and Savior; the trouble begins when we ask where “Lordship” fits into salvation.