Do you know anyone whose life hasn’t started yet? Maybe they justify their atrocious spending habits on the fact they’re young. Or put in a half-hearted attempt at work because they’re underemployed. But they say that once they’re older, married, a parent, have more time, or have landed a “real” job, then they’re really going to get their financial life in order.
In Luke 16, Jesus says two important things about how we manage the things that we have.
Read More success, relationships, trustworthiness, moneyRecently, I received a letter from a rather worried teenage girl. She told me that she was trying very hard to tell her non-Christian friends about Christ. But, her friends had still not become Christians. She asked me, what she was doing wrong. What if her friends ended up in hell because of her?
This parable warns us against placing all of the responsibility for someone else’s salvation onto the shoulders of the messenger.
Read More listening, responsibilityThis passage can be a challenging one for those of us who struggle with issues of self-esteem and self-worth. I just came from talking to a close friend whose life is crumbling. She has never felt like she was good enough. She has never truly believed that she was loveable to anyone – especially God. So she’s tempted to skip over teachings like this, because to her they read like yet another rebuke.
But I don’t think that’s what Jesus was going for here.
Read More entitlement, work, sin, faith, serviceThe stories of those from Samaria is an interesting little thread through the Gospel narrative. The Samaritans and the Jewish people had some pretty significant theological differences. Which is why it would have shocked Jesus’ disciples that he chose a “good” Samaritan as the hero of one of his most famous parables.
Leprosy wasn’t just a chronic and debilitating disease.
Read More rejection, thanksgiving, leprosy, outsiderJesus said that a time is coming when we will long to see him, on this earth, in his glory. While theologians have debated over how best to interpret this passage, and how it relates to both Christ’s crucifixion and what will happen when Christ comes again, one thing is clear – right here, right now, we long to see Jesus.
We long for the comfort and security of having him on this broken earth in human form, with a face we can look into and a voice we can clearly hear.
Read More second coming, longing, seeing JesusI stared at my bank balance in horror. It was around Christmas and thieves had skimmed the entire balance from my bank account. I was furious and also pretty worried. My bank assured me that the money would be returned. I just had to wait. So I waited. And I waited. After a week passed I went back to my branch – they told me to wait a few more weeks. I was tired of waiting.
With the help of a wise, media-savvy friend we took to Twitter.
Read More relentless, character, passion, persistenceDeath and illness are two things which can stop us in our tracks. I was in England when my grandfather passed. At the time, my work was heavy in a production cycle and no one was allowed time off, for any reason. I will never forget looking up from my desk at my two editors and telling them he’d died. They just looked at me and said “Go. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” I didn’t even have to ask.
Read More death, light, self-assurance, stumblingOh, how a little bit of bad press can be a terrible thing. The first time we meet Martha in the scriptures she is distracted, worried and upset because while she’s working hard to take care of things for Jesus, she feels her sister isn’t pulling her weight. Jesus gently tells her that she needs to realign her priorities, and make time to simply listen.
Read More life, learning, discipleship, resurrectionAs any child who has participated in a Bible memorization competition in Sunday School knows, John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible. I’ve often wondered why. What is it about the two simple words, “Jesus wept” that made scholars believe they needed to stand alone?
In this story, we get the impression that Mary is so overcome by grief that she can’t even muster the strength to run out to greet Jesus as her sister has.
Read More pain, compassion, tearsI was sitting on the floor in a meditative church service. The worship leader had been talking about brokenness. How sometimes we can feel lost, but that Jesus wants to reach out to everyone and bring them to a saving, light-filled, restoring relationship with him. Then he read chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, about the death of Lazarus.
Read More Unity, cross, scattered people