We have either failed to see or have ignored the high standard of Christianity. Either way, we have demeaned and diminished discipleship. We have developed a contemporary version of Christianity that demands little. Jesus’ words about counting the cost, denying self, cross bearing, and putting Jesus first–above parents, possessions, prestige, have little meaning in today’s …
Monthly Archives: November 2010
Hebrews 10: Missing the Point
After the writer of Hebrews concludes the central section of the book (chapters 7-10:18), a fourth exhortation is given. (Generally, five exhortations are identified: 2:1-4; 3:7ff; 5:11ff; 10:19ff; 12:14.) The fourth exhortation includes five first person plural imperatives: let us draw near to God, let us profess our faith, let us consider one another, let …
Retirement–Doing What We Always Hoped to Do
The dream is not new to us. It has been our dream for a long time—more than 35 years. In fact, it is a fairly old dream when measured in terms of the length of the typical life—to preach the gospel without burdening churches, ministries, or missions. After a few years in ministry, we had …
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Discipleship: Following Jesus
I reflected and remembered former days as Ken Short described his childhood experiences—trying to follow his father through the drifted snow, carefully trying to walk in the exact footsteps, but sometimes failing because his legs were too short and his father’s strides were too long. It is not easy to follow exactly in another’s footsteps. …
It’s Sunday Again: Home
As I write this morning, I am amazed again at our shrinking world. In our global village, travel is easier than ever and communication is instantaneous in many places on this globe. It is hard to believe that yesterday morning we were eating breakfast in Central America and visiting with Maribel, our waitress at the …