There is a place for variety of culture in the ekklesia of Christ (the songs we sing, the clothing or costumes we wear), but no place for class (rich, poor; high, low; important, unimportant). There is a place for authority and responsibility in the ekklesia of Christ (the Spiritual gift of administration, the responsibility for leadership that is related to […]
The creators of popular methods of entertainment and the editors of the popular pretense of spreading “news” are not afraid of the good news about the possibility of going to Heaven. They are afraid of low ratings, offending perverts, offending Muslims, and being unempowered by the exposure of their deceptive imagery and monolog. The scene resembles the moment in the […]
We have many instructors, but not many fathers. One of our most effective instructors is named Failure. He leads us into places where we make mistakes in judgement or action. Since he really has no desire to see us succeed, he then tries to lead us into a place of condemnation and self-hatred that keeps us under his influence. Often […]
And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put […]
How far are we from learning that we each need the gifts of other parts of the Body of Jesus, and that we are responsible for living in a way that other parts gain access to part of His life through our contributions? How devoted are we to doing whatever we can to enable and encourage the rest of the […]
In Acts 3:16, Luke quoted Peter as saying that it was the name of Jesus that healed the lame man who was begging at the Beautiful Gate and made him able to walk. That means that the name has power. Paul, writing to the congregations in Colossae, instructed them to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians […]
I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has a difference of opinion with religious leaders regarding the concepts of clergy and laity being valid categories of church membership. Luke recorded the apostles’ reaction to a controversy about a ministry of feeding widows as not being important enough for them to do the work of fixing it (Acts 6 and Acts 8). […]
Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them. For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, […]
If I am still unconvinced that the Scripture references to being members of the body of Jesus are speaking of identity and nature, and the references to the Kingdom are speaking of commandments, obedience, and judgement, I will not be able to properly find the truth in passages like Hebrews 6:4-12. The two judgements that will be faced by every […]
He entered Jericho and was passing through. There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since He […]