good religion
As a pastor, I get interesting responses from people when they discover my vocation. Some will immediately apologize for the language they’ve used. Some offer a forced smile and then come up with an excuse to change the subject. One line I hear often is: “Well, I like Jesus, but I don’t like religion.”
God’s garden
Last spring I planted an herb garden, even though I don’t have a “green thumb.” In fact, I only sporadically watered the plants when their environment reached desertlike conditions. But, fortunately, I was able to enjoy cooking with the fresh fruits of my labor throughout the summer. A year later, though, I looked out at my garden and realized that my garden—like my life—was in a different phase. The mint had taken over, some herbs were completely wiped out, and others were barren stalks. I decided it was a good season to pull them up.
transforming grace
At the start of the 1998 film Les Miserables, recently released convict Jean Valjean staggers into a small village. Cold, starving, and out of options, Valjean receives a meal and lodging from a local bishop. During the night, however, Valjean repays the bishop’s kindness by running off with his host’s expensive silverware. He’s caught the next morning, but the bishop graciously saves him from being sent back to prison by claiming that the stolen silverware was a “gift.”
as it is in heaven
In the “Lord’s prayer,” Jesus encouraged His followers to pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done “on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Not surprisingly, the four Gospels are loaded with stories of heaven and earth coming together in and around Jesus.
pearls to pigs
I have always been perplexed by today’s reading in Matthew 7. What are these “pearls” being spoken of and who are the “pigs” we’re not to throw them to?
doomsday predictions
Adoomsday prophet predicted that Jesus would return on September 6, 1994, then May 21, 2011, and then finally on October 21, 2011. He even said that God had stopped saving people after May 21. When the final doomsday prediction did not happen, the man had to finally apologize for his false teachings.
in defense of love
Throughout much of 2011, Greece experienced unrest as round after round of austerity measures were passed, reducing pension payments and slashing worker benefits. Listening to interviews on the BBC, I heard shopkeepers and laborers speak of the gloom they felt about their future. Some were angry. Some were resigned. Everyone felt hopeless. Protests escalated. The government convulsed. Greeks expressed anger…
return of the King
Harold Camping received a lot of attention for declaring that Judgment Day would begin around dinnertime on May 21, 2011. Few people believed him—even his receptionist admitted that “no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen” (Matthew 24:36). The secular world had much fun at Camping’s expense, planning apocalyptic survival parties and playing R.E.M.’s rock song…
