A mysterious word at the center of the Lord’s Prayer has stumped biblical scholars for centuries. It’s the word epiousios in verse 11 of Matthew 6, which is translated daily. The trouble with the word is that no one can seem to trace where it came from. Epiousios was so uncommon in the ancient world that the third-century theologian Origen concluded that the Gospel writers had invented it!
Read More
I didn’t pick the text. My pastor assigned it as a part of his series on the Sermon on the Mount. And he gave me Matthew 5:21-26, where Jesus is teaching on anger. I love my pastor, but I do wonder if, in his pastoral concern for me, he assigned the text, hoping to fix me. I know, I know. That’s paranoid, but just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean my ...
Read More
It carved out a sense of belonging and identity for me. But my hope is not in belonging to a fleeting moment within a movement, but to my Savior who is eternally at work, by his Spirit, despite outward appearances.
Read More
Let me tell you about our time. We missed the reception for the new graduates because of construction at Samford. The commencement could have won an award for its length and tediousness. Getting the family together in one place for meals made climbing Mt. Everest look easy.
Read More
"Who will deliver me from this body of death?" If you've been there, then you can feel the pain in Paul's words. But as Steve explains, his hope then is the same one we have now.
Read More
(That’s only the working title. I suspect the publisher will change that, plus many other things in the book. Someone—it may have been John Steinbeck—said to his editor, “Where the h___ were you when the page was blank?” I get that.)
Read More
Is God an impersonal blob, distant and disinterested in the world except for figuring out who the good and bad people are? Is “god” a karma vibe making sure everyone gets what they deserve? Is God a myth that weak, stupid, or oppressive people use to console themselves or dominate other people? Is God a cosmic cheerleader who is concerned mainly with helping you achieve immediate happiness and self-actualization? Or ...
Read More
He survived and called all his friends to see the result of his pecking prowess. That’s woodpecker arrogance on steroids. Many Christians face the opposite—humility on steroids. They don’t even peck.
Read More
By my early thirties, I started to ache for a relationship with my dad. At that point, we barely saw each other beyond Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July. After much prayer, I invited my dad to lunch on his birthday. We had a great time, and it became an annual tradition. A few years into this, we left the cash register and walked to our vehicles, which were ...
Read More
They’ve deconstructed and found they have nothing left.I do understand where they are coming from. I’ve seen toxic religion so up close and personal it hurts. As I mentioned, I get this a lot from people who know how I grew up, in a pastor’s home filled with terrifying religious hypocrisy: “How in the world did you wind up a Jesus follower?”
Read More