And lo, a star shone in the East Once upon a time, or so the story goes, in a land far away, lived a nation of people very different from us. Their appearance was different, as were their customs and clothing. They had no idea
It is so easy to go blind and deaf at Christmas. Blinded by garish lights, “sale” signs and mobs of anxious, cranky shoppers. Deafened by tinny renditions of “Rudolph” and “Frosty,” not to mention the sweet strains of “Silent Night” from the automotive department of
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:12 As Christians, when unbelievers persecute us, it is easy to feel
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, There is a field. I’ll meet you there.” — Rumi When I was in college, a private and conservative institution, an unusual and impromptu revival occurred on campus. For several days, the school’s chapel was packed for hours
Holy Trinity Metropolitan Community Church, Edinburgh, Scotland February 18, 2001 Readings: Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; I Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38 We spend a lot of time up here at this lectern preaching about love. Love God with all your heart and all
Following Jesus is not always easy. In fact, it can be downright difficult. In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches on the proper attitude toward those who use and abuse, persecute, and take advantage of us. Verses 38 – 48 are devoted to this topic. In verses
The wave of heat and humidity of a July day in Kansas City swept over my body and filled my lungs as I left the hotel. Blessedly, it was a short walk to the convention center, where I was a delegate to the combined General
On my recent birthday, I received a card from one of my fundamentalist relatives. As usual I was happy to get it; and preparing to read of the goings on of my family on the other side of the country as well as a birthday
When we bless our persecutors we do it for ourselves as much as for them! I’ve been an activist for more than 30 years now, and I have to acknowledge that it was only a couple of years ago, that I finally understood the need
I believe that before we can begin to bless our persecutors we really need to understand what they are saying and also exactly what is reported in Scripture of God’s requirements for all people. Basically our persecutors would have us believe that our sexuality is