Homeward Bound

Question: What would you do if you knew for a fact that tonight would be your last night on earth? If it were me I would probably get my family and closest friends together and reminisce about old times. I would want it to be a special gathering that celebrates me and all I had done in my life; a glorified pity party of sorts where people could be sad for me and communicate to me how much they will miss me when I am gone. Surely I would not expect to serve them dinner or wash the dishes. It's my last dinner, not theirs. But when I am look at Jesus's last dinner, I am astounded. In John 13 Jesus knows that He is about to leave the world, and not in a graceful or immediate fashion. He knows that one of his closest friends is about to betray him in a few hours, and he is no doubt feeling the emotional turmoil of the impending crucifixion. A cosmic battle is raging on in the background as Jesus looks to reverse the effects of sin and death for those who are ...

We live in a world divided. A nation divided. A church unfortunately divided. Lines are drawn everywhere separating people on the basis of any quality imaginable: nationality, class, ethnicity, political leanings, religion, income, and local. And behind each line, more lines are drawn splitting each group into smaller subgroups and subdivisions. Each subset of the whole promoting their own self-interest; each biting faction seeing the world through their own self oriented lens, alienating others in the process. There are cops and there are blacks. There are Democrats and there are Republicans. There are urbanites and there are those from rural communities. There are Millennials and there are Baby Boomers. But this is no surprise to us. This is the world we live in. The world we have always lived in. Even if you were to go back to Jesus’ day, you would find the world still ripping itself to shreds of division. There were the oppressive pagan Roman...

After a very intense and bitter election, Anti-Trump demonstrators vandalized buildings, kicked cars, and knocked out power in cities across America.   And more protests are planned over the next few days.   Although the pundits and the polls overwhelmingly projected an easy win for Hillary Clinton, she lost.   Even last minute voters who walked into the voting booth not knowing who they would vote for ended up voting for Trump. Okay, I understand being shocked and disappointed that your candidate lost when her election seemed so certain; I get that.   As did Hillary, go home, have a good cry, and get it out of your system.   Donald Trump was elected fair and square, and he will be our next President.   However, against the urgings of Hillary and even of President Obama to transition peacefully, the protests and burnings continue.   Why all the outrage and discontent? Maybe it’s because God intervened in our election.   ...

There is a common strain in modern Christianity that looks to break away from the archaic institutions and cumbersome structure of Christianity past. I recall reading an  article about a man (proclaiming himself a Christian) who had had it with the church and was leaving. Entitling his blog post "My Emancipation from American Christianity," he no longer needed the divisiveness and the close-mindedness of the Christians. He was done being tied down to old fashioned beliefs and people that have lost relevance to our world. His alternative: It would just be me and God. No more church. It is broken and can't be fixed. What about truth? I can discover that on my own, with my own personal relationship with God. He says it better himself:   "Jesus said that the Spirit moves where it pleases, and with it go those in its glorious grip. In my heart and in the hearts of so many like me, that Spirit is boldly declaring its emancipa...