Homeward Bound

How would you respond if Jesus visited your town or your neighborhood? I think almost everyone, non-Christians included, would be thrilled by the possibility. Most everyone likes Jesus. His morality cannot be improved upon , select portions of his teachings have been applauded for time gone by, and we sure would love to see something supernatural. In Jesus' day there was just something special about him and the miracles, the preaching, the tenderness mingled with strength, the verbal take downs of the religious--all drew massive crowds, with good reason! In our own time I doubt it would be any different.   But I have often been bewildered at the Gerasenes (Mark 5:1-20) who pleaded with Jesus to leave their town. Put yourself in their shoes. Here is Jesus, this fantastical figure, and He has come to your time. Of all possible moments in human history He is walking the earth the same moment you are walking the earth! Humanity has been waiting for this for generation after generatio...

I love starting new books: the new beginnings, the crisp pages, the fresh ideas that I cannot wait to dive into. There is something about the weight of a large tome which tempts me to tackle a big reading project. But as much as I love starting books like this, I do have a problem finishing them. Often I will hit a wall around sixty percent through, and find a few other books that catch my eye--only to do the same thing to those books later! And the cycle continues. Maybe I get bored with the same idea called out over and over, or sometimes I feel that I have gotten the point already, so my interest is lost. But more often than not I see a shiny new (or old) book other people are reading and I long to give it a try. So I do! I know I am not the only one to struggle with literary attention deficiency. Our world has trained us to not stay interested in any one thing for very long. We desire novelty and variety, it is built into the market and the online locations we venture. Long grade c...

One of my favorite parts of The Pilgrim's Progress is when Christian visits the house of the Interpreter; where he is impressed with several images presented to him. Each are given to aid the powerful faculty of his imagination, and will remain with him throughout the travails of his pilgrimage to the Celestial City. Images and other artistic devices are powerful tools that can carve their subject matter deeply into our memory. That Pilgrim's Progress itself is a work of allegory and imagination only further illustrates the utility of such methods. One of the scenes Christian is confronted with in the house of the Interpreter is that of a stately palace. One which many desire to enter but dare not because of the guards at the gate: I saw also that the INTERPRETER took him again by the hand, and led him into a pleasant place, where was builded a stately palace, beautiful to behold; at the sight of which CHRISTIAN was greatly delighted: he saw also upon the top thereof certain pe...

There is quite a buzz these days about winsomeness, and the question is how should Christians live in a now godless culture? Do we be kind to one another and in a spirit of meekness seek to show our good deeds to the world that they may glorify our Father in heaven (Luke 5:16)? Or do we confront the lost as Noah did the antediluvian masses, call them to forsake their sins and hide in the shelter from the coming judgment (2 Peter 2:5)? Do we live quiet lives and earn good report (1 Thess 4:11); or do we ditch that and preach against that unregenerate Herod's taking of his brother's wife (Luke 3:19). It is not easy to navigate the Christian posture. There is a point where winsomeness becomes only an excuse for cowardice; and a point where what is commonly called "culture warring" is just mean spirited bravado. We are equipped with manifold personalities and tendencies, and while all marked by sin, we are more geared to one approach or another. We should not seek to give...

One of the experiences I have truly relished over the past several years has been preaching at the Mission in my local community. The leadership is a bit theological diverse, as are the preaching styles. When I first started helping there I was struck by the direct in your face mode. The rawness and the volume; it was all quite intense! Sure there was a bit of a disparagement of the formal, institutional churches; some Pentecostal strains. But there was fire in that pulpit. And for me, with my Biblical studies degree and my sermon manuscripts (one has to be sure every word is just right, after all), these were the exact people I needed to be around. I will never forget what my preaching friend Richard told me one time: "You can't give what you don't have." You cannot really preach the gospel if you have not bathed in it yourself. You cannot really tell of the love of Jesus if His love is something you have not felt. Which speaks to this rule that must undergird all of...

I have often thought growth in every form as a total gain. It’s obvious. Growth in wealth, growth in career, growth in platform and influence--no one questions that these things are good, and the best sellers lists only confirm that underlying assumption with revolving titles like Atomic Habits , Baby Steps Millionaires , The 5 AM Club . Our society is fascinated with the idea of getting bigger and better and smarter and more efficient. I had a mentor tell me once that we should strive to get as much responsibility as possible in order to do the most good as possible. For a young man with penchants for sloth and indolence, this was good advice--but I wonder if we ever take time to count the cost of our territorial expansion? I recently went to Sight and Sound theater in Lancaster, PA for my wife Montana's birthday. We saw "David" which did a quick biographical sketch of David's life from shepherd boy to King of Israel. One of the interesting things is how the play po...

One of the great things about living in 2022 is we can read, listen to, and follow the best. If you want to hear the best preachers around the world, you can go on youtube and listen to them for free. If you want to read the best theologians, you do not need to ship your family off to seminary to study under them. You can download their latest ebook on your amazon kindle. With wonderful websites like gutenberg.org you can access the greatest written works of all time and read them for free! Other sites like monergism.com have vaults of Christian writings that are time tested to be invaluable to your Christian walk. Though it is not without its problems, 2022 is an amazing time to be alive. With all this at our fingertips, there is a tendency for us to defer to the specialist. The industrial revolution brought about increased specialization through innovations like the division of labor. Workers were specifically trained and suited for their unique jobs, jobs that the now untrained, l...