Mark Lowry’s lyrics in Mary Did You Know ask many questions, each stanza concluding with a confidence-inspiring statement about what the birth of Christ actually means. The Christmas story is more than just a baby in a manger. A pregnant Mary and a believing Joseph not finding a place at the inn. Giving birth in […]
God’s Kind of Justice is the whole reason for Christmas. Somehow, God had to hold onto His holiness, His Law, His love, His mercy, His wrath, and His justice–all at the same time in order to be perfect. God’s justice goes beyond any parent’s “tough love” in which those being disciplined actually experience the consequences of their actions […]
We live in an age in which feelings and facts have traded places in forming our understanding of reality. A modern generation says, “I feel…” far more often than they say “I think…” or “I believe.” The latter two are fact-based, doctrine, and logic-reasoning means of processing information and responding to it. True biblical love is […]
I’ve had cause recently to think about love, yes, but also about how many people are spending Christmas alone … or with an empty seat at their table. We can acknowledge that it’s a Hallmark version of Christmas (or Walmart or Target…take your pick) that shows a family happily gathered around the tree, delicious and […]
Confession: I have read Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility a bazillion times. It’s one of several books that form my nighttime please-shut-off-my-mind reading ritual. Some people read the Bible to turn their minds off, lay down their burdens, and set their hearts on a path of restful peace. I can’t do that. The tragic flaw […]
There are a few things in the Bible that I always kind of wish weren’t there. They’re hard to understand and their truth value (while profound) just makes Christianity kind of unpopular. For example take Jesus, our Prince of Peace, saying, Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I […]
Sometimes I think it’s a good idea for churches to advertise on their sign out front what they actually preach. The sign said, “Christmas is not just a season. It’s a state of mind.” If that’s what they’re actually teaching on the inside, I don’t need to check it out. It will save me from […]
Power and fame bring out the worst in most people. The landscape is littered with child actors who became total misfits, celebrities who turn into their own solar systems, and with politicians who want to run everyone else’s lives even while failing to manage their own. It’s not surprising it’s called a “lust” for absolute […]
One of the surest ways to recapture the wonder, the timeless wonder, of the Christmas story is to recall what actually happened from the perspective of power. Until the birth of Christ, Death held the knife at our necks for every man, woman, and child. It was always there, all the time. Lurking in the […]
In the movie The Santa Clause, the elf named Judy is having a discussion with Scott Calvin who simply cannot believe that he’s seeing what he’s seeing. Far from believing he’s the new Santa, he thinks he needs a CAT scan. He states emphatically, “I stopped believing in Santa Claus a long time ago.” Then […]
