In 2001, Donald Bloesch raised the question in a Christianity Today article and set the looming issue on the table before us all. Pr…
COLUMN: A phrase in Lord’s Prayer reads, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done”. When I was a child I pictured the kingdom as Heaven. It seemed to be the ideal place for it. But now I think the kingdom is not a place so much as a goal to meet each day here on earth. We are living in the kingdom. This is it.
RELIGION COLUMN: We are scheduling ourselves for failure if we are trying to obey in our own strength.
RELIGION COLUMN: Discovering the truth we seek can be arduous, like trying to catch an image in a fog.
RELIGION COLUMN: We have not stopped large, powerful groups from taking what they want from others and imposing their will upon them.
RELIGION COLUMN: Faith in the Bible’s account of creation certainly helps to answer questions about our beginnings.
RELIGION COLUMN: The Christian can push back the cynicism and disillusionment that are darkening the landscape of life.
RELIGION COLUMN: Christ's intercession in our behalf was righteous and just because out of his great love for us he paid for our violations.
RELIGION COLUMN: God is in our daily lives whether we acknowledge him or not. It’s vital that we ponder the significance of this important gift.
RELIGION COLUMN: God put the potential for new beginnings into the basic design of our existence. Every 365 days we have a new year; every seven days a new week; every 24 hours a new day; and so forth.
RELIGION COLUMN: God did not die on the cross to be a mystery to us regarding life after death on this planet. He speaks from scripture simple truth.
RELIGION COLUMN: Whatever the situation, we can turn down the drama, wear a mask and find something positive to do, even if it is just an encouraging word or brief prayer.
COLUMN: We do live in a troubled world. We are deeply polarized politically and socially. Maybe it’s time to think more seriously about the options God has given us for the future.
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COLUMN: The Word of God encourages us to walk by faith and not by sight.
COLUMN: There may have been times we quit, only to find out later that if we had stayed the course and endured, blessing and joy was only moments away.
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COLUMN: The pandemic that has shaped our lives for the better part of a year is simultaneously on the brink of spinning out of control and being reigned in.
COLUMN: We need to be ready to share a smile and a Bible promise with the discouraged.
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COLUMN: Our history is proof that people find justice hard to reach.
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COLUMN: The message is clear: God loves the world and everyone in it. We are called to do the same. Prejudice has no longer any place in our lives.
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COLUMN: Jesus' story is bigger than we imagine or realize, but is never far from those who need to receive mercy and hope.
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COLUMN: The story of "Lars and the Real Girl" seems to be as clear a picture as any of what Christian community can be.
COLUMN: For the spiritual health of his people, God has, for millennia, encouraged his followers to practice a kind of social distancing.
COLUMN: If we are honest, our own “Who is my neighbor?” questions are often designed to justify our biases and privilege.
COLUMN: So, if I read the Bible correctly, we Christians are to share Good News (Gospel) but with compassion and humility.
COLUMN: Christmas is costly. But the most costly Christmas ever brought the gift we needed most: a Savior.
COLUMN: Some enjoy the ocean because it speaks to them of the vast and immeasurable depths of God’s great love.
COLUMN: If the professed Christian chooses not to be guided by God’s law, who or what does guide his behavior?
COLUMN: Separation of church and state has sometimes left us a little confused. It was introduced under Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to ensure that our government would not make one religion the official creed for everyone.
COLUMN: There’s a lot of ways to talk about the differences between introverts and extroverts. While many of them capture something that is true, none of them probably paint the whole picture.
COLUMN: In hard times, we need a faith shaped by even harder times. In unjust times, we need a savior who can overcome even death on a Roman cross.
COLUMN: We live in a stormy world. And when the storms come, both physical and spiritual, it’s natural that we should long for that which is more established and settled, something more than human.
COLUMN: I think one of the greatest sins of Christians is to discount the Golden Rule.
COLUMN: Another problem: Eating, drinking, and sex are things we typically associate with the ordinariness of life. It’s hard to see them as signs of such a cataclysmic event as the Second Coming. We are used to putting that in the context of war, earthquakes and lightning flashing from east to west.
COLUMN: I asked my team of dear readers to opine on the question of reincarnation. Do you believe that we are born again, or is it once and done?
COLUMN: A thoughtful friend often reminds me that when we are considering the fairness and justice of our actions regarding others, the real test is whether we would be willing to trade places with them.
COLUMN: The hardship that has been placed on us by the coronavirus and the current unrest in our nation’s streets have made life difficult. Many are frightened.
COLUMN: It has taken centuries for humankind to understand that there is one God who continues to assist and redefine man’s spiritual role.
COLUMN: Strangely enough, in Martin Luther King Jr.'s day he was considered a radical liberal and in our day he is often seen as a conservative.
“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep.”
In the creation of our world certain ways of measuring time became a deeply-embedded part of our lives.
