Healthy Questions

If you read John's account of the life of Christ, you find he uses some words very frequently. For example, "light" and "life" appear throughout his writings. Another keyword for John is "truth." He introduces the term early in the first chapter when he refers to Christ as, "The true light, which, coming into the world, enlightens every man." Here John combines truth and light, which helps us understand his use of "light" when referring to Christ. To turn a light on in a dark room is to show things as they really are. You can see the door, as well as many obstacles that might be misidentified - or even tripped over - on your way to the door. To shed light on on a subject is to bring correct understanding and dispel wrong assumptions. Depending on the situation, it could mean the difference between life and death. The room that Jesus enlightens is the mind of man. To every man that will ever live Christ has explained God - indee

Early in his ministry (chapter 5 of John's gospel), Jesus heals a sick old man in Jerusalem. At the end of the account, he looks at the man and says, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The healing of this man, though quite miraculous, is apparently of secondary importance. It’s the man’s heart that is the greater concern for Jesus. The same could be said of the woman caught in adultery not much later. After turning away her executioners, his only words to her are, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you? I do not condemn you either. From now on sin no more." Today, much attention is given to Jesus’ treatment of the would-be stoners. Accordingly, these religious leaders are the bad guys of the story, ready to judge the poor, defenseless woman. This is both right and wrong. It is right to say that Jesus vilified the hypocrisy of Israel’s leaders. "Therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, b

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs - Ephesians 5:19 Our Spiritual Fellowship Part 1 : Singing was a natural extension of Christian fellowship. Part 2 : Spiritual singing should go beyond a pre-planned activity and the domain of the polished singer. In this last part on “Why Don’t We Sing” I want to dig into perhaps the most controversial aspect of this verse. I believe this verse offers a ringing reproof of the nature of our Christian fellowship. Let us Pray I read recently about Charles Spurgeon’s sense of humor. Apparently, it was a good one. He would have a whole room laughing at a joke and then, without missing a beat, say, “Let us pray.” Apparently there was nothing incongruent about this; it wasn’t jarring for him to say this. There was nothing about his humor that was impure or ungodly, and so when the impulse to pray arose, it was natural to take to the task. He didn’t have to clear his throat into religious gear. He didn’t have to gently ste

Our Spiritual Singing Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs - Ephesians 5:19 In part 1 we observed that, in New Testament times, singing overflowed from informal Christian fellowship. Singing “in the moment” was natural to them, but is foreign to most of us. I want to draw two points from this. First, that there may be something awry in our spiritual singing. Second (next post), that there may be something awry in our spiritual fellowship. Worship is not Music I’m a musician. Being raised in a Charismatic Christian setting I’ve been involved in “worship music” a long time. For most of my life I’ve understood worship to mean spiritual music: if you want to worship God you better have a song in mind. In more recent years I’ve learned from Scripture that worship is nothing less than living the Christ-like life. Our “spiritual worship” is to “present ourselves a living and holy sacrifice” to God (Romans 12:1.) The Church I’ve become a part of refers to singing du

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs - Ephesians 5:19 Important Disclaimer* Flummoxed I must admit that when I came to this exhortation I found myself at a loss. I looked at different translations, I examined the Greek words, I considered the greater context of this letter and its sister, Colossians... yet it still said the same befuddling thing: “Communicate among yourselves with singing!” Less Than Organized This made little sense to me. What does this look like? Spiritual singing in groups normally happens in a Church setting – or any place where Christians are meeting for the purpose of worship God together. That singing is planned and organized. However, I don’t think that’s what we’re looking at in Ephesians. Were Paul addressing here the Corinthians and their need for an “orderly manner” in their gatherings, then organized singing might be in scope, but here in Ephesians the focus is on the inter-relational workings of the Church. Paul is talking about

Part 1 described spiritual death. Not pretty. Part 2 marveled that God would have mercy on the living dead. Now, how did we get into this pickle in the first place. Death Through Sin "The wages of sin is death." Scripture makes is quite clear that we are dead because of sin. Disobedience against God's commands is tantamount to outright rejection of Him, His supremacy, and His standards. Anyone that chooses to follow their own inclinations in violation of God's own words suffers death. All sin is sin against God, and sin brings death. "When sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." (James 1:15) Sin breaks relationship with the Giver of life, so death falls to the offender. Sin isn't a popular topic, or pleasant thought, but all have sinned , and eternal death awaits. Baby Sinners "Isn't he cute?" When my children were born they were miracles! Not only were they new people but innocent, uncorrupted, without guile. I would look into thei