Bible Study

In the Lord

If you look at the world a certain way, it’s easy not to rejoice. Life is stressful. I keep waiting for that time when everything slows down. Then, I tell myself, I’ll be less stressed and more content. Do you ever fall into this trap? There’s negative stuff all around us, which, if we’re so inclined, can damper our spirits. An uncertain economy. A rising deficit. Strife in the Middle East (isn’t there always?). Perhaps there’s uncertainty about health (why these weird…

False Gospels and God’s Wrath

In the Bible book of Galatians, Paul writes bluntly to the church that met in Galatia. In the letter’s introduction and greeting, Paul points to the eternal hope that we have through the resurrection of Jesus.  He reminds the readers about the grace that we all need and enjoy.  I love the line in the song “How He Loves,” that says “if grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.”  It is endlessly deep and is literally available to all people everywhere. Then,…

Read it

I stopped at Chick-fil-A awhile back, and I was surprised to see an open Bible lying on the main counter beside the newspaper rack. At first, I thought a customer must’ve left it there, then I realized that someone in a position of authority had put it there on purpose. It was weird seeing a Bible in a public establishment like that. In our increasingly secular world, it’s become unfashionable to take Bibles into public places. Do it too much…

What happened to Jesus at the Cross?

I don’t pretend to understand exactly what happened, but I think it may have been the Lord’s most terrifying and difficult moment of the six-hour crucifixion. It’s the only saying from the cross that Mark records: And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And…

And having scourged Jesus

The flogging scene in The Passion of the Christ portrays the brutality of the beating Jesus endured more graphically than anything I’ve seen. It must’ve been awful, yet the gospel writers mention it only in passing, it seems. Here’s Mark’s account: “. . . and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” (Mark 15:15b). His description leaves me wanting more. He was scourged? What does that mean? How bad was it? Mark’s readers probably needed no explanation; they knew what…

Eat Better

The cliché “You are what you eat” has some basis in fact, it seems, or at least that’s what the nutritionists say. Eat this, not that. Watch your carbs. Eat good fat, but not too much. Limit your salt. Avoid additives. Eat all-natural. In other words, don’t eat anything that tastes good. We know now more than ever that our diet affects our health, probably more than we wish it did. No amount of exercise and vitamin intake can overcome…