“…for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." -Ephesians 6:12 I recently finished two books that deal with a similar theme though they belong to very different genres. Stephen … Continue reading Monsters in the Air
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Blessed are the Merciful
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” - Matthew 5:7 This is the second part of my somewhat loose work-through of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. If you haven’t already, you may want to check out part 1 where I give a basic overview of the Beatitudes: here. What … Continue reading Blessed are the Merciful
Blessed are the Peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” - Matthew 5:9 A few of the High Schoolers in my church plan to study the Sermon on the Mount with me this Spring and Summer. We are using Skye Jethani’s book What if Jesus was Serious[1] as a jumping-off point, but our … Continue reading Blessed are the Peacemakers
Persecution of Flattery: an example
A few days ago, I wrote a blog (here) on Revelation 18:4. That text served as a call to early believers, and inadvertently us today, to separate our allegiance from any nation or empire that isn’t the kingdom of God. Within that blog, I mentioned that we do not often suffer a violent persecution today … Continue reading Persecution of Flattery: an example
Pull Out!
The apostle John uses a rather explicit, uncomfortable metaphor late in the book of Revelation. Addressing believers who have aligned themselves with Empire, he writes: “After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted:“Fallen! Fallen is … Continue reading Pull Out!
Post-Election Thoughts
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” – Colossians 2:8 An interesting thing often happens after elections in this country. Followers of Jesus all over the political spectrum use language to … Continue reading Post-Election Thoughts
David’s Mighty Men
“These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three; he wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time…” – 2 Samuel 23:8 If you’ve ever attended a men’s ministry retreat, I’m sure you’ve heard about David’s Mighty Men. They appear in … Continue reading David’s Mighty Men
Speaking Prophetically to our Culture
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." - Isaiah 1:17 It is very tempting as a Christian, in a climate so overtaken by political talk, to feel it nessecary to “speak truth to power.” In fact, if polled, many might … Continue reading Speaking Prophetically to our Culture
Scripture Simplified 