If you are a Christian, you are in Christ! Your ID doesn’t change based upon your occupation, your health or your mood. You may be down in the dumps or on top of the world. You may be over the hill or under a pile. You may be in a plane or in a wheelchair. But you are in Christ!
When a legalist suffers they say,“God how can you treat me this way? After all I’ve done for you, you’re not holding up your end of the bargain!”
When a Christian suffers they say,“I am so grateful that I am not alone even in this dark hour! Thank you for always being with me!”
Three reasons why I don’t want America to be called “a Christian country”:
1-I don’t want Jesus associated with the actions of US!
2-I don’t want Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or atheists to feel that this is not their country!
3-There’s only one theocracy: the kingdom of God!
But none of this will be solved by legislation alone! Until our society becomes convinced of the inherent dignity of every human life, people will continue to abort unwanted children. Human value is not something determined by whether someone is “wanted”! Value is given by God!
I was there! I remember that moment… followed the next day by us attending Easter Service at my family’s church—Bay Presbyterian—the first church you ever set foot in!!!!
48 years ago today, the Lord revealed himself to me through the breaking of the matzoh at a Messianic Passover dinner. When I heard the words, “This is my body which is given for you”, I realized Jesus died for me and that I needed to live the rest of my life for him!
The appropriate question is never, “Is the Lord on our side or on the side of our enemies?” (Josh.5:13). The question is always, am I committed to do the Lord’s business in the Lord’s way?
The real tragedy, according to Augustine in the City of God, is not that we lose things or have things stolen. It’s that our hearts were too attached to things that could be stolen in the first place! The only wise way to live is to love what can never be taken away!
There is something fundamentally wrong with charismatic ethics! “The Lord told me“ and “the Lord is leading me“ is too often used to justify breaking commitments, severing relationships and rationalizing away the hurt we cause to others! Let’s stop blaming the Spirit for our sin!
We could do the same thing with liberals in reverse! Why do we shy away from being brutally honest about our own sin and sinful history while at the same time being incredibly grateful for God’s extravagant love?
During the 1930s, the America First crowd of Lindbergh, Coughlin, etc. supported American isolationism and praised Hitler for upholding Christian values. Today’s America First crowd of Bannon, Carlson, Vance etc. do the same with Putin! They were wrong then and they’re wrong now!
So true!! What’s more barbaric? Old Testament law that held you responsible for your dangerous animal when it harmed another (Ex.21:29) or the US today where people can make billions by selling harmful products that kill others (e.g. opioids)?
We often view OT laws to be harsh and immoral. Did you ever consider what the ancient Israelites would’ve thought about our laws? For example, we have no problem charging interest to the poor or allowing poverty to be generational. The ancient Israelites would’ve been appalled!
January 6 is a day of celebration for Christians and NOT because of the events last year at our nation’s capital! Jan. 6 is Epiphany, the day when the God of Israel revealed himself to the Gentile Magi. Gentiles, like most of you, are now included in the people of God! Rejoice!
I love to see a political party turn against its own base! Nice that Dems in Chicago are challenging the teachers union there regarding school closings. Closing schools is terrible for children, especially poor children! The safest place for many kids during the day is school!
Amen! I’m so grateful to God for you Rich… my life partner and soulmate! You are are all those things and so much more! May more men today have the courage to be “mensches” and stop hiding behind machismo!
Much now about the loss of “masculinity”!
There’s a Yiddish word “mensch” which means a standup guy, a good person.
A mensch:
1- Keeps their marital vows!
2- Acknowledges when they’re wrong!
3- Cares for and protects the weak!
We need more “mensches” and fewer toxic men!
Since 1973, 186 people in the United States who were on death row and condemned to die, have been exonerated. Given this fact, how can any Christian support the death penalty? Our pro-life posture must extend from conception to natural death, from the womb till the tomb!
If Roe v. Wade is overruled, we Christians must show that we are not just pro-birth but pro-life. We want all moms and all babies to flourish! That means supporting generous family leave policies and a generous social safety net for babies who will now be born instead of aborted!
@davidparkerdv@RichNathan What a wonderful time we had with David and Nancy!! Got to see amazing sites, enjoy gorgeous scenery, eat great food and play cards at night! 😁 What a gift from God are dear friends like them!!
Politicians… please, please, please stop quoting the Bible to serve your political interests as President Biden did yesterday? Believers will all be offended and non-believers won’t be moved by the Scriptures anyway! It’s God’s Word not Bartlett’s Book of Familiar Quotations!
Some sobering statistics: In 1970, a heroin epidemic raged in our cities and killed nearly 7,200 people. In 1988, in the middle of the crack epidemic, 9,000 died from overdoses. In 2020, 93,000 Americans died from opioids! Does pro-life include caring about drug-related deaths?
@RichNathan Any injustice is evil & horrific, but I think the systematized discrimination suffered by black people in the US is of a whole different order from other discrimination. May the truth come out; may we see and believe it; may we respond with mercy & justice.