What is saving faith? Let’s listen closely to the shocking answer Jesus gave the rich, young ruler. He was a good kid—exactly the kind of person any church or synagogue would want. He always kept himself within the moral boundaries of the Law (“from my youth”), was a person of influence in the community, and was clearly serious about getting his life with God right (“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”). What’s not to like about him? In…
Do What with Holy Trinity? “Why don’t we just dispense with the whole idea of the Holy Trinity?” That casual statement rocked me, especially since one of my mentors made it–a senior priest in our diocese who had successfully planted numerous churches in the area, and was a very loving, wise man whose enthusiasm for the Lord knew no bounds. He continued, “It’s really so hard to explain. It confuses everyone and gets…
Ages ago Nehemiah declared that the joy of the Lord is our strength—and he was right! With this joy flowing in us, we positively glow and grow. Joy gives us a confidence for anything and puts a fresh song in our hearts. With it we sail over the normal obstacles of life, feeling invincible even in the midst of trouble. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone…
Lately, I’ve found myself calling the Bible the Miracle Book at every opportunity. I can’t help myself. It just wants to come out so I let it. Of course I believe it, but the curious thing to me is why it suddenly became so important for me to say it. I think that the big reason is something so widespread becomes common place: we tend to take things in our immediate environment for granted. Years ago our young family lived…