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SPIRITUAL FORMATION: COMER OR AUGUSTINE?
I just finished reading John Mark Comer’s bestselling book, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do as he did. Someone had asked me what I thought of the book, so I decided to read it. Spiritual formation is the buzz phrase today in pastoral circles. Many spiritual formation pastors are using Comer’s book to shape the lives of their people, so I knew I should be familiar with the way of life he promoted.
I found him winsome, funny, and likable. The book is easy to read. He has a gift for presenting theology in a popular format. There are some good, practical, and helpful insights about spiritual growth in the book, and I found myself enjoying him even as I reacted skeptically to his underlying doctrines of God, sin, and the gospel. I did find it interesting how little he used the gospels to help us understand Jesus since his whole point was to be like Jesus … but that’s getting into the weeds of a thorough review.
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AFTER THE ELECTION: SOME BIBLICAL REFLECTIONS
The election is over. Donald Trump will be the 47th president of the United States. Many who voted for him are glad, giddy, and gloating. Many who voted against him are sad, anxious, and angry. No matter who we voted for, we know, as Christians, that God is in control. He is sovereign over the affairs of this world. We trust Him, not any human, for our future. Our mission does not change with the changing political administrations.
I have been reading much lately from Daniel, who prophesied in the pagan city of Babylon, and his older contemporary, Jeremiah, who prophesied in the holy city of Jerusalem. Daniel read the prophecies of Jeremiah and gained insight into his role in serving the immoral king, Nebuchadnezzar, who had decimated his homeland (Dan. 9:2). Jeremiah sent a letter to Daniel and the other exiles urging them to serve Babylon well for God had appointed Nebuchadnezzar to rule over Jerusalem … for now (Jer. 29:1). What can we learn from these prophets for our day?
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FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS …?
If I live to be 80, I have approximately 4,000 weeks to spend.[1] That’s it! It’s actually 4,160, but who wants to be so precise? Life is crazy short. I am 70, so I have spent about 3,500 weeks already and have only about 500 weeks left to spend until I’m 80. No wonder we say, “Time flies!” Life is a single breath on a cold morning, here for a moment and then gone (James 4:14). How we spend our weeks is how we spend that breath. William Penn once said, Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.[2] So … how do we spend our four thousand weeks?Read more...
OLYMPIC DRAG QUEENS AND CHRIST’S LAST SUPPER!
Like many of you, we were watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics when we were shocked by the drag queen scene that appeared to mock Jesus Christ and the Last Supper. Although the French producer claims it was a depiction of Dionysus and the Greek gods,[1] the religious overtones of the scene are unmistakable.Read more...
HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE IN PREACHING
I recently had cataract surgery, a common surgery as we get older. I learned much about vision and focus after the cataracts were removed and new lenses installed in my eyes. My new lenses are set for distance vision, which makes focusing up close difficult. I needed reading glasses, so I went to the store to purchase some cheap ones. Not knowing much about reading glasses, I assumed that the higher the magnification, the better I could see the text. So, I purchased a 3.0 magnification level. I found that the text was only in focus at about 6-8 inches.
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