I had the following article published in the religion column of our local paper last weekend. My original title was “The Nativity Within” but the paper re-titled it for whatever reason. The important thing is that I got to share Jesus! *** Happy New Year! I hope everyone is enjoying the shiny, new gifts they…
Category: New Testament
Following, Losing, and Living
Art by Patrick Murphy The following is a meditation on Luke 9:23-24 from my personal journal. *** “If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will…
God with the Smelly and Beastly
With Christmas just past, I’ve been thinking about one of the names by which Jesus was announced: Immanuel, “God with us.” “God with us” was a prophetic name first uttered by Isaiah in a prophecy (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew tells us Jesus fulfilled this prophetic appellation when he was born (Matt. 1:23). Jesus’s birth as a…
Ever Change from Carbon to Chlorine-Based?
I had the following article published in the religion column of our local paper. You’ll notice they re-titled the article. But I’m not the first author to differ with an editor 😉 *** Each year, a change comes over our house the day after Thanksgiving. A tree grows in the living room bearing brightly colored,…
Pickled in the Spirit?
Our pastor started a sermon series on topics that can be controversial among Christians. The first was baptism in the Holy Spirit, which the pastor asked me to teach on. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is something I, admittedly, haven’t spent much time thinking about. I believe the Spirit would rather focus us on Jesus…
Soapbox
OK, I’m going to soapbox about one of my pet peeves. (And please excuse me if I get snarky). The other day, I saw it on a church readerboard. Then it popped up in my son’s children’s Bible. We’ve all heard it. The wording varies but the gist is, “Jesus told parables to help people…
New Jerusalem, New Man
Below is the introduction to one of my booklets, The New Jerusalem. *** Revelation chapters 21 and 22 contain descriptions of God’s Holy City, the New Jerusalem. This city is called “the bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:9). When she appears, John hears a loud voice saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with…
Another Scary Verse from Hebrews
I was reading through old posts yesterday and decided to repost this. *** “For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26-27). This is one of…
Naked and Exposed
“No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account” (Heb. 4:13). Verses like this have a way of striking fear into our hearts. We feel strapped to the interrogation chair, the light of truth shining in our faces. There…
Resurrection: Transformation and Increase
Illustration by Patrick Murphy This past weekend, a piece of mine was published in our local paper. Below is an excerpt with a link to the full article. The article was adapted from a section of my booklet, Christ in the Feasts. *** Easter Sunday is just past. Christians celebrated Christ’s resurrection from the dead. (We…
The Voice of One 