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Tag: religion (Page 1 of 2)

The Prisoner of the Lord

July 14, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Lately I have been thinking about these words of Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church:

“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3 NASB)

Notice the fact that Paul does not complain about the fact that he had committed no crime that deserved such punishment. Unlike many of us he does not blame others for his situation. In fact he was often warned by others that this very thing would happen if he returned to Jerusalem. He followed Christ to Jerusalem and then to Rome. Now, even though he was confined in a prison cell, his heart, his mind and his spirit was free in Christ. He was not bound by fear of what others could do to him of what others thought of him. He belonged to Jesus.

From the beginning of this letter Paul revealed the wonderful plan of God for His church and His universe. Heaven and earth are to be united in Christ! Maybe for him this knowledge and his relationship with Christ was the key to the great peace he possessed even in trying circumstances. I believe he greatly desired this same peace for all believers. While he was confined in a small space, most of us are free to walk about. More than that we are free to live lives of humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance in love for one another. Walking depicts movement. We are not to stay the same but to progress in this calling to live like Jesus.

In another place Paul warns about the need to stand fast in the freedom of Christ. (Galatians 5:1) An effort is needed to maintain our freedom to love and live in Christ. There have always been forces that try to press us into conformity to the will of others instead of Christ. In fact our own hearts can lead us into different kinds of bondage. Even good causes can do the same. Remember Martha, who scolded her own sister for not helping in the kitchen. Jesus corrected Martha, not Mary. Mary had chosen freedom in Christ! (Luke 10:38-42)

Over the past 50 years I have felt compelled to urge others as Paul did back then, to walk worthy of their calling in Christ. At the same time, I hope and pray that my motives were not selfish or my methods did not cause any harm. We do not always know what God has in mind for everyone else. We must trust that He can lead others in the way He has planned for them. In this way we can preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul, through the Holy Spirit is attempting to motivate and stimulate the Ephesians, and by extension, us as well, to love and to good actions of compassion and grace. (Hebrews 10:24) These do not save us. Only Christ can do that. I know I need to be encouraged in this way. Only I hope that we are careful to honor one another and to respect everyone’s freedom in Christ. Manipulation, coercion, intimidation should have no place in the life of the church today. Each one of us has a purpose in Christ and gifts that are different. May we all rejoice when God uses us all for His pleasure, His glory, and the expression of His love for all humanity!

The Bible as Literature

July 10, 2026 / / 2 Comments

When I first learned that scholars since the 18th Century have treated the Bible as mythology I became concerned. There is in fact an obvious difference between the Bible and the Greek and Roman stories about Zeus, Hercules, Mars, as well as the Norse gods like Thor and his father Odin. These stories might be entertaining, they might even be based upon real people in some way. We cannot be sure. Yet I doubt that anyone takes them as historically true.

Once I read in a book about Judaism where the author claimed that the stories in their own scriptures were to be taken as allegories, that is they teach moral lessons through story telling. We have of course that concept in modern fictional literature and movies as well.

So today we have people who study archaeology and have found historical evidence that greatly confirms many of the historical situations described in the bible. This is important and helpful. People will believe what they want to believe, of course.

But today I came across this thought: What if a person was to read the Bible simply as they would any other story? What if individuals could immerse themselves in this cosmic adventure as they would in any other novel or film? Think about it. The more we accept and believe the characters in a story about another town, city, country or world are real, the more we enjoy the story and the experience of reading it in a book, hearing it in a recording, or watching it on a screen!

This may go against the grain of general methods of evangelism or apologetics. But I wonder if Christians could ask for unbelievers to simply read the Bible as a story and not a religious book. Maybe they would let down their defenses and get drawn into the grand epic tale that unfolds in its pages!

Maybe they might even become changed by reading it!

Podcast: What can we learn from the First Century Church, Part 3

January 6, 2026 / / 0 Comments

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The story of the work of Jesus Christ in His people has long fascinated and challenged me. I have to admit that as a kid I could not get enough of fantasy stories in movies and comic books that featured heroic acts by individuals with super powers. So naturally I was interested when I learned in the bible about real heroes who trusted in God and were able to accomplish amazing things!

At the same time I felt a disconnect between the Christian world of that time and that which I saw in the bible. Growing up it seemed as though it was more about what we cannot do rather than what we can do through Christ. When I found a church that read, and studied and preached from the book of Acts in the bible I was immediately drawn to it. None of us were super heroes like Samson, David, Daniel, or even Peter and Paul. But that did not stop us from desiring a greater experience of the power of the Holy Spirit.

In that desire the Lord did some wonderful things among us. His presence was very real in our meetings. Over the years we also had some great disappointments. From where I stand, it looks like eventually many lowered their expectations of what God might do supernaturally among us. A few even rationalized that the only supernatural work would be that which takes place within us.

Of course we know that the main focus of Jesus was always on the condition of our hearts. Our prayer is to be for the will of God our Father to be accomplished in earth as it is in heaven. That must first be fulfilled within us by the miracle of the New Birth. It does not end there, however. If heaven enters my heart, my entire life will eventually change. The miracles and the amazing spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts came about through people who were dramatically changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was by that same power that they believed and obeyed Christ. What can we learn from them? I submit that like them, we can still hear from God, follow Him, and be empowered to obey Him! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!

My hope is that in our day we will revisit the book of Acts with open hearts and minds. By many accounts the Christian church is in decline at least in the West. Yet, there is still the possibility that believers in our day can “turn the world upside down” as did the early Christians. Maybe we can cast off unnecessary practices that have become heavy burdens, and take up the very principles that enabled the early Christians to overcome impossible odds. This is not a boring faith by any means, but an adventure that has continued for thousands of years!

If you are interested in considering more things that the First Century Church could teach us, I hope you will join me in this study by subscribing to my blog at https://livingtruth.com or my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/livingtruthcom

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