Five Smooth Stones

Modern Christians take a lot for granted- or at least I know I do! I often find myself wondering what my life would be like if I were a Christian in the first century. It is my life’s greatest ambition to serve God according to the New Testament pattern and to be an instrument of His will in restoring that New Testament pattern to the world. However, truth be told there will always be some big differences- hopefully not in doctrine (if that is the case I hope someone tells me so I can change!), but the things we have to face today may be a little different than in ancient times. I imagine myself as a preacher of the kingdom of Jesus in a land and time where almost no one has heard His name. I imagine preaching a concept that is completely foreign to the religious thinking of everyone around me, “a stumbling block to the Jews, and to the Greeks foolishness” (I Cor. 1:23). But the most terrifying and heart shattering difference is the fierce opposition and persecution that the early Chri...

  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” Luke 18:10-13.  Have you ever finished reading this parable and thought to yourself “thank the Lord that I am not like that Pharisee”? Oh the irony… and what a wake up call! We live in a culture that promotes self righteous attitudes and worldly justification. While the struggle in many other countries seems to be mainly outward (persecution, famine, disease), the primary threats to American Christians seem to be more in the realm of inside jobs (spiritual complacency, materialism, etc). That is to...

When We Substitute Philosophy for Doctrine... The last few weeks in Missouri have not been without internet controversy for the religious community. On February 21, the preacher at First General Baptist Church in Malden, MO gave a sermon that landed him in the national news (and not in a good way). It seemed as though my Facebook feed was full of comments from religious and non-religious friends alike about the horribly carnal perspectives of the message. Among the valid claims against the sermon were these: It reduces the value of women in marriage to mere physical attraction. It implied that if a man commits adultery, it is at least partly the wife’s fault for not trying hard enough to be attractive.  It claimed that man has an excuse to commit adultery (at least with his eyes) because we are “visually driven” and “God made us this way.”  Points in the sermon included “Weight Control”, “Make Up” and “Flattering Clothing” The sermon included multiple jabs at women who did not...

          The central theme of the book of Habakkuk is one which has perhaps never seemed so relevant to the modern Christian as January 2021. The book is concluded with the prophets resolution: “Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” (Hab. 3:17-18). This is, in my opinion at least, one of the greatest examples of utter devotion and praise to He from whom all blessings flow- that even when these blessings are cut off we should still rejoice in Him. It is a beautiful sentiment, but when you put it in the context of its book it becomes even more powerful!  The prophet raises a difficult and relevant question to Jehovah on behalf of His people: how can a God so pure in justice as Jehovah...