It’s that time of year again, the time when churches start planning the next year’s budget and asking their members to pledge their giving for the coming year. Three years ago I wrote about giving, including why God wants us to give. We call that stewardship, and it is that, Read more…
Today is Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It comes from the early days of the Israelites’ relationahip with God. When God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, he led them into the Sinai Peninsula to Mount Sinai, where he gave Read more…
Numerous verses in the New Testament tell us that we must forgive others.[1] Indeed, one of the lines of the famous prayer that Jesus told us to pray is “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”[2] Immediately after giving us this prayer, he also gives Read more…
On the last night before his crucifixion, Jesus gave us a new commandment: “love one another.”[1] Then he repeated it—twice.[2] Peter later emphasized that same commandment,[3] and Paul did so at least twice.[4] John repeated it over and over again.[5] So we need to love other Christians, right? But does Read more…
If you want to make America righteous, good for you. But if you think the way to do that is to win political power and pass “Christian” laws, you are misguided or misinformed. It doesn’t work that way. First, righteousness before God comes as a result of faith in Christ. Read more…