Category: Bible
-
It’s a World Full of Real Danger. Here’s Why That’s Irrelevant.
Excerpt from Fearless: Free in Christ in an Age of Anxiety by Rachel Starr Thomson, Carolyn Currey, and Mercy Hope. Read another excerpt here. When Moses chose twelve spies to go and scout out the land, they came back with an “evil report”: There were giants in the land. Evil is an appropriate word. In English, the…
-
Choosing a Higher Fear: How You Can Live Free from Fear’s Control
Excerpt from Fearless: Free in Christ in an Age of Anxiety by Rachel Starr Thomson, Carolyn Currey, and Mercy Hope When we say that you can live fearless, what comes to mind? There’s a good chance you picture a daredevil, an adrenaline junkie scaling cliffs or jumping off skyscrapers with the slogan “YOLO” emblazoned on his back.…
-
What We Do When We Judge: Jesus on Judgment, Part 2
“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2) Last week, looking at the phrase “Do not judge,” we said that judgment is a fact. It will come, and it will…
-
Jesus on Judgment: What “Do Not Judge” Does and Does Not Mean
Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1) Of everything Jesus taught, I wrestle with this passage maybe the most. It’s just so darn…
-
Seeing, Seeking, & Asking Questions: How to Find the Kingdom of God
So don’t worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew…
-
Trust at the Core: Why Jesus Lived in a Different World than We Do
So don’t worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”…
-
“Won’t God Do More for You?” How Jesus Confronts Our Low Expectations of God
And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and…
-
Provision, Responsibility, and The Waste of Worry
Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? Jesus begins teaching about money by telling us not to collect stuff: lay up treasure in heaven instead. It lasts and it’s better, and you never have to worry that someone’s going to break in and carry it off. That’s the…
-
Right Places, Right Times: What Looking at the Birds Teaches Us about Provision
My friend Sheila watched a nature documentary about penguins. This is a bad idea for anyone who wants to retain magical, fuzzy feelings about the natural world. I saw one recently too: there were all these penguins living on an island near Antarctica or somewhere, and every day they would go plunging off these sheer,…
-
Money [Can Be] a Good Thing—But It’s a Always Terrible Master
No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money. (Matthew 6:24) We know the story: a rich young man came to Jesus and asked what he should…