So much of our national interest in productivity is actually about setting priorities.  We all have the same amount of time each day, but some people are perpetually accomplishing more than others.  Poor prioritization makes us seem very busy, without accomplishing the things that truly matter.  By spending our time on less-important tasks, we never accomplish those things that make the biggest difference.

This same problem is partially to blame on the lack of biblical literacy in the world today, and even in the church.  All people have the same amount of time, but only some people use that…

With the prevalence of media in our everyday culture, most of us recognize when we hear, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" that someone is quoting a movie.  The same goes with “Play it again, Sam,” and “I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.”  The problem is that as popular as these lines are, they do not appear in Dirty Harry, Casablanca, or The Wizard of Oz.  They are misquotations that have lived on in our public conscience, albeit incorrectly.  This can happen so easily because we very often will rely on our memory of the movie instead of actually watching…

One of the hard things when teaching others about metaphor, simile, and allegory is trying to also explain that there are limits to how far one should take them.  Describing someone as a “bull in a china shop” is not intended to make a statement about their servingware shopping habits.  My wife will sometimes refer to the children as “full of beans” and invariably, one of them will inquire about their recent diet.  These simple misunderstandings may be innocent enough in making jokes and puns, but we must be careful that we do not bring these same problems to the…

So often in life, we seem to be our own stumbling block in getting things accomplished that we know we should.  We don’t exercise because we make up excuses.  We don’t save up because we find distractions.  We don’t accomplish some of our loftiest goals because we are afraid of failure.

What if we had the courage to accomplish things because God told us we could do it?  How much more could we do for God if we remembered that He told us to do it?  There are several places in scripture where God did just that for people.

Nature versus nurture, free will versus environment, personal responsibility versus predestination — these are all arguments that are often on our minds but are rarely solved.  Perhaps the reason they are never given a satisfactory conclusion is because the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  As humans, we don’t always like tension, and we want a solid answer that, in this case, might not be there.

Everyone has a background that is going to determine how they see the world, but humans are also free moral agents that can choose how to respond to what they see.  To complicate…

With our limited perspective and limited wisdom, it is sometimes difficult for us to understand God’s methods for bringing about His will.  This is one of the places that requires faith, because it is not a situation we can see and readily understand the purpose of.  We must have faith that God’s work is for the good, even when we cannot see His purposes.  We must have faith that His methods will bring about the best result.

We read about God’s character of goodness, righteousness, and honesty, and so we sometimes believe that he only people who should have…

We live in a culture that demands proof for any claims that are made.  Perhaps this is because with unlimited and immediate access to all manner of factual information, we believe that any claim must be demonstrable with only a few clicks and a quick search.  However, this mentality has a hard time dealing with statements of truth that are not limited to collected data points.  Further, this kind of ignorance can lead to unbelief because it makes us the arbiters of truth as we examine all of the facts.  This is not to say that a healthy dose of…

In coming into a new year, there is so much focus on looking forward, and letting the past go, that it almost seems dangerous for us as a culture.  There may be much that happened in the previous year that is imperfect, hurtful, or even dangerous, but that doesn’t mean it should be completely forgotten.  The reality is that we made it through all of that, because here we are.  Beyond that, there was much to be thankful for in the last year that will continue to be beneficial in the future.

When we forget the things that happen…

Living lives without integrity often has natural consequences that are quite unpleasant.  One consequence of pretending to be something, but not being that in truth, is that it requires removing self-reflection and self-awareness.  This is becoming easier in our society through our obsession with chemical substances that alter our perception, and also an obsession with privacy.

Privacy is a new concept for humans, because traditionally we have had communities to keep our lives consistent with our claims.  However, when we remove all correcting voices, we never hear those important indictments and challenges.  This becomes even easier in the digital…

It is interesting how often we will pick and choose which attributes we feel comfortable assigning to God, often with an air of reverence and awe, but ignoring His words completely.  If anger is the emotion, we are perfectly fine with this being used to describe God.  However, the emotion of sadness may be a little disconcerting, despite the words of scripture. (Genesis 6:6; Psalm 78:40; Isaiah 54:6; 63:10)

Even though we believe that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) and “the exact representation of His nature,” (Hebrews 1:3) there are many emotions that Jesus…

When we think about the Law that God provided for Israel through Moses, we normally think of it as intractable, rigid, and heartless.  Indeed, there are reasons for that characterization (Acts 15:10; Galatians 5:1), but that is far from the whole story.  We need to remember that the Law was authored by the God who is the embodiment of love (I John 4:7-20), and therefore His nature will be present in that Law (Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8).

One of the characteristics of love is that it listens to others and is reasonable. (I Corinthians 13:4-7; James 3:17)…

We live in a society that values the freedom of the individual, and by extension, the responsibility of each individual.  Thus, we can often feel and act in a very isolated manner.  There are even incidents where bystanders cannot even be bothered to call for help because the fate of the one suffering isn’t any of their business.  Being a true individual means, to some, that the plight of others is not our concern.

This attitude was at the root of Cain’s excuse when he was questioned by God about the whereabouts of his brother Abel, whom he had…

It is always so important to remember that the body of Christ is so frequently spoken about in terms of a family (Matthew 12:47-50; I Timothy 5:1-2; II Timothy 4:21).  This helps us to maintain the appropriately close and respectful relationships with our fellow saints, and engender love in our churches.

However, there is one quality of physical family that does not always carry over to our brethren in Christ.  Specifically, no matter how irritating, or foolish my brother or sister in the flesh may act, they will always be family.  If we carry this mentality over into the…