We have all seen many pictures such as the above portraying Jesus. Most show him as a fair haired blue eyed person of European descent. Of course in reality that is likely not what Jesus looked like. He probably looked much more like most of the 9/11 terrorists than what we are used to seeing. Let’s get over what Jesus might have looked like … Continue reading It’s Just a Face
I am going to do a cross blog thing today. I promise not to do it often. Trevin Wax, who is an author and pastor of a Tennessee Baptist church has a blog entitle “Kingdom People”. He has quite a large and loyal following. Wednesday’s post he questioned the “smug superiority” of the United States especially given the recent inauguration. The post below is a … Continue reading Is the United States the next Babylon?
Subtitle: Some very inspiring words I just finished a book entitled “The Twenty Piece Shuffle” by Greg Paul. It is about a ministry to the poor in the Toronto area. Greg Paul has done such a great job in putting us inside this ministry by telling stories of those who have frequented the mission over the years. It is a very worthwhile read to … Continue reading The Twenty Piece Shuffle
I have always wondered why Catholics are so focused on the Virgin Mary and Protestants, except for Christmas Eve, almost totally ignore her? If we read the Gospels and the Book of Acts, besides for Jesus’ birth Mary is mentioned only a couple of times in the text so that doesn’t lead us to believe that Mary had a very prominent role among the … Continue reading The Thing about Mary
Just what does it mean when Jesus said “You are the salt of the earth.” That phrase doesn’t have much meaning for us today but it was very clear to those who lived 2,000 years ago. About the only thing we hear about salt today is that we are getting too much of it in our diets. Too much salt can result in … Continue reading Salt of the Earth?
I’m going to move away from my focus on the red letters to look a little at what St. Peter said in the book of Acts Acts 2:14-21 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These … Continue reading Christian Doublespeak?
Matt 19:24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Putting a camel through an eye of a needle sounds like an impossible task! That is unless the needle is the size of a building. Will there be no rich men (or women) in … Continue reading The curse of riches
There is a wide disparity of opinion about how true to Christ mega-churches are. I probably fall somewhere in the middle of that opinion. As I see it, the pastor of the small church that I currently attend doesn’t have much good to say about any of them. He seems to say that, in order to appeal to the most number of people, they dilute … Continue reading How about those mega-churches?
Subtitle: [Fellowship of Believers] Here are today’s red letters: Matt 18:20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Why did Jesus say it takes two or three coming together in his name in order for him to be with them? Why not just one? I think it is because Jesus knew it would be difficult to be … Continue reading Is it easy to be a Christian by yourself?
Many Christians and churches today practice to varying degrees what I call fortress mentality. These Christians almost never associate with anyone outside of their church. They only listen to Christian broadcasts and read only Christian books and media. It is almost as if they believe that if you are part of this world they will somehow be polluted by it and lose their faith. The … Continue reading Christian Fortress Mentality
We most often think of religious persecution as one religion persecuting another. For instance Christians against Muslims (the Holy Wars). But we must remember that one of the reasons that there are so many different Christian denominations around today is that in the past Christians were persecuting other Christians over differing beliefs. I recently took a trip to Bishop Hill in Illinois. I had been … Continue reading Christians persecuting Christians
With tomorrow being the beginning of yet another year I thought it would be appropriate to talk a little about the concept of Jubilee. Here is some info about Jubilee from Wikipedia. a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. Jubilee was … Continue reading Jubilee
Matt 20:26-27 Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave Jesus certainly had the service mentality. The ultimate service was for him to take human form and come to earth for us. He showed service mentality numerous times throughout the gospels. The apostles did not understand this. But, I think … Continue reading Service Mentality
On this blog and in my life I try to learn the Lord’s message wherever I can find it. I am just not one to cling to one particular denominational line of thought. I found some inspiring words from Pop Benedicts Christmas message yesterday. He said “wherever an increasingly uncertain future is regarded with apprehension, even in affluent nations.” “In each of these places may … Continue reading The Pope’s Christmas Message
Most of the information about Christmas is found in the Gospel of Luke. Luke was probably a gentile by birth and was believe to be well educated in Greek culture. He was a physician and was probably a good friend to Paul. Luke’s account was believed to be the most accurate historically; it seems he took extra pains to be sure that everything was just … Continue reading About Christmas
Today I am going to divert from the red letters to talk a little about St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Being content this is something we Americans never seem to be able to do! Being content means not worrying whether our neighbor has a newer car than you, or … These words were spoken by St Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. This … Continue reading Be Content
Here are the red letters for today. Matt 13:53-58 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, … Continue reading Hometown Boys never get respect.
Matt 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and … Continue reading Do What I Say
Here are the red letters for today’s study: Matt 12:36-37 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” These word from Jesus were spoken during a heated discussion with the Pharisees but I believe … Continue reading Are we Christians accountable on Judgment day??
subtitle: [33,000 Christian Demoninations] Here are our red letters for today. John 17:20-21 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have … Continue reading Whose Got it Right ??
Thanksgiving is tomorrow so I thought this would be the most appropriate time to share with you a prayer that I have been using the last few years. It is definitely appropriate for tomorrow but can really be used almost any day of the year. The author of the prayer is Samuel F. Pugh. He died just before Christmas 2007 at the age of 103. … Continue reading A Thanksgiving Prayer
Let me start out by telling you that this post is not about Jesus being a radical but there is definitely some truth to that statement and I will address that in a future post. I know this title is kind of confusing. Is there really such a thing as an “ordinary” radical. I don’t know but that is what Shane Clairborne calls himself. Shane … Continue reading An Ordinary Radical??
Maybe in the blogosphere the word trashing should be replaced with snarking but that is another issue. Let’s hit this head on. If you search the words “red letter Christian” on WordPress and other blogs you will find several sites by fellow Christians that are antagonistic to that phrase or even to the concept of using red letters. I must admit the word “trashing” might … Continue reading Christians trashing Christians??
I am bringing up this blog for several reasons. I am an evangelical Christian who doesn’t like how I am generally portrayed in the mainstream media. I admit that I am a more progressive Christian than perhaps most. I readily call myself a “bleeding heart”. I want to let the world know that there are Christians around who believe and vote on more than one or … Continue reading Why a Red Letter Living Blog?
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