Punishment is an uncomfortable thing. If it weren’t, it wouldn’t be punishment at all! However, sometimes entire groups of people (nations, families, congregations) have allowed wickedness to thrive within their community and incite a corporate judgement. In these cases, not all members of the group have acted exactly the same. Perhaps some have not participated…
Author: Jason
Long time software developer, husband, and father of 2 very active boys. My real passion is Christ's church. With God's help, I hope I can aid in the effort to edify and encourage maturity within the body until we all reach the fullness of maturity in Christ!
Commonwealth of Israel
There are two views of Israel often discussed within the church today. One is the dispensational view, where we are currently in the “church age”. God has set aside the nation of Israel for a period of refinement or judgement for their unbelief, and then it will be restored to God at the end of…
Appeal of Godliness
1 Peter 2 is a chapter encouraging believers to live a godly life. He encourages believers to set aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. Far from a simple “do not” list, verse 2 and 3 immediately makes it clear that the purpose for these commands is to help them enjoy the good life, in…
Comfort to Sinners
There is an interesting exchange between Samuel and the people of Israel. They have demanded that he crown for them a king. Up until this point, Israel was lead by Moses, then Joshua, then a string of judges who would be raised up in their time of need. Looking around, the people decided they liked…
Honest Scales
Toward the end of Luke 6 we find a set of verses that are often misunderstood. Only the first part of verse 37 is often quoted to deflect criticism, but to do so misses the point of the section. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive,…
Miss the Spirit for the World
The fourth chapter of Luke has an encounter between Jesus and his hometown. I have heard many messages about this story, but they have often focused on prosperity messages about how his hometown, because they knew him, didn’t have enough faith in him to earn or enable blessings. This could be coming from the lack…
The Primacy of Secondary
Oversimplification It is common, when people are discussing complex ideas, to simplify concepts in order to make them easier to understand. This is helpful and every good teacher needs to be able to do this. The risk in simplifying, however, is that eventually the original context can be lost as the simple concept is repeated…
Flourishing from Fear
There are no end to motivational speakers who will tell you that fear is a killer. It will make you unwilling to take necessary risks, paralyze your decision making, etc… This is often true. However, as I discussed in a previous post, fear of God has the exact opposite affect. It can motivate the best…
The Pain of Purity
Add a Pinch of Jesus The church, especially in America, is often taken with the idea of adding Christ to one’s life. You have the life you’re living. It’s basically comfortable but there are some things that make you sad, anxious, or angry. Maybe you have some addictions you’d like to kick. People may suggest…
Fear of the Lord
One topic that can be found in scripture but can be confusing for many is the idea of fear. Some verses seem to essentially praise fear as a pinnacle of virtue while others condemn fear as unbelief. Revelation 21:8 even lists cowards among those who be cast into the pit of fire! Is it that…