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The Christ Follower Votes

Let’s start this by acknowledging that the Bible does not say anything about voting, electoral colleges or which party is truly evil. You will not find the concept of democracy anywhere in the Bible. Some Christians would therefore steer away from how the Christ follower should participate in the election process. They may point to a separation of church and state or to the fact that we belong to another kingdom. They may state that the election process is corrupt or that their vote doesn’t matter for a variety of different reasons. They may be sincere in their belief on the topic, but they are sincerely wrong. Just because the Bible doesn’t talk specifically about an issue doesn’t mean that it hasn’t provided the framework for understanding how to act. Biblical literacy establishes principals by which we can boldly and prayerfully know 1) the Christ Follower is called to vote and 2) how the Christian should vote. From as early as Genesis and as reinforced in the New Testamen

How to Fight

I saw a sign in a coffee shop today that said, “Life is Good!”, and I had to ask myself if I really believed that. I’ve had a good life, better than I deserve, but as I was reading the sign I thought to myself that “Life is Hard”! Even though I can see all sorts of good things in my life, life is often a struggle. I know that despite how hard life can sometimes be, God is good and will carry me through the hardest times, but while I know this truth in my head, I don’t always feel it in my heart.  As I was reading that “Life is Good!” sign, I was also reading in Matthew 22 where Jesus said: “Put your sword away! All who use a sword will be killed by a sword.” (v.52) When life gets really hard, I have the tendency to fight back, which can be good depending upon how I choose to fight. There were times in the past where I’d say to myself (or even out loud!): “I wish we could go back to battle axes and fight this out the old-fashioned way.” And I meant it. It felt like an easier, more

The Fulfillment

I was raised in a mainline, liturgical church. It was a good experience for me, and it laid a foundation for faith that was needed later in life. Since then, I’ve been a part of charismatic, evangelical and reformed churches, all of which were good for me in their season. Years ago, a friend of mine started calling himself a PresboEpiscoMatic, which sounded both unique and accurate enough to describe my faith. But recently I started thinking about how to describe my spirituality in a way that didn’t sound like such a mish-mash of wandering uncertainty and instead defined what I believed about who I am.  I’m not liturgical. Every church has a liturgy (or a format) by which they live out their beliefs, and I’m no different in that respect. I appreciate the liturgical year and find it helpful to keep me focused on my own walk with Jesus. I appreciate how mainline churches formed a liturgy to bring biblical truths to illiterate populations, just as I appreciate the reformed thinkers

The Illusion of Secularism

Too many people I care about have pulled away from their Christian beliefs. I’ve heard them referred to as god-free thinkers or just free thinkers, and this freedom is one that they want to share with others. I have been proselytized by these converts, who I have no doubt are genuine in their new faith and who I know to be completely misguided. I’ve heard it said that if you can argue someone into the Kingdom, then someone can argue them out of it. So I earnestly try to introduce people to Jesus, knowing that a relationship with Him is really the best thing for them rather than being a disciple of my teachings or a follower of any other person’s doctrine. But as I’ve given it some further thought, I believe that even this approach isn’t enough. Oh, it’s not that Jesus isn’t enough or that I don’t trust Him to complete the good work that He begins in us. I believe that mankind is weak and easily fooled, and I believe that we each need to work out our salvation by guarding our mind