Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man […] Read more
James 1:2-8 – Persecution, Wisdom, and Hedging our Bets
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, […] Read more
Homecoming
I wrote this poem a few years ago following attendance at a Good Friday service at a local church. As I was writing this week’s post on James 1:1 – Who Heard the Letter of James?, this poem came to mind. A glance that’s all it was. A salmon colored […] Read more
James 1:1 – Who Heard the Letter of James?
One of the first things to know about any New Testament letter is that while they were written on the page, most believers received them orally. We find evidence of this in Colossians 4:16 where Paul writes, “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read […] Read more
The Name is James, James B…B…Brother of Jesus
I’m often a little slow to pick up on things. For instance, it was only after I had been teaching a class on the book of Acts for a few years before I realized that the early church actually sprouted in two locations, not one. Jerusalem is the obvious first […] Read more
The Letter of James: A Puzzle or a Person?
My earliest memory about the letter of James comes from a time in a high school Bible class when the teacher said that James, Hebrews, and Revelation were hotly contested during the time when the New Testament was being compiled by the church. In college, I heard a similar story. […] Read more
Some Final Thoughts on The Lord’s Prayer
In the beginning, God created light, the planets, the atmosphere, plants, animals, then Adam and Eve were placed in the garden. Eden—unspoiled paradise—was our first home. But Adam and Eve weren’t alone, God was there. And I don’t mean he was there in some incorporeal form, He was in the […] Read more
The Lord’s Prayer and the Father’s Love
One of the things you must believe if you are to hold fast to naturalism is that every particle of dust in the universe is merely that; a particle of dust. Likewise, if you are to hold fast to most any transcendental point of view you are almost always required […] Read more
The Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 145
The first car I owned was a Mazda 626, a fairly common car at the time. I didn’t recall seeing many on the road, but when I drove mine off the lot I started seeing them everywhere. Once our mind is tuned into one thing we often see it everywhere, […] Read more
The Key to the Father’s Treasure
I wrote in my first entry, Introduction, that prayer had become an unhinged experience for me until I began working through the Lord’s Prayer. I never really thought much about the Lord’s Prayer as a model and I always shunned formulas and structure for prayer, but lately, I’ve been questioning […] Read more