It might be safe to say that most people have never wondered from where their next meal was coming; we have pantries, bank accounts, and friends upon whom we can rely. We have jobs, or if not, savings, social security, or welfare. So it is that when we pray, “Give […] Read more
Discovering God’s will seems to be an obsession with most people. In the time I spent with church youth groups and teaching high school students, other than sex, the number one topic was the will of God. Even for me, during my last couple of years in college I remember […] Read more
Of the many courses I took in seminary, one of the more important ones was the course on Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is not, as I used to think, the study of all people named “Herman,” but it is the study of how to properly read and interpret the Bible. One of […] Read more
One thing that should be readily apparent to anyone who reads the Bible is its depth. New shades of meaning can be found each time you read a single passage. For instance, a few years ago I spent nearly an entire year reading just Psalm 51, and even to this […] Read more
It was a dark and stormy night in college when I was driving back from a late movie in Muncie, Indiana. I took a corner a bit too fast and my car bounced across the road, into a lawn, and slammed through the small space between two massive oak trees. […] Read more
Luke records a curious little passage not found in any other Gospel. It reads as follows: And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks […] Read more
Jesus said, “Amen” so shouldn’t we be at the end of our discussion on prayer? Actually, no. In both Matthew 6 and Luke 11, Jesus continues discussing prayer after providing his prayer to the disciples. He told us we should pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven […] Read more
…deliver us from evil.For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Many versions of the Lord’s Prayer end with the words, “deliver us from evil.” But some manuscripts continue with the words, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” […] Read more
Lead us not into temptation… I’ve always found this portion of Jesus’s prayer challenging as I never thought the Father would lead us into temptation. In James, we read, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, […] Read more
Forgive us our debtsas we also have forgiven our debtors… I think forgiveness is the centerpiece of Christian belief. Humanity, in the hands of Adam and Eve, fell into sin thus condemning us all to death. And just as Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden and covered […] Read more