Have you ever thought about this question: What kind of person is Jesus looking for? Is Jesus looking for the smart people? The creative people? Could it be that Jesus is looking for the person who is good at managing their time? Or managing their money? Those aren't bad qualities, but nowhere in the Gospels does it say Jesus is looking for those kind of people. Instead, the Gospels show us that Jesus is looking for the person who wants to follow him. That's why his invitation is simple: "Follow me." Simple, yet life-changing. Simple, yet challenging.
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The person who invented the first photocopy machine must have been a creative person. It is quite a thing to visualize and conceptualize and bring to life a machine that would impact literally millions of lives. Ironically, the invention of the photocopier has made it easier to duplicate than to innovate. You simply place your paper on the machine and it produces something that looks like the original. With newer technology, it might even look as good as the original -- but it is still just a copy. Photocopiers are not evil (except when they constantly jam and chew up paper). In fact, there are innumerable times when duplication is necessary, even beneficial. However, I’m thankful that when God responded to our sinful condition, he chose to incarnate rather than duplicate. God could have duplicated the systems that were already in place, the hundreds of laws passed down throughout Hebrew…
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Anthony Weiner is back. OK, he never really went away but his problems have resurfaced. Weiner, the former New York congressman who is now running for mayor of NYC, is back in the news having to explain vulgar pictures he took of himself and sent to others -- after he had resigned for doing the same thing as a sitting congressman. What does it say about our society that we have come to expect our politicians to be slimy? We watch a press conference and assume that some, if not most, of what they are telling us is untrue. We joke about a politician "flip-flopping" but it doesn't really upset us. Could it be that our comfort level for unethical behavior is stooping lower and lower? Instead of raising the bar by expecting more, we shrug our shoulders and accept things "the way they are." When leaders lack integrity, regardless…
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I'm more convinced than ever that our "smart" phones are only making us dumber. Every few seconds our phones beep, buzz, or ding. It might be a text message, a Facebook notification, or that occasional phone call that the device was actually designed to handle. But it's not all our phone's fault. The truth is, we humans are easily distracted. We look up, look down, or just look away. Staying on task is harder and harder to do. We start a book but may never finish it. We rent a movie only to return it having never watched it. We flip through multiple channels, watching a little of this and a little of that. Being easily distracted is not a good thing, especially when it comes to the church and accomplishing our God-given mission. The stakes are too high to lose focus ... the stakes are eternal. Throughout church history,…
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I grew up in the city. No tractors or barns. Our idea of "wilderness" was the gully down the street. The closest thing our family had to a farm was a garden in the vacant lot next door. Mom and dad grew corn, tomatoes, and a few other odds and ends. I can still picture the pressure cooker on the stove, as mom canned different types of vegetables. Some of those canned goods might still be around. Whether you grew up with a garden or on a farm, you still learned the idea of a harvest. The planting, caring, and waiting was only part of the routine; it all led to the time of harvest, similar with trees that are even easier to take care with services like TreeQuote online. Jesus taught this principle to his followers. In Matthew 9, Jesus is teaching, preaching, and healing. He then says, "The…
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