Worldliness – Household Words:

The Ringing Voices of Ten Thousand Maniacs on Social Media. Psalm 118:5-6.

Image generated with A. I. Scrolling through social media is something like walking through a carnival: There are crowds everywhere, people of all ages, all types. Some beautiful, some that make you cringe, some violent and dangerous. There are artists and writers and thinkers and experts and there are clowns and buffoons and scumbags andContinue reading “The Ringing Voices of Ten Thousand Maniacs on Social Media. Psalm 118:5-6.”

A Stranger in a Strange Land. 1 John 2.

Have you ever felt like a refugee or a fugitive? Those words aren’t just for the nightly news: it can happen to anyone. European Jews moving to America to escape Nazis? Fugitives. People in Mexico, on the run from the government of Honduras? Fugitives. Russians in the U.S. on the run from the Soviet KGB?Continue reading “A Stranger in a Strange Land. 1 John 2.”

IMAGINE PEACE. James 4:4-10.

What if we were all on the same side? What if everyone loved everyone, and there was no judgment, no hate? No politics? No right and wrong? “Imagine there’s no countries. Nothing to kill or die for… Imagine all the people living life in peace…. Imagine all the people sharing all the world.” Unfortunately, thisContinue reading “IMAGINE PEACE. James 4:4-10.”

ARE YOU A FRIEND OF THE WORLD? James 4:4; 2 Cor. 6:17.

The Voice translates James 4:4 this way: “You are adulterers. Don’t you know that making friends with this corrupt world order is open aggression toward God? So anyone who aligns himself with this bogus world system is declaring war against the one true God.” Are you trying to “make friends” with this “bogus world system”?Continue reading “ARE YOU A FRIEND OF THE WORLD? James 4:4; 2 Cor. 6:17.”

“DON’T LET THE WORLD SQUEEZE YOU INTO ITS MOLD.” Romans 12:1-2.

This is good advice: Do not be confirmed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind [through God’s Word], so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect. Romans 12:1-2. Does your mind conform to the mind of the world? HaveContinue reading ““DON’T LET THE WORLD SQUEEZE YOU INTO ITS MOLD.” Romans 12:1-2.”

Have You Been Influenced by Idol Worshippers? Deuteronomy 13:6-10.

Do you have lost friends? Yes. Do you admire personal heroes who happen to be lost? Yes. Do they influence you? Yes. Anytime you like or admire someone, their choices influence you. It’s as if you were two sheep wandering across a field. If you like or admire another sheep and he takes a certainContinue reading “Have You Been Influenced by Idol Worshippers? Deuteronomy 13:6-10.”

Report Cards.

What if God offered a report card on the state of your heart? In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus evaluates seven churches, praising them when He can, but also pointing out weaknesses: “You have lost your first love… You are lukewarm….” Job likewise received a “report card” but he got perfect grades. Twice God saysContinue reading “Report Cards.”

Remember Lot’s Wife.

Jesus warns in Luke 17:33, “Remember Lot’s wife!” He makes it sound like life and death. But what does that mean? In Genesis 19, God sends angels to rescue Lot’s family. The people are warned to run from the city. The sons-in-law ignore it. The family hesitates. The angels (who look like men) grab theirContinue reading “Remember Lot’s Wife.”