If you’re not Catholic or Anglican, you probably only have a vague idea of what Lent is. Lent is a 40-day season of preparation for Easter (which parallels Advent, the 4-week preparation for Christmas). It is a time of penitence (repenting), and the 40 days reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in…
Throughout history, the Church has continued to do its best to reach the lost, serve its flock, and worship God under good governments and bad. Christians are part of both civil society and a holy community of believers. Our behavior in one must be consistent with the other. Christians cannot do evil in one part…
New year’s resolutions are famously short-lived. Those who still make them start off well, intending to lose weight, exercise more, or save money. But more often than not, the willpower quickly runs out and the resolution dies a quiet death while the old habits reign victorious. Should we even bother? Numbers 6 gives some historical…
Christmas is all about family. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that in the popular Christmas movies. It’s a nice sentiment. But it’s completely wrong. Family is good, but as we all know, it’s flawed too. Some of us don’t even like spending time with family because of unsettled feuds. Family can’t…
If all you knew of American society was based on department stores, you would likely assume that Christmas is a day or two after Halloween. That is what happens when Christmas is merely a break from work, with time spent with family opening gifts. That is also what happens when waiting has no intrinsic value.…
At this time when our nation pauses to give thanks, I think it’s worth reflecting on why thankfulness matters. First, thankfulness is an acknowledgement that much of what we have didn’t originate with us. Only God is uncreated. The rest of us received a great deal from our parents who raised us, our teachers…
The picture is licensed by Creative Commons by unknown author (BY-SA). It is a common philosophy for parents to tell their children that they can decide for themselves what religion they follow. Let me be frank: This is a terrible idea. Unless parents equip their children to make theological decisions, they are completely unprepared…
There has been a growing movement among MAGA voices that says empathy isn’t a biblical value. If we’re being literal, it’s true that the word “empathy” isn’t in the Bible (depending on the version you use). Let me tell you, this idea is a complete misrepresentation of the truth, and comes from a political viewpoint,…
Most people were horrified by the attack on a Mormon church in Michigan. A man who claimed to believe in Jesus took the lives of others, and felt justified doing so because he believed their faith was illegitimate. When God told the Jews in Deuteronomy 7:2 that they were to “defeat” the people living in…
The picture is licensed under Creative Commons (BY-SA; author unknown). When is the last time you experienced awe? You know, when you beheld something so beautiful or inspiring that everything else just faded into the periphery for a moment? Maybe it was on vacation; possibly looking at the sheer magnitude of an ocean, or…