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Some decisions are too great for culture to hold them. Some lessons are so large they surpass the boundaries of culture. Some needs are so massive that even cultural expectations shouldn’t get in the way. Having told the disciples that what is on the outside does not defile us,
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What is on the inside matters. Our culture gives lip-service to this idea, but it doesn’t believe it. If it did, our advertisements would have examples of good character, not beauty. If it did, the popular and powerful kids in school would be nice kids, not mean kids. If
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The inside of a person matters. It’s a simple but poignant thought. What we do is significant, but why we do it is even more significant. Motivation matters. Speaking of motivation, Jesus’ approach to discipleship continues to work. When Jesus finds Himself alone with His disciples, they ask Him
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There is always an opportunity to impact the world around us. Sometimes this is easy. Places like church and bible studies are full of people whose lives are primed to be impacted for Christ. People who find their way into religious gatherings have already taken the first step of curiosity
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People will use any excuse to get what they want. How often do we say something like, “I really want that piece of cake,” and justify it by saying we’ll spend an extra half-hour in the gym burning off the calories? I am always amused when I have students
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What do your traditions say about you? Tradition speaks about who we are as people. Tradition shows other people what we value. Tradition allows us to stay true to core foundational values. Of course, all of this assumes that our traditions are rooted in something true to begin with. Today
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Why do you have traditions? One of my favorite jokes about tradition goes something like this. A young woman, just after getting married, wants to cook a roast for Sunday dinner. She asks her mother to teach her. The mother takes her grocery shopping, teaches her to pick out a
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Patience is a virtue. I know it is a maxim. Some people might call it trite. Still, patience is one of the most useful qualities to have in your character. This world will try you. This world will come after you with all its got. This world can wear you
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Confusion is compounding. It’s one of the reasons that mastering something is hard but anyone can learn the basics. The basics are simple and easy to figure out. At some point, though, the material gets harder. It takes work to learn it properly. It takes effort to think through
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Life lessons are usually hard. It can be difficult because the lesson itself is a difficult one to learn. It can be difficult because it needs to be learned several times before we really understand. It can be difficult because it requires long periods of time to learn. It can
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Living a life constantly caught in the tension between the will of God and the desires of the people can be interesting. On one hand, glorifying God is our chief goal. On the other hand, God wants us to be among the people and encourage those around us to grow
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What must the disciples have been thinking? When Jesus asked them to go and count the amount of bread and fish they had, how much did they wonder about Jesus’ plan? When they came back to Jesus with two fish and five loaves and He didn’t seem to understand