I live as an alien in China and have for 30 years. So, I have some thoughts on foreigners and how God calls us to see and treat them. The Bible has some specific words on this. It appears God’s message is care for the alien. See here: And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. and here: 28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and …
The Triune God is surely our friend, relative, father, King, and warrior. God is not our grandfather, however. Let me frame that a little. God is the creator of all the emotions and drives we have. He is bigger and more than all we see. Therefore, he is more soft then the most touching mother and tougher and more demanding than the toughest father. He has everything we need. I am not saying we don’t need counselors. I am saying …
In China, I hold a green card. However, I also have a spiritual passport that says Heaven. Jesus says I was reborn and began a new life. A new life already began when I believed. I Peter notes that new in our belief, we are babies who need good spiritual milk. Hebrews talks about new babies who are not thriving. It is a hard to leave our old life or even family, cultural or national culture, but Jesus died that …
The New York Times has an article up that men centrally need a sense of purpose. Women do to, but men need more. Does God have a purpose for each man? Sure. When we reach out to men, we need to connect them with God’s purpose for their lives. Let me share my story. When I was 10 or 11 in my no faith family, I had a vision of life before me. It was a blackness that I could …
It, Consistent readers of the Main Thing know that I have some tendencies in the Autistic realm and grew up in a house determined to repress all feelings. Therefore, I especially had something to learn about loving God with my heart. I will convey that story below the Bible passages. It might help some readers to consider deeper what Jesus said. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind …
Let’s focus on the meaning of be born again. Nicodemus as a member of the Sanhedrin came to visit Jesus at night. Do go take a look at the passage. He was a deeply knowledgable leader who knew the Bible well and was highly respected. I think he wanted to know about Jesus philosophy more and to polish up his religion with Jesus ‘new’ ideas. Jesus knew this and that adding some good ideas would not save Nicodemus or anyone. …
God says to Adam “for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Are we only Dust in the Wind as the song says? Look what Ecclesiastes says to us and our pursuits for meaning in this life. all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Is that the story? When I first came to China. I taught English to the atheist college students. I played this song, Dust in the Wind for them as they loved …
The guy who wrote and sang Sold Out walked away from faith and said it did not happen all at once, but rather the sweater unraveled. In his job, he had to be pastoral and needed to write meaningful Christian songs. He was terrified of losing his faith, so stuffed down his doubts. The band backed off, and he did not need the band for income. He then looked at his lost faith and knew he did not believe. Jon …
Churches decline but not the Kingdom means we do not need to fret about God’s Kingdom. He has all this in hand. About 15 years ago, I read a book by the statistics giant, George Barna. The book’s name is Revolution. It says by 2050 most Christians will be in house Churches and not in traditional church buildings. This was not and is not news to God. God surely is in this and working. Let’s join him. Last week, I …
God made us each different. Isn’t it amazing? Unfortunately, it is irritating that people around or near us have such strange concerns, habits. and fears. Can both be true together? God and the Bible helped me see who I am and others are through 40 years of my life. Then a Christian boss who loved to share the gospel gave me a new challenge. I worked to create a better system, and a better more honest culture for his Christian …
