Episodes
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Command #36 - Be A Servant
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
From the elusive Command, Lose your life, we now encounter one of the most down to earth of all the Commands: Be a servant. No mystery exists here. We all know what it means to serve, to put someone else's need ahead of our own...the good deed, the kindness shown, the helping hand, the burden shared, the load lifted, the feet washed, the cup for the thirsty wayfarer. Opportunities for service are presented us every moment of every day.
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Command #35 - Lose Your Life
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Most of Jesus' Commands are reasonably straightforward, easy enough to understand, uncomplicated, unambiguous. Easy to obey--no. Easy to understand--yes. It is not usually a question of being confused about what is required. Rather it is a question of how serious we are about wanting to obey.
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Command #34 - Deny Yourself
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
The great moral teacher interpretation of the life and impact of Jesus Christ is surely one of the most naive perspectives ever proposed for such an important historical figure. C.S. Lewis has memorably argued that anyone making the claims Jesus did must either be a lunatic, a madman, or what he claimed to be. It is not merely Jesus' claim to be one with God that is astonishing and revolutionary, however, so too is much of the rest of his teaching. Far from being a traditional "moralist," a great deal of what Jesus said turned conventional wisdom upside-down.
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Command #33 - Be At Peace, Reconciled, and United With Others
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
The enormity of this Command is of such scope and magnitude that it is impossible to overstate. If Love is the first Command, this surely represents one of the most important dimensions of Love itself. Indeed, unity with our fellow man is one of Love's significant visible expressions. If we would "Be righteous," this is where it begins.
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Command #32 - If Part Of Your Body Sins, Get Rid Of It
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
It has been mentioned before that Jesus occasionally uses overstatement and exaggeration to get his point across. This is obviously again the case here. No one seriously believes this Command is to be obeyed literally. None of Jesus' own disciples, to our knowledge, obeyed this Command as it stands, nor did Jesus expect them to.
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Command #31 - Be Righteous
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
The Commands of Jesus seem to come in two broad categories: Those that are straightforward and relatively simple to obey...and those that are impossible to obey.
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Command #30 - Believe That You Will Receive What You Pray For
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
There are fewer more perplexing, misunderstood, misappropriated Commands in the Gospel than this. How many disappointments have been based on grandiose prayers for healing, for financial provision, for restored relationships, and for thousands of other good and worthy things... that have not happened? We have all experienced the ache, frustration, and confusion of unanswered prayer.
Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
Command #29 - Don’t Be Anxious
Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
It is sometimes difficult to know how to live in the practical reality of Jesus' admonition in the latter half of Matthew 6: Consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. They neither sow nor reap, yet your heavenly father cares for them. So don't worry about what you shall eat or drink. We are all familiar with his words. But do they not often sound just a little too idealistic?
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
Command #28 - Believe in Me
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
Jesus does not stop with commanding belief in general, not even belief in God. He zeroes in with yet more precision and specificity by also commanding belief in him. This further dismisses the notion that Christianity may be equated with being a kind person and trying to do good in the world. Those are good things. But they are not Christianity.
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Command #27 - Believe in God
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
We find ourselves looking at a series of Commands subject to widely varied interpretation as we attempt to navigate the conundrum between the temporal and spiritual components of the Christian life - Love God, Love man... Give to the poor, Believe.