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  So many people saying stuff like, "If Jesus was walking the earth today, he would totally endorse _____________ (fill in your favorite ridiculous idea/cause). Yes, God made us in His image.  However, we seem to be returning the favor. Hence the picture above. Have we rebranded Jesus into an image that suits our fancies—one that we can claim to follow but doesn't really resemble the Jesus in the Bible? I think so. Soren Kierkegaard said:  "My mission is to introduce Christ into Christendom."  That would be funny if it weren't so painfully true. This begs the BIG question... Are you following the Jesus of the Bible? Or one of these imposters... American Prosperity Jesus?  Anything Goes Jesus Starbucks Jesus?  Genie Jesus?  CEO Jesus?  Or   ________________  (Fill in your favorite fake Jesus above). I think Kierkegaard was on to something. If we’re ever going to get back to the real Jesus , we must start with the real Jesus as in t...

  When I say, "Happy Thanksgiving," I'm not just generically thankful. I'm thankful to  God .   And I don't mean just any "god," I mean the  Lord Jesus Christ. "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God  or even give him thanks . And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.  Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools."  —Romans 1:21-22 (underline mine) Here's why I'm so thankful . Enjoy this Song of Thanksgiving . Let's be friends on social media!     Instagram          Facebook           Twitter        Subscribe here & let the fun begin !

An ancient prayer of thanksgiving that is to be said after using the bathroom... "Blessed is he  [God] who formed man in wisdom and created in him many orifices and cavities.  It is obvious and known before your throne of glory that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them blocked,  it would be impossible for man to survive and stand before you."  —Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 60b, circa 400 AD   Yeah. I know. It's funny—in a junior high sort of way. But I also think this prayer is instructive on many levels if you'll pause just a moment to think about it. Evidently, ancient Jewish life was saturated in prayer...  about everything . Now consider this: The Bible commands us to "Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." —1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 In light of the New Testament passage above, thanking God for orifices doesn't seem so strange, does it? What could God do in ...

"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act." —Matthew 7:15-16 If you really want to know who someone is,  watch what they do — not what they say . "Sadly, we do not have a Christian culture today that easily discriminates between a person of spiritual depth and a person of raw talent.  The result is that more than a few people can be fooled into thinking they are being influenced by a spiritual giant when in fact they are being manipulated by a dwarf. We must always be aware that there are great leaders who can build great organizations (including churches) on natural gifts. Say the right words, be smart enough to do the right things, be insightful enough to connect with the right people, and one can go a long way before anyone ever discovers that the inner life is close to empty."  From the 2003 preface of  Ordering Your Private World by ...

In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.  The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day. Twenty years later, Mbemb was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenage son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures tu...

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