fisher of men

The rise of the nones (those claiming no religious affiliation) just keeps rising. To quote the Religion News Service, “The United States is steadily becoming less Christian and the number of people with no religion is rising. Those are the twin headlines from the latest Pew Research report… which shows a dramatic decline in American religious habits over the course of a decade.” In short, Pew’s research finds that two-thirds (65%) of Americans describe themselves as Christians, down from 77% in 2009. It also shows that the number of Americans who say they have no religion – the nones – has risen to 26%, up from 17% a decade ago. If your mouth isn’t open, it should be. “The rate at which Christians are declining is very striking,” said Greg Smith, associate director of research at Pew...

The Gospels use the Greek work eirene for “peace.” One commentator says that peace “is a state of being that lacks nothing and has no fear of being troubled in its tranquility; it is euphoria coupled with security.” I don’t know about you, but I would gladly settle for a little bit of euphoria coupled with security. But is this what God promises in the here and now? History does tell of martyrs who went to their death gladly and peacefully. And Paul, writing from prison, says that he has “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12). Paul is saying that it is possible to learn to be peaceful regardless of our circumstances. Still, it would seem that even Jesus did not always experience emotional peace. Witness ...

Give No Quarter by Ryan Duncan “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” – Ephesians 6:10-11 This week my small group started a new series on minor characters in the Old Testament. I have to say it’s been pretty interesting. There are so many characters in the Old Testament whose stories often get overlooked, liked Jephthah, one of Israel’s judges, or Rizpah, who defended the bodies of her slain family. The person I ended up researching though was Josiah, who ruled Jerusalem as King for thirty-one years. 2 Kings opens by saying Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, a rare feat for most of Israel’s Kings, but then it shifts gears and talks about ho...

“You Never Do Anything You Don’t Want to Do”  by Shawn McEvoy Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. – Galatians 6:5, The Message If I try, I can remember my friends from 10th-grade Sunday School. In fact, I’m still tight with two of them. I remember our church, our youth group, and our youth minister. What I don’t remember so well are the individual lessons we learned from the Bible each week. As I realize that, I give myself another kick for not having gotten into note-taking and journaling. I’d like to have those things to review now. What I do recall from one particular class session, however, has always stuck with me. And it wasn’t even a quote from the Bible. To s...

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So what kind of peace does Jesus promise, if not a peaceful life? Listen for a moment to the promises Jesus makes to us in Scripture: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:29). “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Did Jesus really mean it when he said these things? If so, what kind of peace was he talking about? And what exactly did he means when he spoke of “my peace” and of giving it “not as the world gives”? Furthermore, how could Jesus say these things on what must have been the most troubled night of his life? Just a...

Years ago, a brutal stomach virus crept through the seminary community where I was serving as dean. One day, knowing that most of the students in my classroom were on the upswing from this sickness, I posed the question, “Did Jesus ever have a stomach virus?” On a more typical day–a day in which the question of such illness would have been a more abstract reality–I doubt there would have been anything less than consensus. Of course, these future pastors would have asserted, Jesus assumed everything about human nature, except for sin. But this wasn’t an abstract question. These students were still reeling not just from the discomfort of the stomach flu, but also from its indignity. They had been wracked with vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and chills. They still smarted from the sense of having ...

October 22, 2019The Unexpected Beauty of a Winter StormMichele Cushatt Today’s Truth As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11, NIV). Friend to Friend The view took my breath away. For two hours, I’d been hiking one of Colorado’s many hiking trails, backpack-laden, sweat dripping, calves burning. In the span of two miles, I’d climbed nearly a thousand vertical feet, not a small accomplishment considering the rocky terrain and incline. Each step required intentionality, each...

In the current issue of The Atlantic, Judith Shulevitz penned an essay titled “Why You Never See Your Friends Anymore.” The subtitle summary read, “Our unpredictable and overburdened schedules are taking a dire toll on American society.” The heart of her concern is how the “hours in which we work, rest and socialize are becoming ever more desynchronized.” She writes: “Whereas we once shared the same temporal rhythms—five days on, two days off, federal holidays, thank-God-it’s-Friday—our weeks are now shaped by the unpredictable dictates of our employers. Nearly a fifth of Americans hold jobs with nonstandard or variable hours. They may work seasonally, on rotating shifts, or in the gig economy driving for Uber or delivering for Postmates. Meanwhile, more people on the upper end of the pay ...

Supporting Your Spouse through Family Conflicts by Lynette Kittle “The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’”– Genesis 3:12 In reading the account of mankind’s first couple, Adam and Eve, have you ever wondered how Eve felt when God asked Adam what they had done, and he passed the blame of eating the forbidden fruit to her? Did Eve feel devastated, even betrayed, at his response? At the lowest point of her life, Eve may have felt totally deserted by Adam. I’m guessing Eve must have felt very alone and afraid at that moment when her new husband didn’t support her before their Father. Like many new husbands and wives, Adam was afraid of losing His close relationship with God more than how his response would hurt Eve. In your marriage h...

A Prayer for Using Your Spiritual Gifts By Greg Laurie But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. – John 14:26 Have you ever watched a fire begin to burn down to the point that all you have left are coals? It looks as though there is no fire actually left, because the coals may be under a layer of ash. You can’t really see much. But when you take a fresh log and toss it on top of those coals and stir it around a bit, it suddenly ignites, and you have a whole new fire going. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). That phrase stir up the gift means to fan it into full flame. There may be...

Turn with Me to Your Next Prayer by John UpChurch According to Hollywood, most funerals should include the pastor intoning the morbid notes of the twenty-third Psalm. All the black around the pastor makes it seem that much more depressing. Usually, there’s rain. But there are two things about this that strike me as odd. First, Psalm 23 isn’t depressing. Yes, it mentions the “shadow of death,” but it’s chock full of hope and paths of righteousness … and oil pouring over heads. You can’t be depressed when oil’s dripping down your nose … at least in biblical terms. Second, I don’t really hear people pray from the Bible. Sure, they toss in a verse or two about being “more than conquerors” or “God working all things for our good.” But I’ve never seen a pastor reach for Psal...