Posts tagged Christian living
Addicted to the Mediocrity of Sameness
Addicted to the Mediocrity of Sameness

Sometimes Christians maintain this attitude toward learning new truths in Scripture. “Everything that can be known from Scripture is already discovered. There is nothing new for me to learn. After all, I’ve been to Christian college or been in church all my life.”

In fact, occasionally, pride induces resentful questions: “How could that be true? I’ve never heard these things before!”  

It is estimated that 75% of Americans never think; that 15% think they are thinking and that a mere 10% actually think. That small 10% of the population will be the significant women and men in the culture and in Jesus’ church. 

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Tim ColeBible study, mediocrity, Jesus, Christian living, Luke 2
Who Can Forgive My Past Failures?
Who Can Forgive My Past Failures?

Thoughtful women and men listen to the voice of conscience. The human condition is such that we repeatedly fail, make egregious mistakes, and experience lapses of judgment. To use a religious word, we sin. All our sins are committed against a just God. So, only God has a right to declare that our sins are forgiven, canceled, and wiped clean from the pages of his books. Jewish Scriptures confirms: “The LORD…God, merciful and gracious…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7). It is who God who is able to forgive our sins and clean our slate. So, where can we confidently turn today to obtain God’s forgiveness for our own failures? Consider the following story.

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Tim ColeChristian living, Sin, Forgiveness
We Are Better People When We Pay Attention to the Poor and to the Scriptures, Luke 16:14-31, Part 2

We are better people and our future is much brighter when we take the Scriptures seriously. After death, a rich bloke who ignored Scripture in life and ignored a sick beggar suffocating in unrelenting poverty at his gate, was confined to Hades; from his irreversible position, he negotiated with Abraham to spare his family from future torment. “Give my brothers something spectacular. They’ll pay attention to God if they’re entertained.” “Not so,” said father Abraham. “If Scripture is too passé for them, chills and emotional thrills won’t topple the materialistic idols in their hearts.”

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Tim ColeGospel of Luke, Gospel, Poverty, Christian living, Social Justice