The difficulties of holy war passages in the Old Testament [Christians & War – Deuteronomy 20, part 3]

In part 1 and part 2 of this series on Deuteronomy 20, we learned that Israel’s priests and army officers are to address the army before battle. Now God gives them some instructions about how to carry out battle. If you aren’t aware of these passages of Scripture, brace yourselves, as they can be shocking.Continue reading “The difficulties of holy war passages in the Old Testament [Christians & War – Deuteronomy 20, part 3]”

Must Christians eat kosher? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 4)

As I mentioned yesterday, God details his kosher law in his covenant with Israel.  This week we are studying Deuteronomy 14:1-21, and yesterday we looked at the fairly extensive list of animals that God declares clean or unclean for Israel.  But what about Christians?  Are we to apply kosher law to our lives?  Let’s lookContinue reading “Must Christians eat kosher? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 4)”

Christians, has Jesus transformed your life? Here’s how you can tell.

A question for any of you who consider yourselves Christians, followers of Jesus: would you say that Jesus has transformed your life? Yesterday we saw that Jesus transformed Peter’s life. It wouldn’t surprise me if Peter has that memory in mind as he continues his teaching in 1 Peter 4:1-6.  In verse 3 he buildsContinue reading “Christians, has Jesus transformed your life? Here’s how you can tell.”

The surprising weapon followers of Jesus arm themselves with

One of the biggest questions followers of Jesus ask is: how much should we be in the world, exposing ourselves to the world, participating in activities or behaviors that are considered normative in the world? And by contrast, how much should we remove ourselves from the world? Which behaviors should we stop? How much shouldContinue reading “The surprising weapon followers of Jesus arm themselves with”

Two things Jesus did not tell us to do (but we do), and one he did tell us to do (but we don’t)

I’m super excited that the Olympics start today.  Soccer is my favorite sport, so while I’m disappointed the US men’s team didn’t qualify, the women’s team looks to make a gold medal run, and I’ll be cheering them on!  In honor of that quest, I thought I’d show you this picture of a Jesus figurineContinue reading “Two things Jesus did not tell us to do (but we do), and one he did tell us to do (but we don’t)”