Evangelizing the Religiously Hardened
Filed under: Bible Study, Charity, Evangelism, Ministry Methods of Jesus, Religion
Jesus Breaks Sabbath Law
John 5
Jesus was not a religionist!
His spiritual devotions never involved habitual ceremony. He prescribed no rituals and there was nothing routine with His words or actions. Some responded to Him angrily, none yawned.
Any rituals He may have followed are not recorded for us. If anything, Jesus was religiously unpredictable.
- He traveled to Jerusalem on many occasions but not once are we told He offered any sacrifices. He did, on the very odd occasion, tell someone to offer an appropriate sacrifice (Matthew 8:4) but not once did He bless those ceremonies with His presence.
- Many of the things Jesus did and much of what He said was religiously disruptive: cleansing the Temple (once in John 2, a second time in Matthew 21*), claiming to be Messiah in the synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4) and healing on the Sabbath (John 5).
- The people about whom He spoke His harshest words, the Pharisees, were excessively religious (Matthew 23).
- It was the ultra religious who were the most instrumental in his execution (Mark 15:1-15).
- Jesus rarely encouraged anyone to be religious. He spoke of disciples as sacrificial not ritualistic.
- Jesus evangelized the religiously hardened and did so by being religiously agitating.
I wouldn’t say that Jesus was anti-religion but I would say that He had no tolerance for religious nonsense. Read more
THE BLIND SIDE, by Michael Lewis
If you enjoy real life stories about individuals improving themselves against great odds then you’ll love this book.
Mr. Lewis tells the story of a young African-American boy, Michael Oher (pronounced “oar”), born in the worst section of Memphis, TN into one of its most dysfunctional homes as he makes the gargantuan leap from the arm-locking embrace of disadvantage to celebrity. The book also gives witness to the fact that these transformations don’t happen easily. It takes the will power, resolve, love, interest and effort of every possible person you can imagine and some good fortune too.
Born to a drug-addicted mother Michael bounces in and out of school and various hideouts in an attempt to avoid foster care which was more oppressive than the gang infested housing development he survived for the better part of his first sixteen years of his life. Read more
Pedaling For The Less Privileged
Amashova 08 - My First
On 18 Oct 2009, just a couple months away, I will be riding in a bicycle race, Amashova National Classic Durban, but I am riding for more than just the exercise. I need the exercise, to be sure, but it seems a little self-centered to ride only for my physical well being, especially since I live in the presence of hundreds of thousands who have so little and need so much. Therefore, I am adding another dimension to this event, orphans. I decided to use the occasion to raise awareness of the problem in general and to promote one project in particular, The South African Children’s Resiliency Project.
The SACRP (locally known as CRP) is spear headed by a good friend and colleague of mine, Dr. Bob Graham. I first met Bob in 1990 and since that time he has made numerous trips to South Africa and worked with us on many short term projects. Bob, however, doesn’t do things in a small way. His vision and dream involved helping the underprivileged on a long term basis and, therefore, the CRP was born. Bob is now living in South Africa developing orphan homes for those affected by AIDS.
Blinded by Religion
Most people think that religion can make a person better morally and bring them closer to God but that idea is far from true. In fact, James said people who live a religious life and brag about it (bridle not their tongues) are delusional (James, chapter 1 verse 26). According to James, a religious life is useful but not for moral improvement.
Take, for example, some of the religious regulations in the Old Testament and there were many. Diet, food preparation, sewer management, dress code, work-rest cycle (time management), charitable practices, financial management, personal hygiene and medical procedures were all included in the religious code. When James mentioned religion this is what he was referring to. Read more
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People
It’s an age old problem. It happens in every generation. Good people die before their time, sometimes in horrible ways, or are disabled by unfair injuries or are crippled by unexpected financial loss…and we really get upset about this! Our sense of justice is offended.
When bad things happen to people we perceive as good, especially children, we become indignant. Why doesn’t God stop all the unnecessary pain and suffering? Why should any child be afflicted with disease, neglect or abuse? Why should any good person at any age endure painful experiences?
And the fact that God created the world in the blink of an eye begs the question. With all that power, why doesn’t He protect innocent people from bad things and prove to everyone how benevolent He can be? To any person who hasn’t become emotionally callous this is a fair and reasonable question but is it really an emotional issue? We can’t reasonably consider this question without asking several more first. For example… Read more
Tim Pepper - Beautiful Frustration