Men of the Morning Prayer Line

Have you ever read parts of the Old Testament and thought that some of God’s commands and judgements seemed a bit – harsh? Take the story of Joshua conquering the Promised Land for example. In Joshua chapter 6, we read God commanding the army of Israel to eliminate the people of Jericho – everyone except for Rahab, the prostitute, and her family because she had faith in the One True God of Israel. For many Christians, this is a very disturbing command coming from the God of mercy and love that we read about in the New Testament. So how can we understand these harsh judgements written about in the ancient times? The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is in the way God dealt with sin. You see, when God commanded the Israeli army to eliminate the people of Jericho, He was ridding the land of evil. He was dealing with the people’s sin. And sin, whether in the Old or New Testament, deserves death. So how do we account for seemingly different responses to sin in t...

It’s simple – others will know we are followers of Jesus by our love and care for those in need. Jesus said that to the extent in which we care for the “least of these,” we are actually caring for Him. In other words, real, saving faith has nothing to do with how active we are in Bible study or our attendance record at church on Sunday mornings. It has everything to do with how we reach out and love those in need. And when we fail to step up when an opportunity presents itself, that’s as much a sin as any other. Now, don’t misunderstand: faith is NOT achieved through works  – but rather DEMONSTRATED thru works. Through certain actions and good deeds we demonstrate that Christ is now living in our hearts, giving us a desire to do so. As Jesus said in John 13:35, “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Love. It always comes back to love. So how are you doing in caring for the poor, the homeless, the sick, and imprisoned?  How are you cari...

In Scripture,  at the start of Easter (after the resurrection) we have Jesus appearing to His disciples.  Every time that he appears to the disciples, his words are always the same: “Peace be with you.”  Jesus wants us to experience His peace.  And, he always tells us to “Go, tell others that I have risen from the dead.”  In giving peace and also giving an assignment, a task to do, Jesus is somehow taking this group of his closest friends who have been scattered, lost, or in doubt after his death... and bringing them together.  He brings them together around the TRUTH OF HIS RESURRECTION. Jesus wants each one of us to experience HIS PEACE, HIS PRESENCE, AND HIS PURPOSE.  As a people experiencing His peace, we will want to be in His presence and, like the disciples, we are commissioned to “Go forth and proclaim the Good News,” sharing His purpose. Look back at all the events before and after the death of Jesus.  His own disciples, his friends, they...