Category: The Christian Spirit

Reflections on living as a disciple of Christ.

Trump Meets the Evangelicals

  

Yesterday, 900-plus evangelicals met with Donald Trump to ask questions and try to figure out if they can support his candidacy. I know only some of the names of individuals who were present. The audience was mixed, I’m sure, in its attitude toward the presumptive Republican nominee. I don’t wish to unfairly criticize those who attended; in most circumstances, I too would want to have the opportunity to hear a candidate and get a better feel for him/her. Neither am… Read more »

The Antidote for Despair

  

We live in a culture spiraling down into depths of depravity that many of us never expected to witness. We have presidential candidates who are so corrupt that neither deserves a vote. We could, if we allowed it to happen, allow ourselves to spiral down into despair. God, though, doesn’t want that to happen. We need to stay focused. My daily Scripture reading this morning brought me to 2 Corinthians 5. I’ve been reading through the Scripture in the Message… Read more »

Stand for Righteousness

  

As a Christian I believe that salvation is offered to all who will acknowledge the sin in their lives, sincerely repent of it, and put their faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. I believe, as Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, that we are then obliged to “go and sin no more.” Further, I believe that no sin is outside the circle of God’s forgiveness. The sin of homosexuality is no exception. And the… Read more »

Jesus & Anxiety: A Lewis Primer

  

Another C. S. Lewis book that I read recently—for the first time—is Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. One section speaks directly to me with respect to a hard time I’m going through at the moment. We would like the world to be predictable, something we can manage according to our expectations. Lewis says we have to lay that expectation aside: But is it not plain that this predictable world . . . is not the world we live in?… Read more »

God Is in Control?

  

In the wake of the Trump triumph/impending disaster, a number of Christians have resorted to what is certainly a wonderful promise in the Scripture. It’s found in the book of Romans: I love that promise as much as anyone, but I’ve always been dismayed by comments about it that seem to overlook the condition mentioned therein: this is a promise “to those who love the Lord.” What I hear all too often is that this is a promise that no… Read more »

The Republican Obituary

  

I toyed with the idea this morning of writing nothing but Scripture passages. I will get to those, but I have to say a few words as well. The Republican voters (and for the sake of brevity, I’ll just assume most were Republicans) have decided that a man who rejects nearly every line in past Republican platforms will be their nominee for president. Republican voters have concluded that morality, integrity, the rule of law, and the Constitution must be discarded… Read more »

Lewis on the Proper Christian Spirit

  

Last Saturday, I wrote about how C. S. Lewis warned against what he called a type of “band-wagoning,” in which we can, at the expense of our principles, decide to become part of a system with which we say we disagree. He continues the discussion in Reflections on the Psalms with what he believes are more subtle forms of the problem that can easily deceive us. Many people have a very strong desire to meet celebrated or “important” people, including… Read more »