Baptized for the Dead

Halloween is over and little children have generally stopped dressing up like supeheroes, princesses and ghosts. But despite the untimeliness we still need to put on masks. Not masks worn to frighten, but masks to cover our sins. At our core we are sinful people. We were conceived in iniquity into a world filled with iniquity and we need to put on a mask. Recently I was watching Conan O'brien's self-titled show "Conan" the day after it aired (I don't stay up that late anymore) and in a segment of the show Conan pulled out masks for himself and his sidekick Andy Richter. The masks were suppose to resemble Conan himself, but because the company that produced the masks did not have the right to produce masks named after Conan they were instead called "The Ex-talk Show Host" masks. Conan feigned anger that they could be so cruel to name the masks that way given his recent and public exit from being the host of the Tonight Show. But the truth is that is exact...

The terms sacred and secular are often used to describe two distinct areas of life. We may equate sacred as referring to things that are not for everyday use but are set aside for religious purposes. Secular than would mean the opposite and refer to anything that is used in the everyday course of life. Is this dichotomy helpful or even natural? Should this type of thinking be embraced or ignored? In the ancient biblical world God Himself declared that there are somethings that are Holy or set apart from other things. In Exodus 16:23 God said: ‘Tomorrow (the seventh day of the week) is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD." In Exodus 20:8-11 God explained that while the Israelites had six days to work the seventh day was a day of rest where no work of any kind would be done. Later in Exodus 31:13 God would say "Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. ...

Pressure produces heat. When a material like air or water is condensed as the result of pressure heat is created because the space between particles is reduced causing more collisions between the particles and the subsequent release of energy from the collisions. This may sound like a science textbook but the reality is that we as human beings find ourselves under pressure quite often. There are external forces in our lives that seem to weigh down on us and create heat that tends to destabilize the integrity of the support systems in our lives. The question is are we merely subject to external forces or can we repel these forces to keep them from reshaping our lives? The bible tells us that there are many times that our " soul melts from heaviness." Psalm 119:28a We are after all physical beings with limitations. And yet are we really limited by our natural state of being? It often feels that way, but the bible tells us that there is a way to buttress ourselves under the impe...

We all come to Jesus at first because we want to be saved. After all after a while most of us like the prodigal son realize that the grass wasn't greener on the other side and that God's way really is the best way. The funny thing of course is that as much as God loves you and me He has a lot of other people that He cares about as well. This puts God in an awkward position. You see in order to be able save the universe from imploding, and by that I mean every selfish person sucking the life out of everything else, He has to restore His job approval rating. He says that people really shouldn't be sucking the life out of things for themselves, but giving life to others, but there is some doubt as to whether or not that's the best way to do things. After all if we give to others whose going to give to us. God says not to worry about that. He says that in His way everything we need will be taken care of by Him and others. The problem is the devil argues that's just not ...

When I was in school I was told that if I worked hard and gave the right answers than I would get good grades and then people would pat me on the head and tell that me that I was bright. Okay nobody ever said that last part would come true. I guess that's just what I hoped would come true. Regardless each one of us believes that if we do something we should get something whether it's prestige, payment, power or all of the above. An there is truth and justice to this way of thinking. It's the way we're wired. The problem is however that we don't want to be paid for all the things we do, just some of them and this type of thinking is illogical. It's like telling your boss that you only want to be paid for half of the report you wrote on changing conditions in the marketplace. It's like telling the contractor that you only want to be paid for half of the dry wall that you put up. Sure your employers want to do it, but if there fair people they'll know that ...

When I was little my parents used to commute to work. My day care awaited me near where they worked so everyday we would load up the car and be on our way. There were many times that we would be in the car for several hours as we waited in traffic. You can imagine the boredom and certain frustration that would often ensue as we tried to get to work or home. As we made those journeys day in and day out I began to look forward to the signs that indicated we were getting close to our destination. In the spiritual world there are also signs. The Rainbow was a sign that God would keep is covenant never to destroy the earth again by a flood. Perhaps we take for granted this beautiful arch, but to the people immediately following Noah's day this was a wonderful reminder of God's mercy and provision. Abraham was told to circumcise his household. From the day God made a promise or covenant with Abraham circumcision was a physical sign that through Abraham's descendants all the world...

Could there be a first principle in the universe? Is there one singular concept that outweighs all the others? In addition is there a foundational axiom from which every other concept, idea and principle can follow? This principle not only exists, but is named in the words of scripture. The apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:13 "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." Love is a foundational principle. In fact it is the foundational principle. Faith and hope are not far behind, but love is first and foremost. Thus upon love, the principle and the actual outworking in reality, are built every other concept both spiritually and physically. This is why John could succinctly state in his self title epistle of 1 John 4 that "God is love." Thus love is entwined with both the spiritual world and the physical world. God built His universe on love. The principle of love spiritually means that beings are to be others-centered. The...