I’ve been listening to a lot more sermons than normal in recent days. (You have too, I hope.) That includes several friends of the East Hill church — Kris Emerson, Scott Taylor, and Bryant Bailles, among others. But as far as visuals go, watching men stand still and talk is not too engaging. So sometimes…
The question of which spiritual matters are more important than others, needless to say, is a complicated matter. We would all agree that some matters that involve our walk with Christ are matters of judgment and others are matters of doctrine. Distinguishing the one from the other is often complicated. A proper treatment of this…
“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’ ” — John 8:34-36
Sinners do not properly understand the principle of being enslaved to sin. They know nothing other than slavery. They have found contentment and even joy in slavery. They have convinced themselves that sin is the inevitable and preferred state of mankind. By committing themselves to slavery, though, they are prohibiting themselves from living the life that they were, in the most literal of senses, born to live.
Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” The point, I think, is that we should strive to be getting better all the time, rather than sitting around waiting for a magic pill that will get us to the finish line instantaneously.
Harriet Tubman, the great warrior of the Underground Railroad, is quoted as saying, “If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”
After watching the neighborhood kids playing basketball for a while, it occurs to me that the fate of the country will be in good hands if counting backward from five to zero turns out to be a vital skill. If hitting shots is what’s important, well, maybe it’s time to look into bomb shelters.
