The Bible: Is It Really That Complex?

Here is an essay introduction I wrote to the book of II Thessalonians for the recently released Jesus Centered Bible. **** First, a confession… I have no idea what “the man of lawlessness” referenced in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 is all about.  This...

What Have We Handcuffed to Jesus?

I like all my books.  Really I do.  Periodically, someone will ask me what book that I’ve written is my favorite.  And, it is kind of like asking which of my kids is my favorite.  After all, each was birthed through a fairly intense labor process (writing...

How Do We Really “Spread the Good News”?

Here is an essay introduction I wrote to the book of I Thessalonians for the recently released Jesus Centered Bible.   **** Jesus in I Thessalonians More than I’ve seen in my lifetime, people in the church are divided over how we should most effectively spread the...

How I Read the Bible

First, I open it and then I….ok, sorry. Just being silly. But honestly, I think we sometimes take some really important things for granted, things that seem simple, and we don’t really consider why we do what we do.  We may assume that enjoying and learning from...

Jihad and blowing stuff up Part 3

Where were we? Oh yes, how do we respond to terrorism or angry Muslim retaliation to something we’ve done. The burning of Bibles or the killing of Americans. I’ve previously suggested that we need to recognize that our questions can be answered from three...