“But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'” (Luke 15:2) One of many accusations leveled against Jesus by religious leaders was that He consorted — and actually seemed to enjoy being — with sinners. By virtue of His association with “those people,” Jesus acquired the appellation…

We are a society that lives by one-liners and Facebook memes. The book of Proverbs, come to think of it, is filled with one-liners, but they’re not particularly funny, so we don’t see posts like this go viral: “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” (Proverbs 29: 2 —…

Mother’s Day is one of those holidays that sound good, but get so taken over by marketers and manufacturers that its true meaning gets lost. People are subtly, or not so subtly, nudged into buying the perfect gift, and celebration turns into obligation very quickly. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Any holiday can,…

Are you a Mary? Or a Martha? Actually, it’s a dumb question, especially if you’re male, but if you’re female and you’re in an emotionally charged women’s Bible study focusing on your inhibitions and failures, doubts, anxieties, insecurities, and foibles, you might have to answer this question in a group. If you don’t want to, that’s fine…

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