You probably haven’t heard about the original Children’s Crusade of the 13th century,  originating in Germany.  It was a little-known, popular attempt, by thousands of Christian children, adolescents, women, the elderly, and the poor—the “deplorables”—to join in the 200-year battle by the Christians of the day to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims.  The Children’s Crusade of 1212 lasted only five months and never made it out of Europe. On the other hand, today’s “Children’s Crusade” that we have explored in the last…

In our last posting we explored what Jesus meant by “becoming as a little child to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” This week  I want to unveil our perfect model of a full-grown adult who demonstrated for us just how to do that—Jesus Himself. Let’s look at how He describes His relationship with His Father, His Abba (Daddy). Notice that these statements are all from the Gospel of John, which views Jesus from an epiginosko (Gk. for “experiential knowing”) perspective, while the synoptic gospels…

I told you last week how we, as the church, can “do the impossible” (according to Paul)—1.) humble ourselves, 2.) pray, 3.) seek God’s face, and 4.) turn from our wicked ways. This is the Bible’s solution for how we can save the American Republic (2 Chronicles 7:14). Keep in mind this is spoken to just the church, not the whole nation. Those are things we ought to, need to, and should do anyway!  But we don’t, and Paul tells us, in Romans 3:10-12,…

Last week we discussed Satan’s two-pronged guerrilla attack on Christianity in the mid-19th century—Marxism and evolution. They proved to be intellectual challenges in the public arena that, sadly, the church wasn’t equipped to handle and backed away from confronting. The timing was perfect for a new theological perspective. A group known as the “Brethren,” led by a former Anglican clergyman named John Darby, made its appearance on the scene in the 1830s.. The movement was born in Ireland and began to spread over the…

Of course it is—everything we say, do and experience is actually evil at its heart. This is humanity’s natural condition since the Fall. But at the cross, Jesus Christ completely atoned for that depravity, and, in a divine sting operation, He stripped the authority to rule over the earth from Satan as well. He then rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven and was greeted there by His Father with these words:  “‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’…

The first two irreplaceable pillars of New Testament church meetings that we discussed last week—1.) Edification and Equipping, not Evangelism, and 2.) Participatory, not Observational—can very quickly become by-the-numbers legalism before we realize it is happening. Satan, the enemy of our souls, is a liar and master deceiver. He tricks us into trying to keep God’s law, like good little boys and girls, bringing spiritual death to individual church members or even to the church itself.  It is pillar #3 that guarantees that will…

There are always “truths in tension” in Christianity with which we must contend—gospel (grace alone) and kingdom (the law of God applied by grace). Another such tension is navigating the details of daily living and the big picture of fulfilling God’s eternal purpose—the individual trees and the vast forest in which they exist.  I always want too remember to balance my thoughts between those two Today I want to look at the forest for the purpose of the gathering together of God’s people in…

The ongoing revival on the campus at Asbury University (and now spreading to other campuses) is a classic example of the description I often use of the life of faith in the kingdom of God—naturally , spontaneously and unconsciously (hereafter referred to as NSU). Jesus describes this same way of life as the way a little child lives: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted (to that NSU life of simply trusting Daddy) and become as little children, you will by no…

We mention almost weekly the significance of Adam and Eve’s fateful decision to eat the fruit of the TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL in the Garden of Eden. There mankind plummeted into the abyss of addiction, condemning us to always, unconsciously, think in terms of performance, from that day forward. This event is called “The Fall.” This is also the first tree mentioned specifically in the Bible. Because we have eaten of its fruit in Adam, we can study, learn, and…

This title is a reference to one of my favorite illustrations I have shared on my blog before. Briefly, two men were digging a ditch; the first was grousing, complaining and mumbling while periodically glancing at his watch; the second was smiling, singing and rejoicing while he dug. A passer-by asked them what they were doing. The first one answered, disgust in his voice: “I’m just digging a damn ditch!” The second one looked up, and with joy and confidence he answered: “I’m building…