Loving God and loving others are so closely related that they cannot be separated. Over the years I've heard people say, "God and I are tight, but people I can do without." Don't get me wrong; there's no doubt that people are hard to love at times. With all of their habits, idiosyncrasies, and sinful behaviors, they can flat-out get on our nerves. But through the God of love, we can overcome. In the first letter that the Apostle John wrote to the Ephesian believers, he stated

I've been thinking a lot lately about comparison and how we've justified it in the church. I spoke with a couple of different friends just this week. One of them thought it an oddity that I spoke of Catholicism as a different tradition, rather than a different religion. Another, a friend from Redmond, asked me if I would speak of the controversy behind Bethel church in Redding California. Many evangelicals are stigmatizing the church, calling them “grave diggers,” seeing no B

PSALM 98 Sing a new song to the LORD, for He has performed wonders; His right hand and holy arm have won Him the victory. The LORD has made His victory known; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen our God's victory. Shout to the Lord, all the earth; be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing. Sing to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and melodious s

If that title threw you off, then we’re on the same page. Last week, while I was doing some research on music and theology, I came across a term that has come into use lately. It describes a good portion of modern Christian popular music that is being referred to as “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs. It really surprised me, as I hadn’t considered it before, but now I can’t get it out of my head, because this music is everywhere! The “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs, as if they need