Did Paul just say what I think he said? I want you to pattern your lives after me, just as I pattern mine after Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1, TPT). There is a good chance you and I have a negative association with the word 'mimic' (unless it's a part of someone's stand-up routine). However, that is the root of the word that Paul actually uses. The lexicon says it means 'to strive to be like, imitate...  Read More

Is it weird sometimes how a random term pops into your mind? It might be because my ADD mind can be so random...I know, I left the 'H' out.   Read More

In pondering 'Christian Liberty' and reflecting on Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:19: "Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people" (CSB), Martin Luther wrote this famous line: "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all." In context, Lut...  Read More

What is good to the core and appealing to experience is the beautiful unity that exists in God's Family (Psalm 133). This is where the Spirit is abundantly present and at work (like the oil of anointing), and where God's commanded blessing finds its eternal resting place. No wonder Paul so emphasizes these realities in his writings. Today we read them in practice in 1 Corinthians 8. For instance: ...  Read More

Real people who loved God and were on their own spiritual journey, these are the ones who penned the words we read in the Word of God. I am not certain how literalists explain 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 that begins and ends with Paul saying that this is his 'opinion.' He very clearly acknowledges that he is walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, but is humble enough to say: 'This is what I think.' Do...  Read More

One thing I appreciate about the apostle Paul is that he is a master of 'the grey areas' of life. Out of a recent conversation I was reminded that not everything is 'black and white,' as the expression goes, and that for thinking Christians who long to be Christlike, these grey areas become a place of spiritual reflection and even, at times consternation. There are times when those grey areas may ...  Read More