Love Truth Blog

I am in no way a serious Depeche Mode fan; yet, I think when Martin Gore sang, “Reach out and touch faith, your own personal Jesus, someone to hear your payers…” I think he did strike a chord that resonated well with the American soul. According to a Spin article, the song is about “being a Jesus for somebody else,” in the idolatrous way described by Pricilla Presley for her King in the book Elvis & Me [1]. Many have the same sentiments, create a “Jesus” to one’s own liking. Early twentieth century scholars Albert Schweitzer and Rudolpf Bultman one theorized that the Bible is a composite of both myth and history. Just as there was real guy in history named George Washing that served as the first President of the United States, there were also legends that came about that served to inspire people, like the story about cutting down the cherry tree, the Bible also had the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith. The Jesus Seminar Fellows such as Robert Funk, John Dominic Crossan, a

God is good, all the time, He is God. What a wonderful refrain. It is the reality of a entering into a relationship with the gracious and merciful Heavenly Father, which ultimately make the troubles of this world grow strangely dim. Jesus Christ spoke of the hardships that would follow His disciples as they preached the good news of the kingdom. They would be arrested, scourged, and tried, so they would need to rely upon the Spirit as they gave a reason for their faith. Their own family relationships might be strained on account of following the Christ, and they would need to escape persecution by moving from place to place. Is it worth it? The radical abandonment of the new life in Christ does have its rewards. The Lord said, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous

Jesus realizing that there were many people who were “like sheep without a shepherd,” conveyed to the disciples “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38). The Lord then appointed twelve disciples, Simon (Peter) Andrew James (son of Zebedee) John Philip Bartholomew Thomas Matthew the tax collector James (son of Alphaeus) Thaddaeus (Judas of James) Simon the Zealot Judas Iscariot (The betrayer) Their mission was to preach to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:5-6), albeit they would not finish preaching to all the cities in Israel “until the Son of Man comes” (10:23), which means Christ would have been resurrected into glory before they finished evangelizing their own people. Christ also forewarns them of some of the challenges they would face in being His ministers. A significant challenge of being a disciple of Christ is the reality that the darkness is al

10 years ago I was living in Tustin, California. I just woke up, turned on the television to footage of smoke billowing out of the World Trade Center twin towers in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. More news flashes came only to reveal another plane had crashed into the Pentagon. It was certainly an unspeakable shocking and mystifying moments when you just do not have words to describe what is going on in your head. As the day went on, subsequent news reports revealed the crashing planes were part of an attack by radical militant Islamic extremist. The world had changed overnight, and nothing was the same ever since. It seems that the entire world spent the entire first decade of the twenty first century coming to grips with that event one way or another. Some mourned the loss of loved ones who were actual victims of the attack. Others found relief in hearing how a loved one escaped harm’s way on that dreadful morning. Wars came, governments toppled, and r

“Follow Me,” were words that perhaps Matthew the tax collector would have never expected to come in a conversation with a Jewish Rabbi. Matthew collected taxes for Herod, charging duty on goods brought into the city of Capernaum. Since the taxman was responsible to cover any shortfalls, he had to be merciless in collections. It was Rome that sanctioned certain wealthy individuals to collect for their cities, and rulers like Herod the Great would even finance the building of pagan temples with the people’s tax dollars, which left a bad taste in the mouths of Jewish people. Tax gatherers were despised by the Jewish people, and a Jewish tax collector was considered a traitor. Christ was calling Matthew to leave his old life behind and enter into a new life as a disciple. Matthew simply follows the Lord. Who is it that Matthew leaves all to follow? The former tax gatherer offers the answer in the events leading up to his conversion. He was entering into a right relationship with God. Mat