NEWLINE http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/ en-gb 144 17 http://www.christianpost.com/ http://www.christianpost.com/images/blogs/article/cpLogo.gif http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/06/summer-madness-19/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/06/summer-madness-19/index.html Summer Madness Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:53:20 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/when-grace-goes-sour-31/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/when-grace-goes-sour-31/index.html Sun, 31 May 2009 20:51:49 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/when-is-jesus-coming-28/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/when-is-jesus-coming-28/index.html Thu, 28 May 2009 09:21:59 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/being-god-to-others-21/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/being-god-to-others-21/index.html One of the cornerstones of Christian theism is the idea that humankind was created to be a reflection of God himself. The Genesis account claims "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27). Paul claimed human beings are to be "imitators of God" (Eph. 5:1). Thu, 21 May 2009 22:39:29 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/do-it-afraid-16/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/do-it-afraid-16/index.html Whenever I think about courageous people I usually think of someone who has done an amazing thing, like running into a burning building to save an elderly person or risking his own life by jumping into flood waters to save a mother and her baby-you know, things worthy of media coverage. But those kinds of courageous acts are not afforded to many of us (not to mention that most of us carry a fair d Sat, 16 May 2009 22:10:48 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/refusing-to-quit-13/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/refusing-to-quit-13/index.html Our first family dog was a small Border terrier with a grizzle-and-tan coat and fiercely intelligent eyes. We named him Max. And just dare to play tug-of-war with him. Max loved tug-of-war. With resolute determination he'd lock down on one end of the rope, shaking and jerking it back and forth while emitting a continuous, deep, bring-it-on growl. Wed, 13 May 2009 20:59:28 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/when-is-a-person-saved-12/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/when-is-a-person-saved-12/index.html Tue, 12 May 2009 09:49:02 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/weird-belief-produces-weird-christians-01/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/05/weird-belief-produces-weird-christians-01/index.html We all have a set of "lenses" by which we look at the world-a method or principle we use to interpret truth. These "lenses" help us determine the meaning of what is going on around us. For example, in the premodern world a violent natural event like an earthquake or an exploding volcano was thought of as some kind of vengeance from the gods. That was their lens. Pagan gods do that sort of thing. Fri, 01 May 2009 15:57:57 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/simple-faith-20/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/simple-faith-20/index.html There is an amazing Old Testament story about someandnbsp;guys and some sticks. The sticks were called staffs, and they were pretty handy in that agrarian culture. People used them to walk over rugged terrain, to poke and manage their livestock, and to beat back wolvesandmdash;both the animal and human kind. Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:55:43 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/the-good-journey-14/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/the-good-journey-14/index.html The apostle Paul wrote, "There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears" (Phil. 1:6 MSG). You gotta love this. God promises to keep chasing us and working in us even after we start our journey of faith. Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:13:41 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/the-joys-and-sorrows-of-easter-12/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/the-joys-and-sorrows-of-easter-12/index.html Christians everywhere celebrate the whole enchilada this weekend-the heart of the gospel is about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection, in particular, has been viewed by the church-historical as the most important aspect of the Christian faith. Paul said if there is no resurrection then we are "to be pitied more than all men" (1 Cor. 15:18). The resurrection of Jesu Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:31:03 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/the-us-ness-of-faith-07/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/the-us-ness-of-faith-07/index.html We Americans like being strong, individualistic, and tough. It's so . . . American. We are rugged individualists. And there is some good in that. But there is also danger. Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:16:53 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/can-we-talk-about-dying-04/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/04/can-we-talk-about-dying-04/index.html Everybody loves a great ending of a book or movie. I hate stories that end badly. If an ending is bad, the whole story seems like a waste of time. I wonder if that says something about how the story of our lives should end? Death only comes in two varieties: fast or slow. Having a fatal accident or heart attack would be a fast death-one moment you're alive; the next you're dead. A slow death happ Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:28:49 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/getting-picked-28/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/getting-picked-28/index.html When I was a kid, I had a pretty stiff case of childhood asthma. I couldn't run much and generally sucked at anything related to sports. Consequently, I was usually the last one to get picked for teams during gym class. The scene usually played out like this: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:01:10 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/finding-our-place-25/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/finding-our-place-25/index.html Is it possible that there is more going on than we can possibly understand? The Apostle Paul claimed that God's "paths"-his schemes-"are beyond tracing out" (Rom. 11:33). That implies some mystery. Other texts claim each of us is a destiny-a planned, on-purpose being that God wanted to cast in his unfolding play. If this is true, we can't think about life in terms of making our own story. Instead, Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:48:32 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/hurry-up-and-wait-22/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/hurry-up-and-wait-22/index.html Generally speaking, I hate to wait. I always have an eye out for the shortest line at the store and religiously pursue short-cuts around traffic. Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:30:40 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/stop-being-a-doormat-15/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/stop-being-a-doormat-15/index.html What ever happened to the words of Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive"? (Acts 20:35) The idea of sacrifice and giving ourselves in service to others is viewed by many today as one of those ridiculous little outdated standards that we have done well to abandon. Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:46:25 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/labels-that-kill-14/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/labels-that-kill-14/index.html 1John 3:15 declares, "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:14:29 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/the-stem-cell-question-10/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/the-stem-cell-question-10/index.html This week, President Obama rescinded an executive order that prohibited the use of federal funds for stem cell research. Though this move is the fulfillment of a campaign promise (and shouldn't surprise us), it is very disturbing for those of us who are advocates of life. The fundamental impediment to our acceptance of embryonic stem cell research has to do with destruction of the human embryo. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:34:30 http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/when-god-stops-by-07/index.html http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/readingroom/2009/03/when-god-stops-by-07/index.html When I first began pastoring nearly thirty years ago, I spent the bulk of my time studying, praying, and counseling people. I lived and breathed ministry and longed for the spectacular. Whatever was going to happen, I knew it was going to be large. My ego, my expectations, and my plans grew exponentially by the minute. And I could almost hear the jet God was sending my way. Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:44:19