365 Reflections

Right on the heels of the parable of the shrewd manager, Luke makes clear that the Pharisees began to mock Jesus for His words.  I couldn't imagine how what they did with the resources in this life would affect what happened to them in the next life. With that in mind, Jesus shares the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. And he (rich man) called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ ( Luke 16:24 ES V) While in hell he gives us a glimpse of his heart. He's in torment, he's in agony, and yet when he calls out to Abraham he doesn't ask for a second chance to do things right. He asks for Lazarus to be sent to him to make his pain go away. He's just a selfish, just as egotistical, just as domineering as he was in his life.  Nothing's changed except his location. His heart is the same as it was in this life. He has the audacity to send orders to Abraham. F...

Evangelicals tend to be afraid of the term "social justice."Sometimes we think the term weakens the Gospel, the nature of our sin and redemption only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. But when John the Baptist starts his ministry is clear what is intended by God before the coming of Christ. He wants justice in the world. And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?" And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:10-14 ESV) The interesting thing about the word "justice" in Hebrew is that it...