Clever Free Methodist

We have to admit that there are some unusual and hard to understand Scripture passages. In the Gospels, we hear that it is “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” We’ve also read that we are to “hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – and yes, even [our] own life.” These alone, are pretty deep and somewhat confusing. One, in particular, found in Matthew 5:29-30, has always generated deep discussion. It says, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” If taken literally (in the English translation) one could easily misinterpret the passage and possibly take action that could cause great harm to themselves. Does the Scripture real...

As a retired military chaplain, one thing that I learned about the Islamic faith was how ingrained and intertwined it was in the lives of each Muslim and within every level of Islamic business, law, and, of course, their religion. Now, how that is accomplished and how they get people to go along with that is another story. But, the fact remains, everything about Islam centers around the faith. Nothing in their lives, community and government is absent from their faith. Their faith is the basis and final authority on every aspect of their existence. Let’s now look at the American Church and the Christian faith. I can’t say it is the same way for us. Sadly, for most, “faith” and “being a Christian” is only one, small, compartmentalized component of their overall life. In America, we seem to categorize and segregate things into individual subjects like work, school, business, leisure, hobbies, personal life, sports, and so on. For some, faith, religion, church and Scriptur...

By now, due to the maddening issues involving our Federal Government, many of us have become well versed in the use and understanding of the word “ subpoena .”  Witnesses, committees, legal teams, and various elected officials have issued and received their share of subpoenas involving the affairs of various leaders within the Federal Government. It is quite challenging to keep it all straight. As Christians, did you realize we have been  subpoenaed ? Yes! If you will just simply look throughout the book of Acts, the Lord repeatedly commands us to be His witnesses ( Acts 1:8; 2:32; 3:15; 10:39; 13:31 ). In a spiritual context, we are being subpoenaed…we are being compelled to be a witness for Jesus Christ and the Gospel! As we understand this context, I think it is appropriate to ask ourselves whether we have obeyed the Lord's command to be His witnesses and have adjusted our commitments to allow room to live out this command daily.  Hopefull...

As a member of a group, when faced with a task or project at work, a volunteer organization and even Church, we undoubtedly have formulated in our minds a way in which to go about accomplishing the mission. Whether it is due to experience, or just a thought or two we’ve established, we all can derive a plan on how we think the steps should progress towards accomplishment. This is fine when it only involves us as an individual. However, this is not always the case when it comes to working as a team, group or organization. Every team, group or organization will most assuredly have a leader or co-leaders which leave everyone else as “followers” or subordinates. They are in charge and, like you, have a picture in their mind of how to accomplish the mission. Much to our chagrin, chances are, these ideas will be much different than our own. Tensions can rise and discontent amongst colleagues can become cancerous when thoughts, feelings, and ideas differ greatly from the leader. Her...

I find it fascinating when parts of Scripture “jump out” at me and hit me in a new way. It is particularly encouraging to me when it is one of those passages that, due to the story being told, it is somewhat “hidden” or “buried” along the way and can be easily missed or glanced over. One such passage is in Acts, Chapter one and revolves around the encounter with the Disciples. They had an important decision to make. They needed to determine who they were going to choose to replace Judas (Judas had killed himself after betraying Jesus).   As the story unfolds, it isn’t too hard to figure out that there are only two men up for the election. As the event unfolds, we see in Acts 1:26 , "They then drew lots between the two men." And the one chosen was Matthias. The one who “didn’t get the job” was a man name Joseph Barsabbas . This is where it hit me….not that Matthias was chosen, but with a 50-50 chance, Joseph Barsabbas was not chosen; he was passed over. He was ...

Many Churches around the world have sung, in worship, the song “As the Deer.” This song reflects the words of Psalm 42:1-2 , that reads, “ As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God."   In the song, we sing the words, “I love you more than any other, so much more than anything.” So, with those thoughts combined, I must take an honest assessment and ask “do I really thirst for the living God?” “Do I really want him more than anything in this world or love him more than anybody I love?” We must take “spiritual inventory” and be candid and honest to see if our level of intimacy with Jesus and our depth of relationship with God is at the proper level of “thirsting” and “longing.” That is, do we really crave and yearn for our time with God? Do we want to love him, seek him, serve him, obey him and worship him? I am not talking about just “a devotional time” with God where I read a short Scripture passage and then ...

My entire life, I have pretty much grown up in the Church. I have heard many messages, techniques, programs and ways to grow in my faith, to serve in the Church, and to find my calling in life and in ministry. Usually, it wouldn’t be uncommon that the information I received along the way about these things have varied or differed according to what Church I was attending at the time. However, there is one thing that hasn’t changed…or hasn’t seemed to have been offered in a different context or become varied throughout the years. That “one thing” was about “going to Heaven.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I DO “want to go to Heaven” upon my death. However, my reasoning for “going there” and sharing about salvation and eternity has had to change in the recent years. For years, I have heard it said (evangelically) time and time again, “accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior, so that you can go to Heaven.” Alright. That’s a positive question and something good to a...