parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector

A POWERFUL PRAYER! YET ONLY A FEW WORDS

(March 17, 2024) Brian Bell encourages…

This article is a little different from those I usually write, but it is still my aim that it will be an encouragement to us as we are getting close to Easter.

In the last week, I have been drawn to the scene recorded in Luke 18:9-14, and in particular those words in verse 13(NKJV): ‘God be merciful to me a sinner’ or as rendered in the slightly longer NLT version ‘O God be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

If you are not familiar with this incident, the Lord Jesus tells the story of a proud Pharisee and a dishonest tax collector who go to the temple to pray.

(more…)

CANCEL, CONDEMN OR CHERISH?

(November 13, 2021) Geri B challenges Christians to live righteously…

We live in a very troubled world today!

And not just the ongoing worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. New terms have become an embedded part of our culture, including a most troubling one originating out of America … ‘Cancel Culture.’

For the uninitiated the definition of this is: The practice or tendency of engaging in mass cancelling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure. This practice of ‘cancelling’ or mass shaming often occurs on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

This is where the assassination of a person’s character, no matter who they are, is permissible, acceptable and at times, applauded.

Even when someone has committed an offence, it is acceptable to hold the person up for public scrutiny – to be judge, jury and executioner all at once. Complex issues are cut down to the lowest common denominator – us and them.

Very current hot examples:

  • Vaccinated and Unvaccinated
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Me-Too Movement.

Cancel?
If someone comments on an issue or a current event, and that comment does not agree with your viewpoint or value, you have the ‘right’ to ridicule, attack, vilify or belittle that person in any way you see fit.

I think Jesus called that murder…  ‘For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander’ (Matthew 15:19).

And indeed some people who have experienced such open (and sometimes very public) attacks have taken their own lives, unable to bear the onslaught of hatred and shame. And I am not talking about worldly individuals (who have done this for many years), I’m talking about Christian brother against Christian brother, Christian sister against sister!

(more…)