Perhaps the most popular commandment among those who don’t follow Jesus is “judge not.” It’s the command Christians are most often accused of violating. It’s also one of the most misunderstood of Jesus’ commands. People size each other up all the time. We all do it. This command from Jesus has the power to change all of your relationships.
The future is uncertain and sometimes scary, and most of wish we could obey this command! Is it possible? It is. This one truth can help you to live free of worry.
We assume that our sin makes God angry. But Jesus gave us a new reason not to sin, and it's better than fear or guilt. After the resurrection, the early church couldn’t go back to embrace a Temple Model: sacred men in sacred places with special interpretations of sacred texts. Instead, they now had one new commandment: love one another as Jesus had loved them. Jesus gave his followers another commandment related to the love one another command: sin no more. But how are we supposed to do that when we are so imperfect?
Thou shalt not fear. We all want to keep that commandment, but too often it feels impossible. Life can be scary. Believe it or not, there's a way to live without fear . . . even when there's something to be afraid of.
While Christianity draws many roots from the Old Testament, the early days of the New Testament church were marked by radical decisions that would set it on a new trajectory. These decisions continue to shape and challenge the church today.
Jesus was irresistible. People from all different backgrounds were drawn to him. But as the early church was forming, there was a tendency to go back to their familiar old religious traditions rather than live by Jesus’ new covenant. Sometimes we do the same.
Did you walk away from church or your faith because of something about the Bible? Were you raised on a version of Christianity that was eventually dismantled by academia or the realities of life?
Maybe it’s time to consider a version of Christianity that relies on something entirely different...something far more reliable. Maybe you walked away unnecessarily. Maybe it’s time to reconsider Jesus.
The “church” has a painful history when it comes to the LGBT+ community. We intend to not repeat the same mistakes of the past.
Politics is not an emotionally neutral topic. It has the power to divide us instead of bringing us together. What would it look like if Christians filtered their politics through their faith rather than filtering their faith through their politics?
We can’t change what we don’t understand. True Changemakers are learners first. Men and women who first seek to understand and then act on hard-gained knowledge.
