Posts by John Staiger (Page 74)
Learning the Hard Way#3. “Take heed lest ye fall—Peter.”
A Chinese man known as Li Yuese said that he was arrested by his government because he is a Christian. While detained he spent 10 months in a windowless room being beaten and mentally tortured. He said he was constantly threatened, insulted and intimidated because of his involvement in the illegal Chinese (underground) house-church movement. In our countries, far away from China, we do not encounter such brutal persecution. Looking over our shoulders to see if we are being ‘watched’…
Learning the Hard Way#2. “Never Alone—Elijah.”
Elijah humiliated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. He challenged King Ahab’s 450 Baal prophets to a test by fire. ‘If your god sends fire, then he is the true God. If the God of Israel sends fire, then he is God!’ Elijah mocked the Baal prophets as they tried to summon their fake god. They danced, screamed and self-mutilating themselves, but it was all in vain. Elijah didn’t want it to look too easy. He rebuilt the broken…
Learning the Hard Way#1. “Humility—Saul of Tarsus.”
If humility were a commodity on the stock market, its stock price would be so low that it would have junk-bond status. No one wants it! I challenge you to find a motivational book or speech that promotes humility as its key principle in these terms: Jesus, “being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil.2:8).Outside of Bible-centred books or sermons, you won’t find it!…
Truth and Lies.#4 “Blood-soaked Truth Diluted.”
Mel Gibson’s movie, Passion of the Christ, is not for the fainthearted. No serious Gospel reader will feel that the film overplays the torturous acts inflicted upon Jesus. It exposes those who present the crucifixion in terms of a TV melodrama as misrepresenting its intended impact.Offering a Gift-wrapped Gospel is cruel. The Good News is that the Son of God absorbed the eternal pain and death that we were destined for in a devil’s hell. There is nothing pretty about…
Truth and Lies.#3 “Liars and Thieves—Inseparable Siamese Twins.”
After 34 years, it almost sounds like a comedy sketch: The Corporate Precious Metals trader fleeing to Fiji to escape justice, while his girlfriend stayed behind to defend his integrity on TVNZ News. His deliberate theft of millions upon millions of dollars from precious metal investors (including my $1000 in silver), was counted as nothing in the end. The NZ government put him, and most of the 1987 Financial Market Crash in the ‘Too-hard basket’ and moved on. His deception…
Truth and Lies.#2 “Truth overcomes Denominationalism.”
The idea that you can chose the church of your liking is a popular one.Even in the Lord’s church there are some who speak of denominations as if they are a legitimate extension of God’s Kingdom. They are not! It amazes me when some of these same brethren become incredulous when members leave their congregation and go off to join those denominations. What do they expect?If the congregation that you are worshipping with is not “The Lord’s Church” you have…
Truth and Lies.#1 “You surely shall not die.”
Unbelievers dismiss ‘The Garden of Eden’ as a myth. Even some Christians prefer to doubt its historicity. After all, acceptance of the Fall of Man is acceptance of its direct impact upon one’s eternal destination. But despite their naive protestations, these ‘Christian’ sceptics will suffer the same fate as their unbelieving mentors. They will not escape the consequences of the law of sin and death.Our first parents knew that death would be their punishment for disobedience.So, with these five infamous…
The Company You Keep#6 “Jesus is my best friend.”
Invisible people are everywhere: among the old, the infirm, the lonely and those who need special emotional care. It is not hard to miss these souls. They are easily hidden from sight and easily ignored. Jesus ignored nobody! His ministry extended also to the chronically ill, the demon possessed and the destitute. We can be sure that if Jesus had restricted himself to charity work amongst the ‘nobodies’ of society, his enemies would not have bothered with him. Instead, Jesus…
The Company You Keep#5 “Not walking with Him anymore.”
A lot of stock is put in the sizes of congregations. Jesus saw his crowd of followers multiply after The Feeding of the 5000 (Jn.6). Many followed him to Capernaum hoping that he would be their new Moses. Being fed their daily bread from heaven for the rest of their lives was worth lining up for. Jesus had no time for these hangers-on. Even those who had identified as disciples were told that the only food and drink they could…
The Company You Keep#4 “Not of our number.”
Handing out that ‘Cease and Desist Order’ to that random exorcist must have made the disciples day. That was until John told Jesus about it. Up until then it seemed appropriate for John to let the stranger know that casting out demons in the name of Jesus was reserved for a select group, which did not include him. Jesus told them to let people like that go about their business unhindered. Then Jesus said some words that should challenge us…