Ron Sider, author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger died this week.
In reading about his death, I was reminded of the impact his book had on me when I read it in the ’70s and how I have become a coward in sharing what I believe in this area. The news of his death was a timely challenge to me because of a situation that happened recently at a church event.
What happened is that I found myself reacting strongly (silently) to a comment about someone who had significant money spending it on themselves.
“They made the money, they deserve to do whatever they want,” was the comment of the person seated next to me. Though as I said, I had a strong emotional reaction to what she said, I changed the subject and started babbling about something else.
I thought about it later and realized it was an episode of moral cowardice where I didn’t have the energy to say what I was really thinking and to say it calmly and discuss it thoughtfully. [Read more…]
In our previous lesson on the Prophet Micah we talked about what God requires of us and His requirements are summarized in Micah 6:8 which tells us we are to “Do justice, Love mercy, and Walk humbly with our God.” 
Though it sounds complex, the topic of this lesson has important and practical implications for how you live day-to-day.
I recently did 
One thing we know for certain is that Jesus is coming back. Just as we anticipate the arrival of a dearly-loved family member who has been away and is coming home, we eagerly look forward to His return and so it is only natural that we want to know when it will take place. 
What is the purpose of the stories in the Bible? If someone does something that seems a bit odd like Gideon setting out a fleece to determine God’s will or the Children of Israel walking around the walls of Jericho to conquer it. 
The war in Ukraine and the tragedy of the suffering and devastation that threatens to spill into more of the world has many of us concerned, worried and fearful.