There are many reasons why people don’t go to church. “But the music is boring,” may be one excuse. “The preaching is not very exciting,” may be another. Another popular reason is a particular church has political issues, or people are too narrow minded. If I was a starving person, I would not care what music was playing, or if they only had green beans and no ice cream to eat. And I certainly would not care if the staff did not get along perfectly or what their opinions about picky issues were. Abiding in Jesus means that we stay no matter what (
John 15:1-8). If a church preaches Jesus, that is, not just his name but also what Jesus taught, then that’s a place I want to be. The music, style of preaching, and personal problems are insignificant.
John 3:1-17 contains the controversial statement that no one has ever gone into heaven except he who came from heaven, the Son of Man. How can that be? Did not Elijah go to heaven? We first need to understand the timing of the statement. Jesus had not yet ascended into heaven, yet he said that he had already gone into heaven. Was this past tense? Did he somehow ascend into heaven during his earthly ministry? Or is this in a prophetic use of past tense, like speaking from a future time when the ascension would have been past tense? There is another possibility. In Jewish culture it was accepted to speak figuratively of Moses ascending into heaven to bring the law (Jerusalem Targum commentary on Deuteronomy 30:12). What is clear is that only Jesus has come from heaven.
A spirit of murder encompasses more than just the act of killing itself (
How can we Christians be unified? We can keep unity by following God’s example expounded in 
Acts 2 was not a usual Pentecost. 
Philadelphia is known as the city of “brotherly love” but that is not the entire meaning of the Greek work philos. John used the word when he recorded the friendship Jesus has with us. The word philos also means someone dearly loved. For example, in 
An ancient law made capital punishment the penalty for dishonoring parents (
Some rules just don’t make sense. Stupid decrees which are a waste of time and resources just incite rebellion and disrespect. It especially makes Christians angry to be judged for ignoring brainless rules made up by bossy control freaks who think they have the right to interfere in private faith. Nobody likes to be shackled by idiotic regulations. Yet there is one rule that makes more sense than any other. If we all obeyed this rule the world would be wonderfully transformed. Those who disobey it are fools because it benefits everyone. That rule is to love each other (
Our mother was mean. She fed us healthy food when other kids got to eat junk. We only got soft drinks on birthdays while other kids had it all year. Dad called it sugar water. Mom wanted to know where we were all the time and who our friends were. We had to take regular baths and wear clothes that she had made herself while other kids got to wear brand names from the store. She made us do chores, while other kids could play all day. Though none of us are millionaires, we all grew up to have marriages that lasted and have never spent a night in jail. What do we blame for all this? A mother’s love. Our mother was mean. A mother’s love is pure goodness and mean mothers are the best mothers (
Jesus taught about abiding in the vine, then abiding in his love (
Many of us honor our mothers and fathers who gave so much of their lives for us. It is a sad fact when such giving is spurned in favor of a selfish life where career and money come before the love of children. Children are too often an inconvenience to be farmed out to a babysitter school system and day care. Those things have their place and every parent certainly needs a break. However, when the priorities are for self, our children suffer neglect. Yet the love of an unselfish parent can teach us to love each other, just as the love of our heavenly parent teaches us what selflessness is all about (
Honoring our father and mother was one of the Ten Commandment that came with a promise. The promise was that our days may be long (
In 2010 scientists in Binghamton, NY discovered that men and women with the 7R+ variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be engaged in acts of infidelity. When interviewed as to whether or not these people were destined to commit adultery, scientists said that two factors determine behavior, genetics and the environment. A genetic predisposition did not remove a person’s ability to choose how to behave. In 1993 geneticist Dean Hamer found a link between the XQ28 chromosome band and homosexuality. A 1999 Canadian study disputed the claims. Is it dishonesty when people take such findings and on the one hand claim the ability to choose behavior, yet on the other hand claim the inability to choose because they were “born that way?” Genetic predisposition may be biologically determined but does it really remove the freedom to choose?
Getting a promotion in corporate life can mean stress without rest, long hours, few days off and vacations that are cut short. Those with ambition to earn a better income for their families may be saying goodbye to family life. That is too often the experience of those who begin to climb the modern corporate ladder. Success is counted in dollars earned, not in marriages lost. It is counted by corporate titles received, not by family events missed. Those who put job before God and family receive hollow congratulations from employers, but not from where it really counts. Making time for important work at home and resting one day in seven blesses family and country. Those who abide in Christ (
We came to Jesus for Sabbath rest for our souls (
Today’s world offers many fake substitutes. The Bible calls wealth a delusion because we substitute it for life’s most valuable things, and the best things in life are still free. Perhaps we have witnessed the woman on television with no true friends, but a closet full of shoes. Perhaps we have had a glimpse of the billionaire’s life, filled with material things, but marriages that continue to fail. One of the great blessings of church life is that connection to God and his people (
Abiding in Jesus (