The Tulip Driven Life

By: Thomas Fletcher Booher Sometimes it is good to talk on current issues. I assume most people reading this will be aware that Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia and leader of the Passion Movement was invited to give the benediction at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony. Then a gay rights group dug up a sermon some 15-20 years ago that Giglio preached where he called homosexuality a sin. A big stink was then raised, and Giglio withdrew to not cause a greater controversy. A pro-gay "pastor" has replaced Giglio.  Four years ago Rick Warren faced similar heat, but he was not removed. So in four years the tide has turned in the public eye and in the White House- to condemn homosexuality as a sin is to not be with the times, with the beliefs of today, with what the god of "today" says.  I want to address how this has happened. It has happened because Christians don't know their Bibles and what it says about...

By: Sean Rice An American publication named  Slate  recently published an article by Will Oremus called 'Was Jesus a Homophobe?'* Surprisingly, given that it is a pretty left-leaning publication, I actually agree with a lot of what Oremus had to say. He doesn't seem to stretch facts to come to favourable conclusions. He does criticize Paul for wording things a little harshly when it comes to homosexuality (most Christians would criticize Paul's use of language, too - how many of  you  would stay if your pastor dismissively told the troublemakers in your church to castrate themselves? See  Galatians 5.12 ), though I don't disagree with the strong tone that Paul sometimes takes on issues. Will Oremus writes, '[Was Jesus a homophobe?] Yes and no. While it's reasonable to assume that Jesus and his fellow Jews in first-century Palestine would have disapproved of gay sex, there is no record of his ever having mentioned homosexuality, let alone express...

By: Nathan Fox Introduction I feel so compelled to write this blog post today. Not only do I work through books of the Bible at a time, but also have been blessed to read a little booklet everyday that provides tidbits of encouragement and sound Biblical advice. The book (Oswald Chambers’  My Utmost for His Highest)  covered one of my favorite topics today, and consequently the Scripture that I was covering in Colossians also speaks on this issue. The issue you ask? It is simply this: true faith in Jesus Christ bears fruit.  Scriptural Text Last week, we covered the first few verses in the book of Colossians, and talked about unity in doctrine and unity in love. Unity in doctrine is an imperative for a growing Christian and a growing Christian congregation, but it doesn’t just stop there! The doctrine of the Gospel has the potential to change lives not only at the moment of conversion but for all eternity. For our text today, we will look at Colossians...

By: Nathan Fox Introduction to the Book and the City As promised in my previous blog post, I have begun a personal study series into the book of Colossians and have thus decided to write for the next few weeks on little lessons that God is teaching me from the book. Before I dive into today’s blog content, I feel it very important that we have a somewhat firm knowledge of the background behind this Pauline epistle. Naturally, we would assume that this book was written to the people of Colosse, and we would be correct. Knowing this, there are several interesting characteristics to note about the city of Colosse. First of all, Colosse was a very influential city, and likewise was influenced by other cities. We know this because of some of the content from Paul in this letter. Several times Paul warns the people of Colosse to hold firm to true doctrine, and to not be swayed by false teachings such as Gnosticism (of which we will cover in greater detail in future blogs)...

In 1997, a group of Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland drafted a study document, outlining ways to deal with the sexual child abuse crisis which was becoming endemic in the Church. Under the new rules these bishops maintained that there would be mandatory reporting of offending priests and instant removal of the positions of those behind the abuse.  The Vatican shut these bishops' reforms down .  The letter the Vatican sent in response (linked to in orange) read, " In particular, the situation of 'mandatory reporting' gives rise to serious reservations  of... a canonical nature."[1] To make it more clear, the letter raised "particular" concern about mandatory reporting because of issues with canon law. WHAT IS CANON LAW? According to  The Catholic Encyclopedia , canon law is "the body of laws made or adopted by [the Roman Catholic Church] for the government of... its members."[2] Also, "The ultimate source of canon law is God...

Post by: Nathan Fox Our Topic I recently just finished a book study on the book of Acts, which indeed was very beneficial in not only my personal life but hopefully in the lives of those who have read my contributions to the blog within the last month and a half. It truly is a remarkable book, and one in which we can glean some very important points of living from. My next book that I have decided to study is the book of Colossians, which I will begin to unpack in next week’s blog. For this week I am taking a break from any specific book study and will instead focus on a topic that every Christian ought to be familiar with on a daily basis: Thankfulness. Why This Topic In all honesty, no topic is as prevalent in churches and individual lives as this one. Especially around the Christmas season, the topic of thankfulness is one that should be on the forefront of every believer’s mind. Pastors from pulpits everywhere should encourage thankfulness from their God-given p...

By: Thomas Fletcher Booher  I run through the meadow into the moon's gleam that trickles through the trees and splashes across the grass. And in the brightness all I see is you.   Your hair is illumined, your eyes green, your face round and delicate. You wear grey silk, like nightwear, and extend your hand to me, beckoning me to come.  I looked back but for a moment, and you were gone.  I cannot say why I turned. Perhaps I think it too wondrous to be real, to fanciful to be happening. And now that you're gone, I dread to think it all a dream. But then I approach where you stood, a strand of your radiant hair wafting in the gentle breeze, and as I involuntarily place my open palm beneath it, it rests upon it. I squeeze my hand- and my heart- around it. And that contact with you, was all it took to know you were real, to know I was not chasing shadows. So I searched. I journeyed through the forest, days without food. I slept in the cold, damp ...