Giving Answers (1 Peter 3:15)

If you have been around me for any amount of time and asked me a question about the Bible or a Bible verse, you have probably heard me say the phrase:  "Context is everything."  Many people's answers concerning Scriptures in question are often found in the context of surrounding verses.  In today's meme driven culture that focuses on snatching singular verses out of context for the sake of producing doubt or shame in one's faith, this is an important truth to remember. However, faithful and well meaning Christians, who only wish to build faith in Jesus Christ, have erroneously done the same and caused unintentional harm to the body of Christ because of misinterpretation of Scripture.  This misapplying of the Scripture has a profound effect on a person's view of themselves, on their view of God, their ministry within the body of Christ and their worthiness of Christ's sacrifice.   Let me give a common example that is consistently misinterpreted: Therefore, ...

Recalling 9/11 If you were an adult 20 years ago, chances are you know exactly where you were when our world changed forever.  However, chances are you may not have realized what forces were put into motion following the tragic events of that day. Where was I?  I had just become a Youth Pastor in Albuquerque, New Mexico a few months prior (A position I still hold to this day.).   I remember being disoriented driving into work that morning.  I lived about 5 minutes away from the church at a local apartment complex at the time.  During my brief drive in, my radio was filled with chatter over a plane hitting one of the twin towers in New York.  I truly thought that it might be a radio drama that I had cut in on.  Somewhere during the drive it hit me that these were real reports.  At the time, the official word was that it was a tragedy and the cause of the crash was unknown. Shortly after arriving at work, the second plane hit the other tower an...