Each New Year I take a pause. I get out my journal, and I write. It’s a way to remember, to survey the total, and to find a renewed focus.
As part of this practice, I wrote out some thoughts about the church music ministry I lead. I asked, “Basically, what is it that I’m doing—and why?”
I came up with this vision for worship ministry in 2016:
Socialism in Scripture? For more than one hundred years, the people of the United States have faced the choice of socialism versus freedom.
Generally, the people have spoken out for freedom and individual rights. Politicians have affirmed these values while campaigning, but not while legislating.
As Christians in America consider socialism, they are sometimes told about “welfare” in the Bible. They are told that a “safety-net” is consistent with Christian values. They are told, “God cares for the poor, and so should our nation.”
The Bible does in fact tell Christians to give to the poor. But the question at hand is who controls the giving? Should individuals give of their own goods, of their own choice? Or should a politician decide how much one owes—and to whom one owes it?
So Christians should ask: Does God have anything to say about socialism? Is “welfare” in the Bible? Let’s look into the Bible’s most famous case of “socialism.”
The New Year is coming, and I’m taking steps to make it a year of blessing. I want another year of growing in my passion for Jesus Christ.
Do you ever worry that, like the churches in Revelation, your passion may have become lukewarm? It’s a common concern for Christians. It happened to those early believers, and it can happen to us.
A logic puzzle:
What would you think if someone told you the following?
What is the status of such a claim?
One of Paul’s most famous letters, Philippians stands out for its joy and hope in the face of persecution and imprisonment. Reading it in one sitting, I noticed a flow to Paul’s points. Here are nine highlights:
1. Paul is thankful for his church family.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you (Phil 1:3).