CEB

I've been asked to be part of the Common English Bible blog tour over the next 3 months entitled "Thank You - Come Again - I Promise." With that being said, I used the CEB in my sermon this past Sunday for the first time. I taught from Luke 12:35-40 and it seemed to go over well, which is interesting considering the use of "Human One." Here is an explanation of the CEB's use of this phrase in place of "Son of Man."

If you want to learn more about the Common English Bible translation, be sure to check out their site and see why it might be a meaningful translation for you. If you have any thoughts on the translation let us know.

Is NOT tithing realistic?

My Twitter friend @PeteThePlanner just dropped a great post on tithing that you should check out here before reading some of my thoughts below.

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Tithing can be such a touchy subject, mostly because it deals with our money. Generally, we like our money and work hard to get it. We also don't typically like other people telling us how to spend our money let alone spend it. Tithing is hard and can seem overwhelming, as Pete mentioned but I wonder, as a Christian, is it realistic not to tithe?

Jesus talks about money a lot but he doesn't talk about tithing specifically much at all. He calls the Pharisees out for focusing on the percentage but neglecting the people. Jesus says that's not cool.

One of the fascinating things to me about Jesus is his ability to address issues and make them heart issues, which he does with money. When he says things like, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21) and later, "we can't serve two masters," (Matthew 6:24) he's making our pocketbook a matter of the heart. I don't think the focus is as much on a percentage as it is a heart willing to serve, which means some of us may be called to give more than 10% and for others the sacrifice might be less. That's what makes it such an important heart issue.

Giving (tithing) to the Church is a way to establish priorities, grow in faith, and be used by God. It is a practical way to live out our discipleship, which I'm not sure is real without it.

What do you think? Feel free to add your questions or thoughts to the conversation. I look forward to hearing from you.

Take Control

I just recently had a conversation w/my friend @sssemester on Twitter about the topic of control. Are you someone that has to be in control? How do you deal with things that are beyond your control?

This idea of control got me thinking about its relationship to faith and trust. Are faith and trust lacking when control becomes an issue for us? Perhaps there is no relationship at all. What do you think?