Award-Winning, Bestselling Christian Author
Timothy’s route from Ephesus to Rome, where Paul was in prison Q LIFE APPLICATION. As Paul wraps up his letter, he tells Timothy, “Do the best you can to come and see me soon” (4:9). Many people who have been around folks who were about to die …
I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE JESUS talking about the ancient Middle Eastern myth of the evil eye. But the topic seems to show up in the Gospel of Matthew. If you look at many pictures from the ancient Middle East, you’ll come across pictures of eyeballs. …
TODAY, for the first time, I looked up the definition of a “troll.” I looked it up because someone posted a comment about my YouTube video What Romans said about crucifixion: “Wow, my friend, you somehow attracted a lot of trolls.” Troll: “A person …
Q Does it bother you that Paul calls Jesus a human? “There’s just one God. And there’s only one go-between for God and humans. That mediator is a human: Jesus the Messiah” (1 Timothy 2:5). A It’s a little unsettling for some Christians. They like to …
JESUS HELD A GRUDGE. I don’t know if that’s true. But I’m afraid that’s what it felt like. I was reading the story because I needed to paraphrase it for Mark, in the Casual English Bible. It’s a story in two snippets. Snippet one The family of Jesus …
ONE OF THE ODDEST stories in the Gospel of Mark is the tale of Jesus healing a deaf man who could hardly talk—and then asking him not to tell anyone. Really, Jesus? Why do you think Jesus asks the healed gent who could suddenly speak clearly to keep …
Q What do you think Paul meant by saying “Women will find salvation in having children” (1 Timothy 2:15)? It’s anyone’s guess. No one knows for certain. For a sampling of guesses, read the footnote associated with the phrase. A Here’s the …
THE BIBLE ISN’T STANDUP COMEDY. But it’s close, from time to time. Here’s a time. The disciples have already seen Jesus manage, somehow, to feed 5,000 men and others with what might compare to five Subway sandwiches. Sometime later, …
I’D LIKE YOU TO DO something for me if you can spare the time. Tell me what you think about something I’m going to put in the Casual English Bible paraphrase I’m writing. It’s for the Gospel of Mark, which I hope to release this week. What you’re …
Q Paul tells Timothy to pray for “kings and all people in authority. That way maybe we’ll be able to live in peace” (1 Timothy 2:2). That didn’t work for Paul. Nero was the emperor at the time. He was not an endearing soul. A few years after Paul …
FUNNY THING ABOUT THE GENT credited with writing the Gospel of Mark—the only Bible book about Jesus that most scholars agree didn’t get finished. The book ends with Jesus asking some women to go tell his disciples that he’s back from the dead. But …
WELL THAT WAS A SURPRISE. The Bible background video I produced on a shoestring with duct tape—“What Romans said about the crucifixion”—topped a million views over the weekend. Sad to say, I can’t predict what Bible background videos (or books) …
