The Apostle Paul wrote nearly half of the books in the New Testament. (His descendants must be getting some serious royalty checks). Most of his books deal with explaining how this whole living-like-Jesus thing works. In 1 Corinthians, he boils it all down to four words. Do everything in love.
Read MoreIn Romans, the apostle Paul pretty much lays out the theology of salvation over 16 chapters. There's a lot of stuff he says that boils down to "That is who you were, but in now in Christ, this is who you are." I was lost, but now I'm found. I was in bondage to sin, but now I am free in Christ. Sounds nice, right? But there are still a lot of times where I don't feel found or free. Are you lying to me, Paul?
Read MoreAs the book of Acts begins, Jesus does some after resurrection check-in with his homies and then flies away to heaven. For three years, the disciples continually misunderstood Jesus' message, one of them sold out Jesus for some bling, and the rest of them deserted Jesus when he was crucified (Peter even denied he knew him). Jesus was the only thing holding this group of punks together and now he's gone? They're in trouble.
Read MoreOn the surface, the whole water to wine miracle doesn't seem that weird. It's just another way for Jesus to show off his superpowers, right? But this is Jesus' very first miracle. Shouldn't he have done a healing or something more... important? And on top of that, the end result of the miracle is that there's more liquor to go around at a party? Aren't you supposed to judge the party people?
Read MoreJesus rode into cheered on by the people who a week later would be yelling "Crucify Him!" He was betrayed by one of his closest friends and denied by another. He was nailed to a cross even though he was innocent. He speaks his last words and dies a horrible death. Crazy as it sounds, this is part of Jesus' plan to take over the world.
Read MoreThere are a lot of things in the Bible that confuse me and this phrase is one of them. One of the last things Jesus said before he died was "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which translates to "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus, aren't you supposed to be pretty tight with God? What's up?
Read MoreAbout a week before he was crucified, Jesus had his very own parade. He was welcomed into Jerusalem by a large crowd of people lining the streets, waving palm branches and screaming "Hosanna!" Yet seven days later when he was sentenced to be crucified, there was another crowd present, likely filled with many of the same people, and instead of yelling "Hosanna!" they were yelling "Crucify him!" What the heck happened during that week?
Read MoreJudas has gotta be the worst person in the Bible, right? He betrayed Jesus for some bling and then hung himself. He's slightly worse than Adam and Eve, who are tied for second on the list of worst people in the Bible. I mean they did ruin life for everyone. You may wonder "Jim, what makes you qualified to proclaim holier-than-thou judgements on Biblical characters?" Let me tell you. I'm a graphic designer from Minnesota who makes Bible designs, so yeah, I'm pretty much the mouthpiece of the Lord.
Read MoreEaster is a happy story, right? This super nice guy is put on a cross, as he dies a rainbow shoots out of his body and through that it means that after I chill 75.4 years in this life I get spend eternity in a place where I've got a mansion, it's always 78 degrees plus there's cats that hug and popcorn trees? Sweet! Sign me up! But there's one more minor part of the story to understand.... I am the one who crucified Jesus. Downer.
Read MoreThe cross is as ugly as it is beautiful. Ugly because of the physical pain and betrayal. Beautiful because of the love and forgiveness Jesus showed for those who murdered him.
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