1. There is no subject of which Jesus is not the expert. He is always the smartest person in the room, no matter who else is in that room. So when he says to do something crazy like, “Pray for your enemies,” we must assume there is no better thing to do in that situation.
2. What we are entertained by forms us.
3. I can only assume a person who ghosts another person via phone is also the kind of person that just does not show up to work one day.
4. I don’t really have an opinion on gun control. I don’t have a gun. I don’t really like them. But this I do know, we are a culture of anger and a culture of contempt and a culture that assumes we are free to do what we want to do without regard to anyone else. And that is a deadly mix.
5. It seems like keeping something secret so as to exclude those not invited to participate should not be done anyway. And for followers of Jesus, it seems to be at odds with our Master and his character.
6. I’m pretty sure if Jesus and his Apostles thought it was helpful to complain about the the leaders of Rome, that would have made it into one of the letters or gospels. But instead what we have are commands to pray for our leaders and to honor them. Making fun of them on social media seems to be at odds with the Kingdom of God.
7. What happens in the gospels is more pressing news than what is reported in the news.
8. I think the reason why I have success with counseling teenagers is because I can tell them, “I know you don’t want to be here. You are here only because your mom (who you find annoying) wants you here. That doesn’t hurt my feelings at all and I would probably feel the same way. Let’s make the most of it anyway…where’s your favorite place to get pizza?”
9. Also, teenagers are more likely to be interested in following Jesus than what we call “Christianity” in America.
10. If you say “no” to something because by doing so it will help you follow Jesus, they will release an album just to make it harder.
Echoes and Stars 