UBC Wed For Life

                               Every day, we find ourselves questioning what's real and what's not in the way we talk to each other, make choices, and take in information. It's like truth is always being tested in everything we do. The truth is not just a concept reserved for formal settings like courtrooms or classrooms; it's a constant presence in the ebb and flow of our daily lives. Take, for instance, the conversations we have with others. Whenever we talk to someone, it's like we're dancing through a world of different ideas and views. We have to dig deep through all the chatter to find what's truly real and honest. Whether we're chatting about the news with a friend or trying to find middle ground with a coworker, figuring out what's true takes a mix of critical thinking, active listening, and discernment. When we're truly engaged and curious, these moments of interacting with others become opportunities to not only discover what's real

                                    It’s Christmas time again, and every good Christian should know the reason for the season. Beyond all the gift giving, time off from work, and other things that have become associated with the holiday, Christmas is first and foremost a celebration of Jesus’ birth. For believers this day commemorates when God gave the world the best gift it could ever receive. Nowadays, nearly the world celebrates Christmas. It’s a practice that has spread across the globe, but in general, only a small amount of the fervor associated with the holiday is directed where it belongs - remembrance of Jesus. To be honest, that shouldn’t be surprising. The significance of Jesus’ birth doesn’t hold the weight it should. It would be easy to blame that on the commercialization of our society and all the distractions that it brings, but in all honesty, Jesus has probably never been appreciated the way he should be. Consider the fact that he was prophesied to be the King of

                                  The previous blog entry discussed God’s ability to plan for the future when providing inspiration for the Biblical texts. The various books of the Bible were written thousands of years ago for a culture foreign to our own, but at times, it can seem like the Bible is full of coded descriptions of what we experience today in the modern world. Take Micah 3:9-11 for example: Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.” The references to Judah and Zion should make it recognizable to most that these verses are not about the U.S. However, anyone in the U.S. who follows politics or current events has heard plenty similar things

                                      Jesus had an interesting way of teaching his followers. Many of his lessons came in the form of parables that explained godly concepts in terms of things his followers should have been able to understand. The use of stories to teach lessons isn’t in itself unusual. The Tortoise and the Hare is one such story. It was one of Aesop’s fables. Like Jesus’ parables, Aesop’s fables consisted of simple narratives that were used to deliver a lesson about what is right or prudent i.e., the moral of the story. What made Jesus’ approach unique is his reasoning for why he used parables. The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Tho

            Jesus was the subject of the previous blog entry, but that entry focused more on what and who Jesus is and what he means for Christians. Understanding that is important, but as mentioned in the previous entry, Jesus was a real human being that lived in and interacted with the world the same as any other person. He lived a life complete with goals, objectives, and purpose. As Christians, we look to the Bible for dogma as we should since the Bible is our blueprint for how to live a righteous life. Jesus’ teachings are very important for that purpose, and it clearly was always part of God’s plan for Jesus’ teachings to resonate with us now thousands of years after his death. Still, it’s important to remember that we weren’t the original recipients of those teachings. For us, Jesus is a godly figure whose impact has proven timeless, but when he lived on the Earth, he was not perceived that way. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “W

Almost every entry of this blog has mentioned or referenced Jesus in some way. It is, or at least should be, impossible to write a Christian blog without regularly writing about Jesus. That said, Jesus is such a big and important figure that it’s perfectly possible to talk about him constantly and still miss some important factors about him. It’s easy for people to hear about him but not completely understand who or what he is. In our faith, Jesus wasn’t just a man or prophet. We often refer to him as the Son of God, but even that leaves room for confusion. We don’t simply believe he was a child of God in the same way that we are. He was actually God in the flesh. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not over