Contrary to what many think, Jesus had nothing against either money or rich people. Many of his closest friends were possessors of means. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Micha…

CY and Jacob, joined by returning guests Khuê and Alesa, discuss spring pen fairs, stationery M&A news, earthquakes, and a new steel nib. This episode was recorded on March 3rd. Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).由CY and Jacob

We here encounter a Command made all the more intriguing when we consider to whom Jesus addressed it. He did not speak these words to his disciples or followers or to the crowds. This was his response to Satan after the final temptation in the wilderness. Can we then consider it a universal Command which Jesus places upon his followers as well? Fro…

So many of Jesus' Commands are interrelated. In these combined passages from Luke, we hear echoes of Love, Give to the poor, Do more than required, Be a servant, Be kind, Do good, Do not demand back what you have given, Serve the least of humanity as you would Jesus. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information o…

Two individuals in the Gospels occasionally cause the sensitive heart a pang of empathy. In both instances, at first glance we feel that Jesus is a little harsh. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands …

The passage from Mark 7 concerning the pharisaic worship of the letter of the law, as manifested by an obsession with clean cups and bowls and hands, gives a singularly important teaching in all the Gospels. Jesus here addresses an inevitable tendency in all religions--the susceptibility of truth to degenerate into doctrines and legalisms, defined …

An entire history of Christendom could be written from the perspective of the slow, steady, continuous divergence of Christ's followers from Christ's commands. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands an…

Faith is truly one of the most complex attributes of spirituality. It is a word bandied about easily and casually by the unbelieving world as readily as it is used in the believing world. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon…

It is unfortunate, in one sense, that the Lord's parable of the talents is about money and the return gained from its use. This has led to the false idea that God cares about the world of finance. The misappropriation of the truth of this parable has contributed to many foolish prosperity doctrines that are an embarrassment to the church. Because o…

New Testament scholar William Barclay says plainly about Mark 9:48-50, "These three verses are amongst the most difficult in the New Testament to interpret." From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and …

At first I wrote Bring children to me in order to more directly represent Jesus' words. Then I realized that Jesus was addressing a larger principle: The childlikeness required to receive the principles of God's kingdom. There are several huge implications involved. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on…

We continually find that the familiarity of certain of Jesus' words often obscures their astonishing meaning. Here, for example, many images of what it means to take upon oneself the Lord's "yoke" spring to mind, along with his oft-quoted words of comfort, You shall find rest for your souls. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Ki…

Self-defense is one of the most automatic of human responses. When challenged, threatened, contradicted, or accused, we blurt out a defense before the voice of criticism has even died away. Often we do not wait so long as that to defend ourselves, but interrupt to counter the word against us before it is even finished. From The Commands by Michael …

With so much emphasis in Christendom through the centuries on salvation, it is remarkable that Jesus did not spell out in more detail exactly what salvation is. In his conversation with Nicodemus, in which he said that one must be "born again" to see the kingdom of God, in the single most well-known verse of the Bible, he connects being born again …

One of the curious anomalies to arise out of the Evangelical and Pentecostal renewal of the late 20th century has been an inordinate obsession with spiritual "signs and wonders" as validating the work of the Holy Spirit. Entire churches, ministries, evangelistic movements, and schools have devoted themselves to the miraculous, and the encouragement…

There are a variety of Commands that all point in the same direction: Give and expect nothing in return. Some emphasize giving more than has been requested: Go two miles instead of one, when asked for your coat give your cloak as well. The Command before us from Luke 6 contains three messages. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael …

We continue to encounter the strange dichotomy in the Lord's words between public and private righteousness. How do we balance, Beware of practicing your piety before men, with, Let your light so shine before men? The two commands appear less than a chapter apart in the Sermon on the Mount, yet seem to instruct us in completely opposite directions.…

Note that Jesus does not directly command Don't be a hypocrite. Is the reason perhaps because, in truth, to a degree we cannot help being hypocrites. We are all sinners, and thus hypocrites, together. It is part of the human condition. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may …

None of the Ten Commandments has been so diminished of its power by our modern culture more than honor to one's parents. Independence is the god of our age. The cancer that has infected our time is not merely anti-family, as serious as that threat is. It goes far deeper. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More informati…

After passing through Galilee and returning home to Capernaum, Jesus posed a very pointed question to the disciples: "What were you discussing on the way?" Their response was that of a group of children caught red-handed with their hands in the cookie jar. Mark merely says, "They were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who w…

Jesus does not even leave it at Rejoice when you are persecuted and Love and pray for your enemies. He goes further still. The three-tiered progression of response to ill-treatment in Luke 6 is incredible and completely impractical. The program Jesus outlines is impossible by any earthly standards. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Mic…

As world changing as would be the influence of Christians taking the words seriously, Rejoice and be glad when you are reviled and persecuted (Matthew 5:11-12), Jesus goes on to elevate the relation between Christians and their adversaries to a shockingly ambitious level. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More informat…

Biblical literalists more eager to find loopholes in the Commands than to obey them will be the first to point out that Jesus never specifically commanded kindness upon his disciples. We could find no better example of straining at a gnat to swallow a camel. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this an…

The Command, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, may also seem an illusive one. A moment's reflection, however, reveals this as one of the most down-to-earth of all Jesus' Commands. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar wri…

Among the "spiritual" Commands, few are so illusive as this. Jesus concludes his Do not be anxious about your life discussion of the birds of the air and lilies of the the field in Matthew 6 with the words: Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as wel…

One of the profound mysteries of the Christian Church is that human goodness has not comprised more focus in its theology. While it is true that greater good has been done throughout history by Christianity than any nation, movement, or creed, one is hard-pressed to find goodness at the center of any doctrinal teaching. From The Commands by Michael…

If we transplant Peter's question and the Lord's response from Matthew 18 into the sixth chapter where the theme of forgiveness emerges out of the Lord's prayer, we would have a succinct teaching on prayer, forgiveness, and the reach of forgiveness. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar…

We noted that forgiveness is one of the least understood components of Christian doctrine. Sadly, it is misunderstood by Christians and non-Christians alike. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and …

Righteousness is one of the more curious character qualities of the committed Christian disciple. Jesus tells us to let our light shine before men, but to pray, fast, and do good in secret. If it is visible obedience by Christians that changes the world, why are we also commanded to be invisibly righteous? From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Rea…

It is fearfully easy to read the Do Not Commands and assume, "Oh, I would never do that." Because the context of examples used by Jesus sometimes seems so ludicrously absurd, we too easily overlook our own glaring presence in the midst of the Gospel pages. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and …

Created by his hand and in his image, all humanity are God's children. Yet we are put upon this earth to become something more, to become true sons and daughters of chosen obedience. Given life and, in time, independence, our destiny is gained by yielding back that independence into the hand of our Creator, and thus, by that relinquishment, discove…

CY, Jacob, along with returning guests Khuê and Alesa, reflect on the past year and make some predictions for 2024. Note: This episode was recorded early on January 1st, hours before the earthquake. All of us are OK, and we will talk about it in the next episode. Show notes with links and feedback form. Jingle by Audionautix.com (CC Attribution).…

Countless sermons and devotions have been based on Jesus' exchange with the man we know as the "rich young ruler." The first three gospels recount the story using largely identical words and phrases. Indeed, this passage is one of those upon which scholars base their conviction that Matthew and Luke founded their writings upon Mark's gospel. From T…

From the elusive Command, Lose your life, we now encounter one of the most down to earth of all the Commands: Be a servant. No mystery exists here. We all know what it means to serve, to put someone else's need ahead of our own...the good deed, the kindness shown, the helping hand, the burden shared, the load lifted, the feet washed, the cup for th…

Most of Jesus' Commands are reasonably straightforward, easy enough to understand, uncomplicated, unambiguous. Easy to obey--no. Easy to understand--yes. It is not usually a question of being confused about what is required. Rather it is a question of how serious we are about wanting to obey. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael K…

The great moral teacher interpretation of the life and impact of Jesus Christ is surely one of the most naive perspectives ever proposed for such an important historical figure. C.S. Lewis has memorably argued that anyone making the claims Jesus did must either be a lunatic, a madman, or what he claimed to be. It is not merely Jesus' claim to be on…

The enormity of this Command is of such scope and magnitude that it is impossible to overstate. If Love is the first Command, this surely represents one of the most important dimensions of Love itself. Indeed, unity with our fellow man is one of Love's significant visible expressions. If we would "Be righteous," this is where it begins. From The Co…

It has been mentioned before that Jesus occasionally uses overstatement and exaggeration to get his point across. This is obviously again the case here. No one seriously believes this Command is to be obeyed literally. None of Jesus' own disciples, to our knowledge, obeyed this Command as it stands, nor did Jesus expect them to. From The Commands b…

The Commands of Jesus seem to come in two broad categories: Those that are straightforward and relatively simple to obey...and those that are impossible to obey. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands …

There are fewer more perplexing, misunderstood, misappropriated Commands in the Gospel than this. How many disappointments have been based on grandiose prayers for healing, for financial provision, for restored relationships, and for thousands of other good and worthy things... that have not happened? We have all experienced the ache, frustration, …

It is sometimes difficult to know how to live in the practical reality of Jesus' admonition in the latter half of Matthew 6: Consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. They neither sow nor reap, yet your heavenly father cares for them. So don't worry about what you shall eat or drink. We are all familiar with his words. But do they …

Jesus does not stop with commanding belief in general, not even belief in God. He zeroes in with yet more precision and specificity by also commanding belief in him. This further dismisses the notion that Christianity may be equated with being a kind person and trying to do good in the world. Those are good things. But they are not Christianity. Fr…

We find ourselves looking at a series of Commands subject to widely varied interpretation as we attempt to navigate the conundrum between the temporal and spiritual components of the Christian life - Love God, Love man... Give to the poor, Believe. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar …

From probably the most down-to-earth, if we may even phrase it thus, a most unspiritual among Jesus' Commands, we turn to one of the most spiritual: Believe. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and …

Observe how much of Jesus' time was spent among the infirm, sick, destitute, crippled, blind, and demon-possessed. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.…

Imbalance has always been the Achilles heel of Christianity. It might truly be said that imbalance in following the Commands of Jesus is responsible for the greater share of the unbelief in the world. Does anyone doubt that if every Command of Jesus had been sacrificially lived by his followers, not only would the world have been largely converted …

The first command Jesus issued specifically to his disciples is found in a simple but life-altering challenge: Follow Me. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.…

Most are familiar with the tradition behind Jesus' words in the above passage. Many sermon illustrations have explained the right of Roman soldiers in Palestine to compel any citizen to carry their equipment for a mile. To enforce the practicality of the life he would have his hearers lead, Jesus said to carry the burden two miles instead. From The…

Humility in our day has fallen on hard times. Such can be said for most of the attributes of Christlikeness. But humility is especially embattled. The contrast between the world's perspective and that of Jesus is drawn with yet starker clarity when we substitute the word Jesus used to describe humility--meekness. From The Commands by Michael Philli…

The Sermon on the Mount is astonishing on many levels. In three succinct chapters, Jesus outlined a revolutionary new morality which was henceforth intended to visibly characterize the life lived and the attitudes held by those who would call themselves his followers. From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information …