Father of the Inklings

The cross has become the essential symbol of Christianity. It was not so, however, when Jesus spoke these words.   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.

There are many "firsts" in the Gospel story -- the first disciples called, the first command, the first sermon, the first Follow me, etc. We have noted some of these as we have progressed through the Commands. One of the most instructive such firsts occurs in Matthew 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael K...

This is a very interesting and seriously convicting command. And one mostly ignored by the vast majority of Christendom's churches.   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.

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 Michael Phillips.

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?   From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Mich...

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 on this and similar writings may be found at  Fat...

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 and other books by Michael Phillips.

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 by what Jesus calls the "traditions of the elders"...

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 and other books by Michael Phillips.

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  to purchase The Commands and other books by...

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 of the deeper meaning in the parable, however, the...

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 other books by Michael Phillips.

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 this and similar writings may be found at  Fath...

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 Kimball. More information on this and similar writ...

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 Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More informat...

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 with "belief"; For God so loved the world that he...

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 of its manifestations to the exclusion of many ot...

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 Kimball. More information on this and similar wr...

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.   From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by...

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 be found at  Father of the Inklings . Visit  Ama...

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 information on this and similar writings may be found at...

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 was the greatest." Jesus had nailed them, and they...

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 Michael Kimball. More information on this and simil...

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 information on this and similar writings may be found at...

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 and similar writings may be found at  Father of th...