Towards the end of each year a group of my friends and I make predictions for the coming year. I recently looked over our predictions from last December and I was struck by the fact that neither I nor any of my friends predicted Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, or Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Nothing was said about Elon Musk attempting to buy Twitter, or a leaked draft decision from the supreme court pointing toward a possible overturn of Roe vs. Wade. None of us foresaw the ba…
There is a sense as you read the Gospels that Jesus saw a lot of things that others did not. He saw hidden motives. He saw hidden needs. He saw hidden sin and hidden potential. He saw a hidden future and the hidden stratagems of the enemy as they tried vainly to change the future God had foreordained. Much of Jesus’ interactions with humanity as captured in the Gospels portray a clear-eyed Jesus addressing souls that were utterly blinded to the spiritual realities that surrounded them. An…
There is a sense as you read the Gospels that Jesus saw a lot of things that others did not. He saw hidden motives. He saw hidden needs. He saw hidden sin and hidden potential. He saw a hidden future and the hidden stratagems of the enemy as they tried vainly to change the future God had foreordained. Much of Jesus’ interactions with humanity as captured in the Gospels portray a clear-eyed Jesus addressing souls that were utterly blinded to the spiritual realities that surrounded them. An…
It was pointed out to me recently that most Mother’s Day remarks issued from Christian pulpits down through the years have been given, somewhat ironically, by men. To which I responded, “That is definitely true, but this Sunday I don’t plan to speak about motherhood as a man but rather as a son.” And, speaking as a son, mothers are, in my experience, one of the great consolations in life. What I mean by that is that life is undoubtedly terrible sometimes, but my mom is now and alway…
In the Revolutionary War a young teacher and spy for the Continental Army, named Nathan Hale, was caught by the British for spying and he was subsequently hung. His last words were “My only regret is that I have but one life to give for my country.” I remember reading that in a history book when I was a boy and being very impressed by his courage and commitment. I also remember thinking what a waste it would have been for him to die like that if, in the end, the war had been lost. I’m…
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
Over the past few years as we have been raising our children, one scripture that has repeatedly found its way into our life is Philippians 2:3. At times it has been a refrain prayed at night, other times a response to conflict between a brother and sister, and even the letters “CO” have found their way o…
As Christians we live in light of the startling claim that we believe that even though we will die we will be resurrected and live eternally. Why do we believe that? Well, chiefly, because Jesus was resurrected, and God has promised in His Word that all those who put their trust in Jesus alone for their salvation will be raised from the dead as He was raised.
The importance of the resurrection to the truth claims of Christianity cannot be overstated. If the resurrection of Jesus Chri…
Palm Sunday is when the church has traditionally remembered the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week.
What a difference a few days can make. On the Sunday before being crucified Jesus entered Jerusalem a hero, the great hope of the people, and on Friday he would leave the city condemned, rejected and despised. He had entered Jerusalem being carried on the back of a young donkey, but he would exit the city just a few days later under His own power and …
There is a revealing moment at the center point of Paul’s letter to Philemon. It comes in verse 9, “…yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus…”
Right in the middle of the letter, and right at the moment when Paul will launch into his big ask on behalf of Onesimus, Paul tells Philemon something very revealing about himself. He says that he is an “old man” and “a prisoner a…
I think one of the most eye-catching and thought-provoking things that God ever says to anyone in His word is found in Numbers 27:16-17, when He tells Moses, “Appoint a man over the congregation, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” No shepherd? What a mysterious thing for God to say! How could the congregation of the Lord be like sheep without a shepherd as long as God is on the throne? Isn’t he enoug…
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