People are hurting. Christians are no exception. The last year, for many, has felt more like running a gauntlet than running a race. With a global pandemic, racial unrest, political upheaval, the word “unprecedented” has been worn thin in media commentary. And these...
I have now been a pastor for almost 20 years. In a year in which a mounting list of issues threaten the peace of society in the West, and the peace of individual churches as well, I have grown to appreciate mature, peace-making Christians. Such men and women, whether...
“I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required” (Philemon 8). Corrie Ten Boom, the famous Dutch Christian who helped to hide Jews in her home during the Holocaust, tells of how difficult it was for her to forgive the man who betrayed her family to...
These are strange, sad times we live in, and a perfect season for the glory of the Christian gospel and the light of Christ’s church to shine brighter than ever before. But how? While countless headlines and speeches declare the value of every human life— in the midst...
Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with...
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Genesis...
2 Thessalonians 3:3-5, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and...
Imagine a woman named Jane (a person you’ve never met). She is a mature and growing Christian who loves Jesus, gives wise counsel, and helps others come to know more about Jesus…but she does not pray, read her Bible, or go to church. What did you think as I describe...
I’ve been preaching through Ruth at my church, and have been struck all over again by the godly namesake of this book. Ruth is one of the great heroes of the Old Testament, and the New. She is a lioness of faith and fortitude. And she still has many lessons to teach...
"Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of...
The longer I pastor (almost 20 years now), the more I appreciate pastors. The long and often unscheduled hours, the heart-labor of counseling and visitation, the prayerful sermon prep that you hope will change lives forever each Sunday. No experienced pastor is too...
One of Charles Wesley's most well-known and loved hymns is O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing. The opening stanzas are striking, memorable, and packed with theological realities. O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and...
“Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight”(Exodus 33:13). I get chill bumps every time I read this verse. Partly because of the surrounding context: in the verse before,...
In his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul gives this warning: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7). This is both sobering and illuminating. While God is the God of grace, we cannot expect to live...
There are countless emotional obstacles that keep us from freely praying to God each day and moment by moment. But there is one overriding reason, Paul says, for you to fight through and go to God in prayer: the Holy Spirit himself is the one beckoning you, drawing...