It seems to me that being dressed for the feast is being dressed in honor of the Son, not for your own honor. It is to be humbled before the invitation to repent and believe the good news. The invitation goes out to all the world, but those who are chosen are dressed for the... Continue Reading

A theory, developed by Stephen Hawking, that the early universe existed in all possible quantum states at once, and our presence today retroactively “selected” the life-friendly path. The leap of faith: This relies on a speculative interpretation of quantum physics that assumes present observers caused past history billions of years ago.   When I was in... Continue Reading

In the New Testament, God promises wisdom to all who earnestly seek it. Wisdom is not just the ability to ‘see around the corners of life,’ but rather the ability to live in light of what is true and good. Thus, there is no true wisdom apart from knowledge of God. Proverbs explains that wisdom... Continue Reading

The Father perfectly knows the thoughts of the Spirit who intercedes for us according to God’s will. The Spirit’s requests, which reflect Jesus’ good plans for his saints, always come to the Father perfectly intact, untainted by human sin or limitations. In other words, the Christian’s prayers will always turn out for the best not... Continue Reading

There was once a dying man who had no time to do any of it. No confession to a priest, no Communion, no pilgrimage, no works of mercy. He was a criminal nailed to a cross, and all he could do was ask Jesus to remember him. And Jesus answered him, “Truly, I say to... Continue Reading

To grumble is to be deceived. Grumbling is a muttering meditation on the dis-trustfulness of God (which is where the deception comes in, because God is always trustworthy). Grumbling is the opposite of Psalm 1: The grumbler forgets about the law of the Lord and meditates on his own discomfort and the failures of others... Continue Reading

Perhaps the evidence of God’s work in your life isn’t that you never fell apart. Maybe it’s that, when you did, you still knew where to go. You don’t have to multiply the bread. You don’t have to manufacture spiritual strength you don’t possess, and you don’t have to pretend your arms aren’t tired. Bring... Continue Reading

Some suggest that a Christian can attend a same-sex ceremony merely as a “spectator” or a “well-wisher” of the individuals rather than a ratifier of the institution. This is to introduce a fatal logical contradiction. This defense attempts to separate the person from the event, but under closer theological and linguistic scrutiny, the logic completely... Continue Reading

In our fast-paced, instant-gratification world where waiting an extra 10 seconds for our video to load seems like an eternity, the difficult ministry of making disciples seems antiquated, unproductive, and inefficient. Similar to parenting, the daily grind seems endless even as the behaviour of our children seems to be regressing. The harder we try, the... Continue Reading

In surveying the historical context of the Westminster Confession, we are given fresh reasons to praise the sovereignty and wisdom of our God. What arose out of a period of political and religious division, God has used as one of the most unifying theological confessions in the world. Today there are men and women, boys... Continue Reading

Covenants operate on a series of promises and conditions. The parties enter into some sort of agreement, ratify the agreement, and agree on stipulated outcomes if the covenanting parties uphold their agreement, or if they fail to do so. In other words (to use biblical language), there are promised blessings for covenantal obedience, and promised... Continue Reading

Nicene Creed is the one Creed that all Christians agree on, even if they do not confess it as a Creed in their local settings. That would not surprise the members of the Council of Nicaea, since they simply believed the Creed was the same faith that all Christians up till that time confessed. The... Continue Reading

Communion is a whole church gathering event.  Not home groups.  Not family groups, not for groups of friends.  To share communion like that is actually a denial of what communion symbolises. But we also need to guard against becoming too familiar with this meal and its symbolism. There’s a danger of that happening for us... Continue Reading

When we suffer, we can—and should—cry out to our sovereign God to relieve our pain and remove the source of our suffering. But God did not answer Paul’s prayer in the way Paul expected. Sometimes we think that if we do not receive a specific answer from God in the time we want, God is... Continue Reading

Paul the apostle could have become the greatest teacher and leader in the religious/political life of his own Jewish people, but he said, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”... Continue Reading

I am not told to bear it alone, but rather to cast it into stronger arms. Arms that never tire. Strength that never wanes. He is the Rock. He is the true bearer of burdens. Christ is the man who has borne the heaviest thing. He has borne our sins in His own body on... Continue Reading

When Christ commissions Paul, he tells Ananias exactly what Paul’s ministry will involve: “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Notice that: kings. From the beginning, Paul’s calling was to bring the name of Jesus Christ to those who... Continue Reading

Just as we were not created to be alone, we were not saved to be alone. The issue that Paul was dealing with in the Corinthian church was not an issue of some members neglecting the local gathering, but what he tells them in correction of their problem applies to this one as well. One... Continue Reading

Understanding the history of human societies is part of God’s design for how we tend and keep his creation and fill the earth with civilization that glorifies him. And this understanding isn’t limited to professional historians. The Bible calls us all to do the priestly work of stewarding the past. On the one hand, this... Continue Reading

Paul connects truthfulness with our new identity in Christ: “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another” (Ephesians 4:25). Similarly, he writes, “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3:9).  ... Continue Reading