In Ephesians 1:21-23, Paul declares that Christ has won a victory and now reigns over “all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” In Christ, God completed his plan of uniting heaven and earth (1:10) by... Continue Reading

To wave sinful identity banners in pride is to miss the very point on the tip of the nail that went through Jesus’ willing hands. Labeling ourselves with the things that God hates is to hate God himself. We are to count his cost, not just our own.While we may think our sins aren’t harming... Continue Reading

We are, of course, not the first to ponder the meaning of life, so we would be foolish not to consider how those who preceded us have struggled with this question. Perhaps the most renowned effort to locate meaning in a world without God is represented by atheistic existentialist philosophy. Existentialism powerfully captures the emotions... Continue Reading

In the midst of the exile, when God’s vine has been all but destroyed, they pray for God to raise up a root of dry ground. It reminds us of Isaiah, where just after the vineyard is destroyed in Isaiah 5, a stump remains in Isaiah 6, from which a shoot will come forth in... Continue Reading

Does foul language adorn the Gospel? Does slandering opponents help anyone see the Gospel? Does misrepresenting a point of view help persuade people of the Christian faith? If you lob muck at people over the trenches, don’t be surprised if they grow it back in your face…and it sticks. And the anonymous voice? Don’t do... Continue Reading

Paul explains that our understanding of these other things is partial. This is easier to see if we print verses 9, 10 & 12 without verse 11 (which we’ll get to next). For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. … For now... Continue Reading

To see my salvation realized. To hear the judgement call sound forth, “Righteous!” To hear the words, “Well done,” and to know its significance. To finally enter into the rest that I so long for now. Finally home.     I long for the inheritance untouched by corruption. The sweet unbroken fellowship between God and... Continue Reading

Jesus accused the religious leaders of using their generosity as an excuse for dodging God’s call to righteous living, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without... Continue Reading

While the wilderness does not change Who the Lord is, it can absolutely change how we perceive His nearness and nature. And because of that, we are dangerously prone to trusting our feelings about Him over the truth of Him.   If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you know that I’ve... Continue Reading

We can become so accustomed to hearing biblical truth that we stop being confronted by it. The Bible becomes something we teach rather than something that teaches us. The sermon becomes something we evaluate rather than something that searches us. The passage becomes something we explain rather than something we obey.   Last Sunday our... Continue Reading

One of the most important ways Christians must be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within them is by making the case for marriage. Marriage as God intended has always been one of the best gifts we can give to the wider world.   The old joke, that “whoever said marriage... Continue Reading

We need not run from suffering or lose hope if God doesn’t remove it or do so as quickly as we’d like. We can trust that God has a purpose for whatever He permits.   A Jesus-loving young friend who is going through deep suffering sent me these wonderful words: “I pray God just keeps... Continue Reading

Science and religion should complement each other, not be enemies. God has given us a world to explore, and He has also revealed things in the Bible we could never discover by ourselves.   Isn’t the Bible really big and hard to understand? Well, yes, the Bible is a big book. I know it can... Continue Reading

Notwithstanding their personal flaws, each of the judges, by virtue of his or her calling and office, was a type or picture prophecy of Christ as the ideal Judge/Deliverer who was coming.   The setting of the book of Judges is all too familiar. It was a world marked by religious apostasy and pluralism, civil... Continue Reading

We can have joy as we pursue holiness because we know, despite our ups and downs, the Spirit is working through us to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ.    One thing you will hear at least once in your life as a Christian is this: “Christianity is so restricting; it’s so boring;... Continue Reading

We grow in holiness because the Son has gifted us His Holy Spirit to indwell us, energize our souls, and to cause us to will and to do of His good pleasure.   Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, “You shall be holy, for I the LORD... Continue Reading

On the doctrine of justification, the doctrine of how a sinner is made right with God, two anathemas now stand in the historical record, pointing in opposite directions.   In the year 2000, Rome’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, published a declaration called Dominus Iesus. It was signed by Cardinal... Continue Reading

The Democratic candidates are long on quoting Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, but they will have nothing to do with the rest of the New Testament. Their theological liberalism comes to the fore the moment you talk about the Apostle Paul’s teachings on homosexuality. At that point, their liberalism goes into overdrive and... Continue Reading

Theology is paramount. It is the mind and heart’s action of bending toward God as a plant leans toward the light.   It is two o’clock in the morning. A Christian man stands in a hospital hallway as his wife lies asleep in the room behind him. He’s holding a cup of coffee in his... Continue Reading

God wants you to understand that He knows better than you what is good for you, that He is much wiser and more powerful than you, that He promises to look out for you and give you what is best for you. And God wants you to choose to follow Him because you love Him... Continue Reading