Matthew, Mark, and Luke write like kayakers on a swiftly flowing river with occasional patches of white water. There’s never any doubt that they’re going where the course of the river takes them. But John is more like a canoe on a quiet lake, drifting unhurriedly, paddling leisurely to take in the sights along the […]
Proverbs 30:1-9 chronicles a conversation between the skeptic and the believer. In the skeptic, we see arrogance: “There is no God!” he states emphatically. And that arrogance leads to presumption: “I can do anything I want!” (verse 1). Arrogance closes our minds to anything outside of our own self-interest and the fulfillment of our most […]
If you look closely at the beginning of Psalm 34, you’ll find that it doesn’t say, “I am happy at all times,” but “I bless God every chance I get” (Psalm 34:1). These aren’t the words of a person whose moods are always ebullient; they’re the words of a person who has simply decided to […]
The concept of rest is central to living the Christian life. Two things happen when we rest. First, we understand where we’ve come from. And second, we understand where we’re going. When we rest, we look back and see how God has providentially led us along the way, how he has protected us and provided […]
When Paul came to Corinth, he was apprehensive, not only because of what was behind him but also because of what he feared might be ahead of him. For Paul, Corinth was a time of transition from hopelessness to hope, from bleakness to brightness, from an intractable situation to an exciting community. The first thing […]
James was concerned about the way his congregations were treating prominent people. Instead of simply welcoming them as members and inviting the to share in the church’s worship and mission, people were rushing around, fawning over the rich and famous, putting them in honored seats. And in the rush, the poor were being pushed into […]
Midway through a tactful explanation aimed at preventing misunderstanding among the Corinthians, a single word acts as a trigger to Paul’s exuberance in ministry. He is grammatically plodding along, putting his verbs and nouns in proper order; then suddenly one word quickens the pace. That word is yes. When Silas and Timothy and I proclaimed […]
In the first century, in the city of Colosse in Asia Minor, there lived a well-to-do man named Philemon, a family man with slaves and a house that served as the regular meeting place for a church. Paul met Philemon on one of his missionary journeys and discipled him when he became a Christian. Philemon […]
Persistent Faith. In Luke 18, the widow at prayer puts the weakest and least influential people on equal footing with the recognized power figures in society. Widows in the social structure in which Jesus lived were at the absolute bottom of authority and influence. They weren’t used to being listened to by anyone of rank. […]
The death of Jesus on the cross can be understood and accounted for easily enough on a physical and historical level. But the salvation Jesus accomplished on the cross cannot be. And it is this accomplished salvation, not a coroner’s autopsy of the death, that brings us back to the cross over and over again. […]