Turns out humans separated from God are not the super-beings we would like to be. Curved in on ourselves we become black holes of selfishness, draining the life from everything around us as we ourselves have lost God’s life within us.   The symbol of Christianity is a cross. It may look shiny and perfectly... Continue Reading

Those who advocate for earlier business re-opening are often accused of devaluing human life. Yet, on April 16, the United Nations warned that the economic downturn would cause tens of millions to fall into extreme poverty and that hundreds of thousands of children could die.   “First, do no harm.” It’s a saying almost as... Continue Reading

At the root of covetousness, jealousy, and envy is pride. Pride lay at the root of our first parents’ sin, and it continues to be the root of all of our sin. When we feel as though we deserve better, we think what we want, say what we want, take what we want, and do... Continue Reading

Of all people, it may be of some interest to see how John Calvin (1509–1564) answered this question because he, in the minds of many, was a theologian of God’s wrath. While he certainly emphasized divine wrath, he (against some modern expectations) prioritized God’s love for humanity before wrath—indeed, for Calvin, passages about God’s wrath... Continue Reading

Grace H. Knapp, another missionary at Van, wrote about her friend: “Mrs. Ussher literally laid down her life—not for her friends in the earthly sense of that word—but for members of the race that shortly before had threatened her, and all those that she loved, with a merciless death.   In 1915, the buildings belonging... Continue Reading

As a reminder of this promise—a ‘sign of the covenant’ (Gen 9.12), God put a rainbow in the sky. We don’t know if this was the first time a rainbow had ever appeared in the sky or not, but it doesn’t really matter. God usually took things that already existed to be covenant signs, filling... Continue Reading

Too many pastors are textual acrobats, contorting their preaching to avoid Scripture’s sharper edges. Such preachers have become adept at explaining away angular texts and dodging confrontational verses. On the contrary, the preacher’s charge is clear: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort with great patience and... Continue Reading

Eschatology is not a topic that should be reserved for theologians or scholars. It is a topic for every Christian, and, for that matter, every person. We all live in a dark world. And there is no message more relevant to those living in a dark world than a message about how that world will... Continue Reading

This crisis is a great opportunity for believers to think afresh about what it means to be distinctly Christian every day of the week, in every aspect of life. What does it look like to be noticeably Christian in a world where the previously most conspicuous thing about faith identity—going to church—is gone?   One... Continue Reading

The struggles we sometimes experience in prayer are often part of the process by which God gradually brings us to ask for only what He has promised to give. The struggle is not our wrestling to bring Him to give us what we desire, but our wrestling with His Word until we are illuminated and... Continue Reading