O Come, Thou Day-Spring, Come and Cheer
We are a people of longing – longing for true joy, for true satisfaction, for true life.
We have many methods for escaping that longing. We drink it away, we sex it away, we work it away, we can even try to church it away – and yet it persists. The treadmill of life and the disappointment therein remains. We are longing for what only Jesus can bring, just as Israel was longing... Continue Reading
For Instruction, Doctrine, and Morals: Exegesis Not Eisegesis
In exegesis the will of Scripture is imposed upon the reader.
Exegesis reverently seeks to understand the author’s meaning in humble and courageous submission to the text of Scripture where by faith, under the enablement of the Holy Spirit, we sincerely accept the whole of Scripture as God’s self-revelation to humanity. An exegete is willingly under the text to devotedly keep fellowship with the God and... Continue Reading
Confessions of a Wandering Mom
Five Common Idols We Fight
As Augustine says, God delivers us from ourselves — from our own miserable errors. Though our sin nature draws us to worship other things, God made a way to redeem our hearts back to him, our first love, through the death of his Son. Augustine would have made a great mother. Though he was... Continue Reading
Gasparo Contarini and the End of a Dream
At Regensburg, Germany, in 1541, a colloquium was scheduled with the hope of a reconciliation between Protestants and Roman Catholics.
Well familiar with Luther’s writings and the Augsburg Confession, Contarini kept nurturing hopes that Protestants and Roman Catholics could reunite. This conviction continued after his appointment as cardinal in 1535. In fact, he used his position to address his concerns about the Roman Catholic Church, especially regarding the rampant corruption and abuses of power. His... Continue Reading
Of the Virgin’s Womb
Let’s look briefly at Isaiah 7:14 - one of the key texts that speaks of the virgin birth - and how it relates to the work of Jesus.
In Isaiah 7, the prophet Isaiah is sent to King Ahaz of Judah to instruct him to ask for a sign from God (vv. 10–11). This was to be a sign of God’s provision in the face of potential devastation from Syria and Israel. Though asking for a sign from God is often correlated with a... Continue Reading
Napalm Girl and God’s Saving Grace
In her memoir, Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace, Kim Phuc Phan Thi reveals that even amid the bombs and terror and pain she suffered, God remained steadfast.
From the moment of its publication in 1972, the “Napalm Girl” picture—originally titled “The Terror of War” — shocked the world. The iconic image captured all that is tragic, perverse, and horrifying in warfare, and its appearance in major newspapers fueled controversy about U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. So influential was this one picture,... Continue Reading
Reading the Bible for the Ten Thousandth Time
In this article we’ll explore some of the ways to combat boredom and lethargy for experienced Bible readers.
The Bible is not boring because it has a grand, explosive, eternal purpose. We read the Bible in order to know the God of the universe! We wouldn’t know him, or know how to approach him, if he didn’t tell us. And because God is infinite, we cannot exhaust our understanding of him. So, while you might... Continue Reading
An Important Discussion Parents Don’t Have with Their Kids
If we have a robust understanding of God’s design for sexuality and an awareness of what it means to be Jesus’ disciples, it’s clear that there’s no room for masturbation in the life of a Christian.
God designed sexuality to be like every other aspect of the Christian life: a turning away from selfish desires to honor God with my body and use it to serve others. Sex in Christian marriage should reflect the New Testament’s ethic in general. Describing discipleship, Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not... Continue Reading
Where Did Our Love for One Another Go?
The people of God—Christ’s blood-bought bride found in local churches across our country—should be the light on the hill with the fruit of the Spirit, standing out among such ugliness.
Where vicious words were being used by the world to tear down others, the church should be set apart as those who use words to give grace and build up in a way that fits the occasion (Eph. 4:29). Where allegations of racism were being thrown around liberally, the church should be setting the example... Continue Reading
Christopher Yuan on Living Holy in the Midst of Temptations
This book works together with Jackie Hill Perry's Gay Girl, Good God to give a remarkable picture of the power of God’s redemptive grace, the clarity of His Word, and His calling to live in sexual purity.
Christopher Yuan is that rare individual who has personally grappled with these issues in the crucible of life. Instead of reinventing theology or engaging in creative interpretation, he lives consistently with biblical beliefs even when it’s personally difficult or unpopular. In that respect, he is God’s gift to us, and I for one am profoundly... Continue Reading
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