It would have been a strange thing if Lazarus had not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave him life was at his house, would have been ungrateful indeed. We too were once... Continue Reading

In sum, our entire soul, entangled in the enticements of the flesh, seeks its happiness on earth. In order to resist this wickedness, the Lord teaches his people about the emptiness of this present life through constant lessons in suffering. Thus, so that His people don’t promise themselves lofty and untroubled peace in this life, He... Continue Reading

The ministry of the Apostles as Christ’s “sent ones” flows out of the deeper reality that Christ Himself is the One “sent” by the Father from heaven to be our incarnate Redeemer (Mark 9:37). In that sense, the author of Hebrews writes, Jesus is “the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Heb. 3:1). Being... Continue Reading

There has been some triumph amidst all the sorrow, some heroism amidst all the pain, some bold decision-making amidst all the uncertainty. But so far the great story of COVID-19 is not one of wisdom or accomplishment or the triumph of the human spirit. The great story has been our lack of knowledge, our lack... Continue Reading

In the world of the serpent, the morning stars sing a dirge, the hosts of heaven murmur, and creation only groans beneath the dictatorship of the Almighty Ruler. In such a world, Adam and Eve had only two options. They could, like the prodigal, disobey their God and run from their Father’s garden. Or they could,... Continue Reading

Think now of the sinfulness of the sins which our gracious God has pardoned. Some sins are planned and deliberated on, and each plotting and devising entails sin. Some sins are swarming with many other sins. Some sins are proud, wanton, cruel, blasphemous, and impudent. Some are repeated. Some are aggravated and persisted in. Yet,... Continue Reading

What’s it like when we can’t breathe? We panic. We flail. We make poor decisions out of desperation. We feel alone, woefully inadequate. Certainly, our God meets us at times such as these. He tells not to fear. He assures us He will not abandon us but be present with us. He offers His help, reminding... Continue Reading

Without the pure preaching of the gospel a congregation is not an oasis. It is only a mirage, which has nothing to offer the pilgrim but more heat and sand when what the sojourner needs is relief from the heat and the water of life. This is a basic point and obvious but it bears... Continue Reading

In Christ, the virtuous man is one who has been renewed in Faith, Hope, and Love and can think according to the Wisdom of God, act with the Courage of the Spirit, and Temper his appetites unto the Beauty of Christ. It is no accident that David, the man after God’s own heart, was architect,... Continue Reading

God loves you enough to cause you to suffer loss—all different types of loss—in order that you may see that Jesus is truly better than anything in the world. Paul had a lot going for him in his previous life in Judaism. He had a lot of “gain” (“whatever gain I had…”). But at conversion,... Continue Reading