Can I Get A Witness?
I am not the light, but I take great delight in bearing witness about the light.
There is only one God-made-flesh, and we have the joy of celebrating him this Christmas. Because he put on flesh, we can be transformed by him. Because the light shines in the darkness, our dark hearts can be illuminated. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He and no other. And we... Continue Reading
Christ and the Spirit in Christian Theology and Devotion
Every work of the Triune God is accomplished from the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit.
Because the Advent season is upon us, it is particularly fitting to focus on the fact that the Holy Spirit glorified Christ by bringing to completion the miracle of the incarnation. When the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is going to conceive in her womb and bear the promised Messiah, she wonders how... Continue Reading
Let Us Worship the Divine Priest-King: An Advent Meditation from Hebrews
Only God is the creator of the universe, and thus Jesus is not only the king but also very God of very God, the maker of all things.
Jesus shares the very nature and being of God, sharing the same divine essence. Thus, we are not surprised to read in his citation of Hebrews 1:8 that Jesus is identified as God, and since he is God the angels worship him (Heb. 1:6). We know that only God is to be worshiped (Rev. 19:10; 22:9), and... Continue Reading
How the Manger Mocks Death
Mocking death reveals a confidence in Christ’s incarnation and resurrection.
The confidence in facing death comes from our union with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. As the God-man, Christ’s victories become our victories through faith. When the shepherds bowed before the babe lying in a manger, they weren’t bowing to a mere earthly king who would scourge their physical enemies. Even though they... Continue Reading
Mary’s Magnificat: The Wait is Over
Today, we do not wait for the Messiah to bring salvation. We wait for the Messiah to return, when He will reveal Himself fully as King and restorer of all creation.
Mary accepted her role in this event with a particular grace and humility. Her expression of worship is amplified by her example of radical self-sacrifice. Not only did she consent to the shame of an unexpected pregnancy or the challenge of an unexpected baby, the prophet Simeon told her that “a sword will pierce through your... Continue Reading
Celebrating Christmas with Jesus Himself
As we enter this Christmas season, our minds immediately go to the manger, but Luke starts the story by telling us of a man and woman stricken in years.
This spiritual stagnation causes Christmas to pass us by without spending time with our Savior, neglecting the very one we are celebrating. Many of us will enjoy the warmth and merriment of the holiday, yet even for us believers, our celebration will lack its spiritual significance because the joy of our salvation has grown dim. Perhaps... Continue Reading
The God of Light
God is the great, steadfast, immoveable light that shines behind and through this world.
God as light gives us truth. And he gives us the warmth of his self-conforming love. But he is also the most beautiful and the source of all the beauty we see around us. That God is the most beautiful might not strike us as clearly biblical in terms of the language, but “for the... Continue Reading
God in the Manger
God in the manger is powerfully strange, and earthily domestic.
He came to be with the world despite our hatred of him, he came to dwell in you before you loved him. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4). God arriving in a manger teaches us his character and his disposition. He is a God of gift. He gives. That’s what he... Continue Reading
The Light of Christ in a World of Darkness
God Must Lead Us to the Light
Jesus came into the world to transform us by leading us out of the darkness of self-serving falsehood and into the light of God’s true purpose. And this demands a personal and life-transforming response: Trust Jesus Christ to secure your forgiveness with God and lead you in righteousness for His glory. Divest yourself of control... Continue Reading
Putting the Pieces in Place
In the present, however, we don’t usually have the big picture.
It can be hard to understand why certain things are happening, or even to remember that there is a big picture. But recalling how God has worked in the past, whether in our lives or in the lives of others, gives us hope for the present and future. It helps us to trust that, even... Continue Reading
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