Instead of allowing the hard providences of our life to dictate an unhealthy, even sinful response, may we instead remember that God’s love for His children will always govern how He orchestrates our lives.    Where has life taken you? What are the watershed moments of your life that seem to have defined the path... Continue Reading

 The good we do does not go unnoticed.   Sometimes we do a good deed and it is never acknowledged. We show kindness to family and work associates and it’s as though “thank you” isn’t in their vocabulary. Someone asks for our honest opinion and resents us for having given it. Someone is hurting, someone... Continue Reading

When we come together for worship, we join together on the heavenly “Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven” (Heb. 12:22–23). Such a glorious gathering, grounded in the blood of... Continue Reading

 If you read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), you must realize how far short you fall of that standard. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). How is that working for you?   A less dramatic and less dynamic antithesis than Islam... Continue Reading

We cannot allow evil to draw us into folly. To do so would be to let one act of evil multiply into many. Instead, we must show that wisdom is possible—that the disciplined spirit can still build, and that Christ’s people will not be ruled by rage but by hope. The choice is plain: the... Continue Reading

Jesus’ choice to make Himself low in order to lift you up is astonishing. We shouldn’t lose the wonder of it. He who was most high became so low they put Him in the ground, so that you who were dead in the ground could be lifted to the heavens.   There is no one... Continue Reading

Why belabor the point about Deborah? Because it is crucial to see that nothing in Deborah’s example indicates that God is now overturning the pattern of male institutional leadership among his people and that women may now hold the position of authoritative teacher and leader in the church.    In the debate over men’s and... Continue Reading

The justice of God raised against sinners is a necessary prerequisite to making the grace and mercy of God known. A sinner must not only be made aware of the fact that he is a sinner, but the divine and pure hatred of God must weigh like an albatross around his neck, threatening to pull... Continue Reading

Where will you find true endurance for the race that has been set before you?…I think there is a temptation to look at the practicality of laying aside sins and weights in our lives, that we forget to train our eyes on the source of our ability….We aren’t hoping in some self-righteousness or some better... Continue Reading

We want to seek the advice of those who have the proper attitude of meekness and who operate according to the wisdom that is from above. They are those with whom we can collaborate. They will help guide us safely through the challenges of this world.   The book of Proverbs teaches us about wisdom,... Continue Reading