Worship and Service of Creation
Why is nature so beautiful, so powerful? Why do we respond to it as we do?
“According to Scripture, what people are perceiving at a deep level, as they derive reassurance from Nature, is the stunningly reassuring work of a personal Creator. Without engaging in any conscious thought, human beings sense that they live in a beautiful, intelligent and moral universe.” It is easy to read what Paul says in... Continue Reading
An Inexhaustible Fountain of Goodness
Our generous God uses everything, even the hard things, to remake his people in His image
“From the abundance of his generosity, God grows mushrooms to feed squirrels and saplings to feed deer. He provides earthworms for robins and mice for foxes. The greens I grow in my garden come from his goodness, too.” The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.... Continue Reading
Trusting God Enough to Lament
God wants us to cry out first and foremost to him. He wants us to complain to him. He wants us to lament to him.
In this way, the Psalms show us a powerful reversal of the way we typically think about lament. We often assume that lament implies doubt. But in truth, lament is actually an act of faith. The person to whom you complain is the person you trust. Sometimes we complain to people because we know they’ll... Continue Reading
No Thank You, Aquinas: Women Are Not Misbegotten
According to Aquinas, a woman’s role as “helper” only has to do with her reproductive function, since pretty much anything else can be done better by a man
Aquinas goes on to say some other things about women that are less objectionable, and he does better when he makes his appeal to scripture rather than Aristotle. Nevertheless, the presence of so many problematic ideas in such an influential work of theology could go a long way to explaining how they have seeped down... Continue Reading
We’ve Lost Our Vocabulary of Wonder About Heaven
God tells us to set our minds not primarily on this life, but on the person we were made for, Jesus, and the place we were made for: Heaven
Scripture tells us “we are looking forward to a new heavens and new earth [redeemed universe] in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). The problem is, many believers are not looking forward to a new heavens and New Earth! They imagine this present life is the real life, their only opportunity to experience everything on... Continue Reading
Parenting is Love, Not War
PARENTING = BATTLE metaphor is one we should be particular skeptical of
Given that God uses the metaphor of a parent (father and mother) and child to illuminate His relationship with us, the PARENTING = BATTLE metaphor is one we should be particular skeptical of. As Christians, we are no longer at war with God. As Reformed believers, we believe our children are part of the covenant... Continue Reading
You Might Be a Pharisee If . . .
God’s people need to break the habit of “playing the Pharisee card”—particularly to deflect confrontation or dismiss a rebuke
Modern Pharisees do exist. But applying that label in a careless and reckless manner often ends up striking at the wrong target. And sometimes the real Pharisees end up being the ones who hypocritically use the pejorative against others. Scripture teaches us enough to readily identify Pharisees and pharisaical culture in modern churches. Even so,... Continue Reading
Whose Dream Are You Living For?
If we have expectations that life should be easy or always go our way, we will certainly be disappointed.
Though Scripture contains many promises that give parents great hope their children will follow him, it doesn’t guarantee a painless pleasure cruise. The Bible has many promises that believers will experience deep joy, peace and contentment in him. And following Jesus as a disciple is the only path to true and lasting joy. Yet we will... Continue Reading
Does Jeremiah 29 Call Us to Seek the Welfare of the City?
Contrary to the way it is used by some today, this verse has no relevance at all to the question of the priority of reaching cities over other places.
I’ve been astonished by people I’ve heard who make an argument from Jeremiah 29:7 like this:They note that that word ‘welfare’ is the Hebrew word shalom, which has a wide possible range of meanings—it covers physical, emotional, spiritual and financial peace and prosperity. They then assume that it has all those meanings here, and so... Continue Reading
Is It True to the Book?
When it comes to God, it's as though we think He doesn't care if He is misrepresented as long as He can reach a wider audience from the big screen or The New York Times' bestseller list
There were very serious consequences for misrepresenting God in the Bible because false representation led to false worship of a false god. If you take “Is it true to the Book?” seriously, then you also run smack into the 2nd commandment. (Ex. 20:4-6) The law in general gets a bad rap these days, as though... Continue Reading