Psalm 122 doesn’t tell you how you should interpret news from the Middle East. It describes how you should think about and live in the church.   Psalm 122 calls people to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” and to seek her good (6, 9). Is the Psalm calling us to be politically pro-Israel, as some... Continue Reading

To serve our own generation is not a single action, done at once, and over for ever; it is to continue to serve all our life. Notice well that David served “his own generation”; not only a part of it, but the whole of it. He began to serve God, and he kept on serving... Continue Reading

This prayer—”break the teeth of the wicked”—is not an invitation to hate. It is a request for God to judge justly. In Scripture, teeth represent power and predation (cf. Psalm 57:4; Proverbs 30:14). To “break the teeth” of the wicked is to render their violence harmless. It is to remove the sting and bite of... Continue Reading

Even if we can’t see anything good in the tragic event that triggered our grief, turning to God means that we are headed in the right direction. Pain has the potential to stimulate growth in our relationship with God, since it often reawakens us to eternal realities. In this way, God can use our sorrow... Continue Reading

Many of us have fears, and those fears impact our decisions, our lives, and our activities. Paul here calls God’s people – the church of Corinth, to separate from each and every thing that defiles (ruins) the reality of their status as God’s holy temple. While separating from all that defiles, the byproduct of obedience... Continue Reading

Within the Bible’s covenantal storyline, which Jesus knows well, he can confidently center his disciples’ faith in him precisely because he knows he is the divine Son. No doubt, the New Testament presents Jesus as a model of faith for us, but before we can model our faith after Jesus, Scripture commands us to trust... Continue Reading

As the Church confessed Christ as the only begotten divine Son of the Father, the Church rightly explained all that Scripture taught, namely that Jesus is Lord and Savior because he is God the Son incarnate. Although, the Nicene Creed employed a slightly different language to explain who Jesus is, such as homoousios (although most of it was directly from Scripture),... Continue Reading

Take heart, brothers and sisters. When the fears and doubts come rushing in. When the future looks bleak. The Lord knows where you are. The Lord sees your work for him. And the Lord isn’t finished with you yet.   It would be easy to think that the Apostle Paul never had the sort of... Continue Reading

I don’t want people to try to find shelter in a false God of their own making: a God who is gentle and lowly and nothing else. God is everything He says He is. And He has given His only Son to save sinners from His righteous wrath.   It has been rightly highlighted in... Continue Reading

Lady Wisdom is lonely, while Lady Folly feeds on us all. But at the same time, this passage has a seed of hope. It is filled with longing to find and know true wisdom, undefiled by sin. In a way, this passage longs for Christ, in whom “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and... Continue Reading