It’s a name that we’ve been given, not because we earned it, but because we were adopted into a family. It’s a name that defines who we are. And it’s a name we already have, not one we are trying to earn. It’s the name that is above every name, and the name at which... Continue Reading

The Bible only acknowledges separation of body and soul at one point in life: death. In the end every Babelish expression of bending technology to our will is to escape the awful reality of that ultimate separation. Yet that won’t stop us trying for new Babels as newer and more integrated bricks and mortar become... Continue Reading

We should be careful that we are not merely ‘whitewashed tombs’, that appear godly and righteous to the church, but have hearts full of pomposity and pride (Matt 23:27). Such hearts are ripe for judgmentalism, devoid of grace, and empty of true virtue; underneath my signals of holiness is the assumption that I consider myself... Continue Reading

We naturally tend to focus on the “Mount Moriah” moments of our faith—the dramatic crises, the agonizing tests, the miraculous, last-second rescues. But Genesis 22 reminds us that the God who intervenes in the earthquake and the fire is also the God who works in the quiet, mundane, invisible details of family trees and distant... Continue Reading

“The doctrine of justification by faith is one of the most majestic and comforting doctrines in the Scriptures, but it never appears alone in the life of the Christian. The work of progressive sanctification, a grace of equal beauty, always accompanies it.” Paul Washer   The second half of Hebrews 12:14 says that “without holiness... Continue Reading

Too many American Christians have a bias against formal Bible translations, theological texts (such as old catechisms), and hymns. These were great crowning achievements of the Protestant world. Now they’re perceived as too stuffy and churchy, and we mock them or even imply that they send people to Hell, because people don’t find them “relatable”... Continue Reading

The tabernacle texts show the Lord is not only a king who is holy but also a king who desires to be with his people. This is the very reason he gives for the building of the tabernacle: “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst  ” (Ex. 25:8). As noted... Continue Reading

God desires Christian fathers to be fair by taking the time to know, develop, and celebrate each child’s particular gifts, limitations, and personality. He desires us to demonstrate flexibility by listening carefully and then nurturing patiently while directing the child toward proper action. God wants us to be fathers who firmly correct by gently but... Continue Reading

Annihilationism dethrones Christ’s sufficiency to satisfy God’s wrath at the same time that it questions the integrity and goodness of God’s law. If, as annihilationists will eventually have to say, God’s wrath is harsh and unmerciful, then no one needs the blood of Christ to satisfy it. Annihilationists pose man as more merciful than God.  ... Continue Reading

Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all (Prov 22:2). Nowhere does the moral demand of justice require economic equality. The very sense of justice that all humans have results from being created in God’s image. His nature is the source of all true understanding of justice. Yet,... Continue Reading