Why do Jews today fail to see Jesus as the promised Messiah? Doesn’t this show that Jesus is not clearly portrayed in the Old Testament as we think he is? While differences in interpretation and tradition certainly shape how people read these texts, I would like to argue that, in cases like this, the reason... Continue Reading

When Jesus died on a Roman cross, he had just a few dozen followers. He’d claimed he was the great King whom God had promised to send to the Jewish people. But instead of being crowned, he’d been killed. A reasonable observer might have thought this little Jewish sect would fizzle out—extinguished like a cigarette... Continue Reading

Hearing is a natural faculty that all mankind still possesses, but the Fall bent our hearing toward idolatry. Idols are lies, and fallen mankind naturally trusts the lies. Yet when we hear the Word, God is able to open our ears so that we may receive new life. God ordinarily works through means. If we... Continue Reading

So the counselor told the king to plant four acorns. The king did, but then he fell asleep for 80 years. When he awoke, he was amazed that the four acorns he had planted had (to him) instantaneously become four fully-grown trees. He thought a miracle had occurred because to him, it had only seemed... Continue Reading

In Prov 6:1, Solomon writes to the person who has become the surety for another. He addresses the one who “put up security” and gave a pledge to repay someone else’s loan in case of default. What’s at stake for this person?     Proverbs 6:1-19 describes three kinds of fool. The first fool is... Continue Reading

When difficult days arise in our life, we will feel the sting of a world broken by sin…broken by our sin. Those days will hurt and feel quite dark and scary. We will feel like giving up. But hear the psalmist who waited on the Lord.      The intrusion of hard providences in our... Continue Reading

Minister today without regard for your exaltation. Let the Lord worry about that. Live up to what he says you are, and do not seek to be more (or less) than that.   Humility can be false in two ways. A man may think too lowly or too highly of himself. When he considers himself... Continue Reading

Christ eminently deserves the title of a “good shepherd.” He is infinite in knowledge, to discern all the necessities of His flock. He is infinite in pity and wisdom, to deal tenderly with them (see Isaiah 40:11). Good and faithful shepherds put the good of their flock ahead of even their own life. And as... Continue Reading

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment,... Continue Reading

From the beginning of time, the God of heaven and earth has declared war on all wisdom that ignores his own. He will tolerate no rivals when it comes to our trust. That’s what makes artificial intelligence such a danger to the Christian, and especially to the minister.      We need to be reminded... Continue Reading