It’s hard for us today to conceive how the arguments in favor of slavery could have gained ground in the church, but they did. Some justified it on the basis of presumed lesser intellectual capacities of the Africans, and went as far as saying that slavery was an improvement of their condition. But every man,... Continue Reading

When questions about what is right, what is good, and what is responsible are swirling above our heads like gnats, we still follow a resolute and decisive Savior. We can find, in Jesus, the absolute clarity we are longing for right now.   Certainty is in short supply these days. For weeks upon weeks, we... Continue Reading

In the greatest of ironies, a recent issue of “Harvard Magazine” has condemned parents being at home with their children all day, even while the governments across America have now required it for the past several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My efforts to recast homeschooling in a less-threatening light are rooted in two... Continue Reading

As we have seen throughout these studies, our ultimate expression of wisdom is when we bow before the Lord Jesus Christ, wisdom incarnate, and submit to his yoke. Ultimately, that is where this father is directing his son. “Pursue wisdom! Look to Christ! Pursue after him! Treasure him with all your heart! At all costs... Continue Reading

Pharaoh’s mistaken belief in his divine sovereignty must have led him to issue the edict that the firstborn males of Israel were to be killed by the Hebrew midwives (Ex. 1:16), and when this failed, he ordered the firstborn to be drowned in a river (Ex. 1:22). Not only did Pharaoh’s attempts to overcome Israel... Continue Reading

The fact that I can sit here and write words about the illusion of time and cosmic tyranny and the growth and decay of flesh means that I am at minimum very aware of the world around me and of myself.   I have been alive for 32 years. Which itself is a weird thing... Continue Reading

Now we can see clearly why Jesus referenced this small passage of wilderness Israelite history to teach Nicodemus about God’s redemption. The serpent was lifted up for those in the community to see and be saved from the plague. Jesus of course would be lifted up on the cross at Golgotha.   “Don’t waste your... Continue Reading

  The Lord is faithful in all His ways, true in all His promises. You can rest assured in the promises of the Lord for the future because your God has been faithful and true in all of His promises in the past. All that He has said He would do, He has done, is... Continue Reading

Next to Jesus, Paul may be the Bible’s best example of how to handle spiritual authority with wisdom and care. No one could accuse Paul of being weak, timid or unwilling to say hard things. But rather than writing letters filled with orders and commands (which his apostolic authority gave him the right to do),... Continue Reading

It’s clear we are all exiles. We live in a world broken by sin. And while sometimes we enter a situation of exile because of our own sinful actions, it’s at least as common if not more that the deep frustration of exile comes upon us due to the brokenness that mars all parts of... Continue Reading