You take your ordinariness, your ‘nothing special,’ and you give it wholly to God for Him to use as He wills. There is nothing in you of value in itself, and yet you may set yourself apart and place yourself entirely in His hands. If the mercies of God are the reason we respond, what... Continue Reading

I have marked the words “ordinary” and “insignificant” because it is clear from the records that this is not how Jesus regarded such people. Again and again he gave them his attention. He listened to them. He helped them. Mind you, my category of powerless and low-status people is problematic. Jesus was not a social... Continue Reading

In Matthew 9, Jesus was busy traveling throughout the region, teaching, preaching, and healing everyone who came to Him. Understandably, crowds followed Him everywhere, and “when he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). That’s when Jesus gave a prayer instruction... Continue Reading

Jesus lays out the pattern for greatness in the kingdom. “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is... Continue Reading

This cultural moment has conditioned us to want tangible rewards. But raising children, loving our spouses, and serving our local church—none of these provide a linear view of progress or accomplishment. Yet God has promised that He is doing His eternal work in and through us (Phil. 2:12–13). The unrecognized spheres in which we serve... Continue Reading

We must again reckon with our consciences—with the inescapable conviction that certain things are real, and therefore universally true, regardless of how we feel about them. If they’re true for everyone, then the loving thing is to have the courage to seek them, live according to them, and call everyone to do the same, especially... Continue Reading

We want to be noticed for what we have done, but impatient faith that is not focused on God is no faith at all. It can only yield humanistic fruit, the fruit of the flesh that Paul describes. To wait is to understand your place. To wait is to realize who the great God of... Continue Reading

When He was tempted, He never faltered. He never gave in. When He was tired, and hungry, the devil came and tried to turn His head. But Christ was victorious. When He dealt with His mother and unbelieving brothers, He was without sin. When He flipped tables and cracked the whip, He never sinned. The... Continue Reading

You may have asked yourself at some time: “If all the unbelieving world is deceived, how may I know that I am not?”  That is a good question; and you have several very strong “pillars” to support you.  Principal among them is your Christ, the One who has united your humanity to His divinity, and... Continue Reading

There is only one escape—to ask God to fill you with new affections, his loves. For forever joy and peace, it’s wise to nurture new and better loves in the here and now. God alone is the source of all that is true, good and beautiful, and as fallen creatures, we need his loving hands... Continue Reading