What we behold shapes us. Our allegiance must therefore be pure and undivided. The call to holiness is ultimately the call to imitate God. Jesus commands, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Peter echoes this command: “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16). We are to... Continue Reading

When we look backward, we often do so wondering whether or not God has been faithful. When we feel that sense of loss, we begin to question whether or not He has actually faithfully provided. Or sustained. Or guarded. Or strengthened. But what if we changed our lenses?     The type of lens makes... Continue Reading

In spite of all appearances during that year of waiting in the shadows, God was not finished with Luther, and Luther was not finished with the Reformation. To quote a popular line, things were not falling apart—they were merely falling into place.      I love studying the Reformation at this season of the year.... Continue Reading

History is not random. The rise and fall of nations, the suffering and triumph of God’s people, even the opposition of God’s enemies—all of it is being woven into a tapestry that will display His glory.   If you ask a group of Christians, “What is the church for?” you’ll probably hear a variety of... Continue Reading

When our hearts were once on fire with scriptural truth and now they are not, we must realize that nothing has changed in the Bible; heaven and earth will pass away before a single letter changes in Scripture (Matt. 5:18). No, it is we who, by our sin, have quenched the Spirit and the fire... Continue Reading

Why is it that you, today, believe in Jesus? Is it because God just so happened to look down one day, notice your life spinning out of control, and enter in? Was there a point in which God was a newcomer to your life—reacting to the mess of some new situation? Or, in truth, had... Continue Reading

Family matters. Not because we’re all really cool, but because we are chosen and set apart and loved by the God who made all things and whose Son has purchased us with his own blood. That’s a good place to start.     Part 1: The Call  In the second stanza of Psalm 16, David... Continue Reading

John, in His Gospel account, lays out for us a divinely-inspired expression of the Son in similar fashion of overlapping, defining description. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1–2). Try to develop a graphic that captures... Continue Reading

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15).     This... Continue Reading

Christians, separated as they are from one another across a variety of denominations and splinter groups, nevertheless generally agree that more unity would be a good thing. While we value the spiritual oneness we have in Christ irrespective of different labels and groupings, Scripture is clear that this spiritual oneness should be reflected in visible... Continue Reading