“and he was looking for the kingdom of God.” This isn’t some throw-away line; it’s what separates Joseph from the crowd. The rest of the council was as blind as a bat. They looked right at Jesus and all His miracles and saw nothing, but Joseph saw the Messiah. Why? Because he was looking for... Continue Reading

The mistake Judah had made was to protect herself from Assyria through an alliance with Egypt. But that wasn’t God’s plan. He had liberated them from Egypt in the first place. Think about it. Judah is going back to the old slave-master, to ensure her freedom.   Scripture – especially the Old Testament – is... Continue Reading

Who is the author of our perseverance? Who is the agent of our fidelity? Who is the effective source of our sanctification? Who ensures our glorification? Well, it is not us. We don’t reach the finish line by our efforts; we don’t muscle our way to glory. It is not our behaviors that make us... Continue Reading

We laughed as we literally tore them up and got to building. Soon there would be the sound and smells of sizzling steaks and onions and we would amaze the women with our cleverness. Things started quite well. But consternation was caused by some strange screws and brackets and a gadget with electrical wires. There... Continue Reading

For us, summer may be an ideal time to enjoy and profit from reruns of the most basic texts in the Bible, such as the creation account, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, the love chapter (I Corinthians 13), or on the Blessed Hope, our Lord’s return to claim His... Continue Reading

If it’s especially bad news, what would you want? A detailed email explaining everything? A text message? Or a personal phone call in which empathy is expressed for your situation?   How does being a Christian affect our conveying bad news to someone? A deal has fallen through, a warranty won’t cover the damage, an... Continue Reading

As I considered this, I thought about how this same event will one day happen to all of us in a far greater measure. C.S Lewis points to this in his essay The Weight of Glory, where he encourages us to think about each other in a new way.   In the next couple of... Continue Reading

A trainer might force us to get out of bed to run when we’d rather sleep. The moral and religious path of least resistance is one of works and consequences. Grace, as our trainer, wakes us up and puts the uncomfortable (and wonderful) truth in our faces: we are justified by grace.   My years... Continue Reading

When, by grace, we can be honest with ourselves and God, we will abandon ourselves to the mercies of God in Christ.  Only those who are brought to this honesty wholeheartedly ever do this.  Everybody else keeps “trying”–viciously beating one’s head against the proverbial “wall.”   Dedicated to everyone who casts him- or herself entirely... Continue Reading

A husband cherishes his wife by highly esteeming her, by viewing her far above precious jewels (Proverbs 31:10; 29-30).   Cherishing goes far beyond seeing it as a duty, but it is a delight. The husband should regularly make his wife feel that she is the most precious thing in his life besides his relationship to... Continue Reading