Life in this broken world has a way of battering and beating us down, but our God “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord... Continue Reading

Sometimes there’s a knock on this heavenly-mindedness that Paul’s calling for, as if it’s a kind of betrayal of the earth, minimizing how important things are here and now, a distraction from our calling here and now to serve God in this world and this life. And I’m sure people have been guilty of that... Continue Reading

Because the Church is filled with sinners. They will disappoint you. And you will disappoint them. But God is doing something in that tension. In the meantime, as we wait for the return of Christ, He is sanctifying us through the very mess that tempts us to run. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens... Continue Reading

At one point I spoke with a spiritual mentor, who challenged me with wise counsel. I don’t remember exactly what was said, but it was something like: “Ben, this is a challenge for you. Maybe instead of wishing for a more impressive trial, you should handle this one as biblically as possible.” That advice was... Continue Reading

“He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”   What would you do if you survived the apocalypse and were one of only a handful of people left on the planet? Plenty of fiction has been produced exploring that... Continue Reading

If wisdom is, as philosophers, theologians, and now even scientists agree, “morally grounded,” then it must rest on an objective, transcendent foundation. If moral truth is merely a matter of personal or popular opinion, then wisdom itself becomes negotiable, and even the most heinous acts could be called wise under the right circumstances. But this... Continue Reading

The Lord God of heaven and earth is ‘full of compassion and is merciful’ (James 5.11). The prophet Joel pleaded with sinners to return to the Lord God in genuine repentance for He is gracious and compassionate (Joel 2.13).   The LORD your God is a COMPASSIONATE GOD (Deut 4.31).  The compassion of God is... Continue Reading

Three major images in the Bible’s symbolic world are the tree, the table, and the sea. We are in this question of fish thinking about the sea: the symbolic domain of the sea includes chaos and evil—which is why eventually the sea is no more (Revelation 21)—but there is a link therefore with the Gentiles,... Continue Reading

What shall I do to inherit eternal life?   There’s hardly a more important question. However, as we find this question addressed to Jesus by a lawyer in Luke 10:25, it wasn’t an honest question. It was a test. After Jesus turned the question around and the lawyer gave the textbook answer, Jesus affirmed the... Continue Reading

We cannot comprehend how and why God does what He does, but today’s passage gives us a look at how His higher ways play out in Simon’s life. He’s still not ready for the task of leading the church, but the college of hard knocks is about to go nuclear. Satan—clueless as ever—thinks he’s about... Continue Reading