Category

We are in the midst of a political storm. This presidential campaign has delivered a barrage of endless negatives, and our nation is sharply polarized. Can faith enable us to navigate the storm? We can find sound guidance in the Scriptures. Flawed political leaders are nothing... Read More →

Things did not go well for Jonah. He was caught in a terrible storm on a ship. He was thrown overboard. He was swallowed by a huge fish. After he was spewed out by the fish onto dry land, he felt compelled by God to go to the people of Nineveh, a people that he hated, to tell... Read More →

Can the story of a shipwreck be a story of hope? It is when the travelers had been lost on stormy seas for weeks, and the ship’s crash lasting was on an inhabited island, bringing all the travelers to safety. This is the story of Paul’s voyage to Rome—the most dramatic sea voyage... Read More →

With the evils that rage in today’s world, it is easy to fall into an age-old pattern—to classify human beings as the good or the bad, the righteous or the unrighteous, and to decide that the way to improve the world will be to eliminate the unrighteous. The church in the Middle... Read More →

Fear is at the center of much of modern life. Whether we look at the world at large, or at the political situation in our own country, or perhaps at our personal lives, we have multiple reasons to be afraid. Fear also gripped the disciples on multiple occasions, and there are two... Read More →

If you ever find yourself in deep despair, read the book of Lamentations. You will find that the prophet Jeremiah was right where you are! But in the midst of despair, Jeremiah reached to God in faith and said, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. The... Read More →

This past weekend, the anniversary of 9/11, a man in New York City attacked a Muslim woman, dressed in a traditional hijab, and set her clothes on fire. Horrible acts of human evil, of every size and threatening everyone, continue unabated. Should God prevent such evils? To do so... Read More →

The Biblical writers knew what it meant to be in times of trouble. Of the many different types of Psalms, the most common is a psalm of lament – a cry to God out of the midst of trouble. These psalms can be very helpful for us, because they not only connect with our life... Read More →

One of the greatest challenges in dealing with any issue is when nothing is happening—when there is no progress day after day, and no resolution of the issue in view. This is a key element in the story of Noah’s Ark. When people think of the story of Noah, they often think of... Read More →

The idea of “blessing” is not much in vogue today. People want “the good life” more than “the blessed life.” The “good life” is a long, pleasant life with lots of nice stuff. You gain it for yourself through your own effort and some good fortune. The good life is prosperity and... Read More →

Happy are the persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:10) That’s one way of translating what Jesus says in the final “beatitude,” and it points to a central teaching of the Bible – happiness is found, not in our outward circumstances, but in our connection with... Read More →

“Blessed are the pure in heart,” said Jesus, “for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) What is purity of heart? “Purity of heart is to will one thing,” said the Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard, in a classic book by that title. Our problem is that very often we will more than... Read More →

Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes—“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7)—speak directly to what is desperately needed in our time. From Nice, France, to Istanbul, from Dallas to Baton Rouge, we see a world torn with resentment, hatred, and violence—a... Read More →

The words of Jesus, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9), gain heightened relevance in the face of the terrible violence that we have been witnessing, from the Middle East to Dallas. But how can you be a peacemaker when it seems that people never stop fighting? The Bible... Read More →

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12) What does a nation look like that is blessed by God? The Bible lifts up two key features: a nation that is blessed will be godly and good. Concerning godliness, the Scriptures are clear that it is only through trusting... Read More →

What are you seeking in life? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,” said Jesus, “for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) To “hunger and thirst” after something means much more than to just have a casual interest; it means to be focused, passionately and... Read More →

Can a time when we are feeling low in life become a time of blessing? Jesus said that it is just such a time when we may especially experience the blessing of God. In the Beatitudes, the eight “blessed are” sayings that begin the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew,... Read More →

One of the foundational stories of the Bible is when God says to Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you . . . so that you will be a blessing . . . and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” [Genesis 12:2-3] What does it mean to be... Read More →

Are you just randomly wandering through this earth, or does God have a calling for your life? The Bible affirms that God has for you a life purpose, and the Bible encourages us to be receptive to God’s direction. But how do we discern God’s call? In the many “call” stories in the... Read More →

Have you ever been at a wedding reception, waiting for the bride and groom, and the wait is very long? This is the scenario in one of Jesus’ parables. People are waiting expectantly for the bridegroom (and the bride), but there is an unexplained delay. The bridegroom in the... Read More →

. . . the people who dwell in a land of deep darkness . . . (Isaiah 9:2) The Bible consistently uses the image of darkness to describe the spiritual waywardness and sin of humanity. When we consider all the evils in today’s world, we see that human beings are indeed “in a land of... Read More →

How can we possibly win the victory over evil, since we are assailed by evils, both in the world at large, and within our personal lives? We need a Savior. We need a power beyond ourselves that can rescue us from our bondage to sin and death, and deliver us from the power of... Read More →

“Many deceivers have gone out into the world,” says II John 1:7. We encounter deception all the time—in business, in politics, and in religion. We are constantly subjected to lies. But lies only work on us if they can masquerade as truth, which is why deception is a major concern... Read More →

Do people confront demons today? Ask a drug addict, or someone who battles thoughts of suicide, or someone whose anxieties bring sleepless nights whether they “wrestle with demons.” We may not think of demons as personal “evil spirits,” but we still confront negative forces in... Read More →

In the massive wave of Islamist terrorism that is plaguing our world, we see an old Biblical truth painfully clear—there are dark powers, spiritual forces of evil, sweeping the globe. Paul summed up our situation well in his letter to the Ephesians: “Our struggle is not against... Read More →

What is your destiny? Can you hope for life beyond death, and if so, what is the nature of the afterlife? Since the dawn of humanity, human beings have had a “sense of the eternal”—a vision of life beyond the grave. It part of our basic God-given spiritual awareness. Yet in... Read More →

This Sunday was Youth Sunday, when our teens prepare and present the morning worship services. This year’s theme was “Do Something,” encouraging faith in action. It included music performed by the teen handbell choir ZAMARingers and the vocal choir Resurrection.... Read More →

Some of Jesus’ simplest messages are the most radical and transformational. “Love your enemies.” It is only three words, but it is world-changing; and it represents an enormous movement from typical human behavior. Our human condition is dramatically depicted in the opening pages... Read More →

In the book of Acts, the disciples are described as “the people who have been turning the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6) “Turning the world upside down” is what God does in every age, and it is particularly what God does through Jesus Christ. Christ brings about a thoroughgoing... Read More →

The Bible says that we receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. For Christians throughout the centuries, from the apostle Paul to Martin Luther to John Wesley, this truth—that we are saved by faith—has been transformational. Yet there are many people today who “believe in... Read More →

We need salvation; and we cannot save ourselves. Too often people try to muddle along on their own. But we find ourselves as human beings in truly dire straits – alienated from God, in conflict with one another, and faced with serious troubles of all kinds and the final onslaught... Read More →

Do you want God to give you what you deserve? Most people, if thinking long, hard, and honestly about that question, would answer, “Please no!” We all fall well short of perfect goodness. With the life and blessing God has already given us, we certainly have not earned endless... Read More →

Can people be good without God? In the midst of all the moral confusion and wrong of our world, the Bible points clearly to how human beings can live genuinely good lives. Key Biblical points are: God gives to all human beings a basic awareness of right and wrong. We are created,... Read More →

Is the universe governed by uncaring forces, or is there a good God reigning over all? The truth is declared in the Bible—God is good—and that truth is transformational when we take it to heart. It means that our life is not just a meaningless flicker in an uncaring universe, but... Read More →

We can point to many sorts of troubles that afflict our human condition, but the Bible in its opening pages addresses the fundamental question: What is the problem? What is the root cause of the anxiety and insecurity, the enmity and the fighting, the basic spiritual malaise that... Read More →

Many people will tell you that you are here on this earth by accident, and that there is nothing “special” about human beings. The Bible declares a truth that is transformational – that you are created by God in the image of God. The Bible affirms that human beings are one with... Read More →

With the new Star Wars movie setting records, it is a good opportunity to note the connections between Star Wars and the Bible. We can readily see the following parallels between the Star Wars epic and the Biblical story: There is a cosmic battle going on between the forces of... Read More →

How are you doing in your walk with God? During the exile (6th century B.C.), the Israelites realized that they had done quite badly. They had strayed from God, broken God’s commandments, and as a consequence had fallen prey to the Babylonian Empire, which had destroyed the... Read More →

One of the prophetic images that we often lift up during the Advent season comes from Isaiah 52. It is the image of watchmen standing on a city wall, who see a messenger coming, bringing good news. The image reminds us of how people were expectantly watching for the Messiah, and... Read More →

There is a lot of negative sentiment in our society about the “institutional church.” Why be a part of an institution – the church, with all its flaws and its demands for money and time – when you can just believe and be nice to people on your own? In our Bicentennial Celebration... Read More →

There is much in our world that can cause us fear. Whether we look at the troubling happenings around us, or whether we look at the troubles and threats in our own personal lives, we have almost endless reasons for anxiety. The Bible gives us the answer to fear. One of the most... Read More →

How can you be thankful when the world is full of bad news, or if your life is full of bad news? From the Biblical prophets—who lived in the midst of bad news and yet were thankful to God—we can learn the following principles: Take note of the good that you have! We so often... Read More →

Some situations look hopeless. The Middle East. The Browns. Maybe some situation in your personal life. Things looked completely hopeless for the people of Israel during the Exile, when they had lost just about everything. They were in such trouble and despair that in one of the... Read More →

Does your wallet have holes? It may seem that way! The Bible uses exactly that sort of picture to describe our personal finances. Our wages “go into a bag full of holes,” says the prophet Haggai. (Haggai 1:6) With our finances tight, there is not much available to give for God.... Read More →

Last weekend we had twin holidays with opposite symbols—Halloween, with symbols of fear and death, and All Saints Day, with symbols of faith and promise. Halloween is the legacy of a Druid festival in which ancient people sought to ward off deathly spirits. The elements of... Read More →

The blessings of God are free, but they are not cheap. Human beings tend to get confused on both sides of that equation. On the one hand, we so often get caught up in grasping after things in this world which we think will bring us happiness, but which leave us unfulfilled. As... Read More →

Is it possible to find peace—in our personal lives, and in our world? Peace may often seem elusive. Yet the prophets lift up remarkable visions of peace, created by the working of God. The visions of the prophets come to their fulfillment through Jesus Christ. Jesus brings us to... Read More →

Finally this week we are getting rain! Though not welcome for our outside activities, it brings much needed refreshment to drooping plants on thirsty ground. In the Bible, water is a major symbol of the life-giving power of God—how God can refresh, cleanse, and restore us. So the... Read More →

Human beings suffer from division—from God and from one another. Christ comes to us as the One who can restore us to a right relationship with God and who can reconcile us with one another. Christ fulfills the prophetic vision of “the repairer of the breach,” as He brings healing... Read More →

If we get off track in life, is it possible to change—to get onto the right path into a good future? The prophet Ezekiel—who wrote during a time when the people of Israel were in great trouble because of how they had strayed from God—answered that question with a resoun... Read More →