Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house; then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him (Ps 45:10-11). Psalm 45 was a song written for the king’s wedding. Israel’s handsome, valiant and humble king was joined to a radiant woman who “is all glorious within” (v13). In vv10-11, the the bride’s father gave her […]
Paul wrote Galatians to confront and combat the attempted Judaization of the church. Such was arguably the backdrop behind many of the New Testament letters. Intoxicated by the air of religious supremacy, Jews sought to enslave (Paul’s word for it) Gentiles under the burdensome yoke of Torah (cf. 4.7, 25; 5.1). Anyone wanting to be part of Yahweh’s people (i.e. Abraham’s people) had to come under the authority of Torah. And […]
Archibald Wright “Moonlight” Graham was a baseball player. He was also a doctor. He was immortalized in the classic American baseball film Field of Dreams. And he can illustrate the glorious mystery of Christ’s incarnation. Moonlight Graham spent seven seasons in the minor leagues, even having a cup of coffee with the Memphis Egyptians in 1906. His claim to fame, however, was not what he did in the minor leagues. […]
Eugene Peterson writes in Tell it Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers (pp51-52): “Prayer can be learned only in the vocabulary and grammar of personal relationship: Father! Friend! It can never be a matter of getting the right words in the right order. It can never be a matter of good behavior or proper disposition or skillful manipulation. It can never be a […]
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jn 3.16) I once read a cartoon Scripture memorization pamphlet to my youngest daughter. It was a story written to help her memorize John 3.16. The pamphlet was nicely done and broke the verse down into helpful, digestible parts. As we worked on the first part of […]
Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her’” (Gen 20.6). Though credited with righteousness for his faith, Abraham did not always live up to the hype. He was frankly a sneaky man with a trophy wife (Gen 12.11). He […]
An injured point guard sees the game differently from the bench. Without a harassing defenseman, crowd noise or game pressure he is able to see more of the floor. He can see and learn from the bigger picture. He can finally see what his coach sees and hopefully better understand his decisions. What seems so clear from half-court isn’t so clear from the sidelines. When he’s ready to play again […]
Victory is a biblical word and an especially exciting word for those in the prosperity “gospel” community. In their defense, victory is a rich biblical theme. We indeed have victory through and because of Jesus. Scripture is quite clear about that. “…but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15.57). “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this […]
“…as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5.21). Christians use the stock language of “hating sin” and “killing sin.” Those wanting to sound especially holy and smart speak of “mortifying sin.” Sin is indeed an interloper in the Christian soul, a squatter in the Spirit-indwelled heart. Because of Christ sin has no rights, privileges or legal […]
As part of God’s sanctifying providence Christians must endure difficult seasons of frustration. Some will be brief and others lengthy, but they will all test our affections and whittle away our worldliness. Our questions will not always be about God’s power or authority but about his care. Will he indeed mend the wounds he is right to cause? Answers will be few for most of them or at least selfishly […]