Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Let’s reflect on Christian faith. On what Thomas displayed in his response to Jesus: “My Lord and my God!” [John 20:28]. Why ask about faith? Thomas only came to faith after three full years with Jesus, so faith may take time to awaken. It invites reflection. It’s a crucial theme because without faith it’s impossible …
Read More Awakened FaithThis is the title for an article I wrote in January 1987—a how-to for Bible reading and reading partnerships. It’s now a sidebar item on this site. So my question. Is an invitation to bold Bible reading still relevant? Recently two university students made me wonder. After church, I took them to lunch and asked, …
Read More “Make this the year!”Do you do self-endorsements? Or act happy when you’re not? Or try to be more profound than you are? Call it low-level posturing. Wanting weight while living like a pillow. It’s pretty common. How many online identities are efforts in wannabe? Yet as we’re with others the truth emerges. We’re mostly like everybody else. I …
Read More Ordinary yet UltimateTwo questions. First, what do we want from God? And second, what does God want from us? As a courtesy, let’s take the second question first. Because God, as Creator, has honor over his creation. This shows my bias as a Christian. What does God want? To start I’ll chase a variety of options. Each …
Read More What God wantsEarly this morning, at 6:30, I got a call from Rick in Africa. He knew I’d moved to Idaho earlier this year after a trip to the beach to pray about the prospect. So he asked how to encourage Nigerian pastors to go on prayer quests. It’s afternoon by now and he’s waiting for an …
Read More With JesusThe Bible gives readers a repeated alert, “Then you will know that I am the LORD.” Over seventy times. In both the Old and New Testaments. It’s spoken by prophets as from God himself, and it’s meant mainly for self-assured skeptics. Or quietly indifferent agnostics. Should we pay attention? Of course. It’s profoundly important. If …
Read More “Then you will know”Let’s revisit our ongoing discussion of faith. It’s how humans, once dead, come alive to God. John’s gospel is a workbook on faith—or, as he prefers, on “belief” in Christ. Early in John’s gospel Nicodemus came to Jesus for spiritual coaching. And Jesus, citing Numbers 21, simply told him to “look and live” in John …
Read More Living FaithConsider Psalm 2:12. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” We’re surprised to find God’s Son cited in an Old Testament setting. Christians later recognize the Son to be Jesus of Nazareth, as in Acts …
Read More “Kiss the Son”Life is a scramble among competing priorities. The time, energy, and money available for the opportunities and demands that come our way are too limited. And God gets this. Which is why he’s so clear in calling us to what really matters. He is an ultimate “Who” among a myriad of “whats.” We were made …
Read More “What’s important?”I just moved from Camas, Washington, to Moscow, Idaho. And in my current Bible reading I’m newly sensitive to relocation stories. Both Genesis and Exodus are all about moves. In both books God relocates people as a way to build faith. He disrupts lives by creating new needs, new values, new questions, new answers, and …
Read More Moving