Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Many in the church of Corinth were enamored with style. And Apollos had style to spare. He seems to have been bright, articulate and alert to the philosophical streams of his day. In a nutshell, Apollos and his offspring are the sort of men every church wants to recruit as a speaker for their annual …
Read More The Wise FoolMartin Luther, in his 1518 disputation at Heidelberg, compared a theology of glory with a theology of the cross. Theologians of glory were—in a modern term—triumphalists. They presented God as the basis for success; and in that success they impressed people with their intelligence, their erudition and their godliness. Personal achievement and godliness were represented …
Read More The Glory of the CrossPontius Pilate famously asked Jesus a rhetorical, and probably cynical, question: “What is truth?” The context of this episode in John 18 is important. Jesus was being tried on trumped up charges by the religious leaders of the day. They knew they needed to charge him with a capital crime but nothing he had done …
Read More “What is truth?”I’m a sinner. I shared that last week. And I thank God that I now know I’m a sinner. That awareness was his gift to me that unblocked a logjam keeping me from faith. And who could have guessed that sin would be the gateway to relationship with God! What’s more, I now realize …
Read More … a sinner saved by graceI’m a sinner. And there’s no caveat coming to make it any less serious than it first sounds . . . a fact that shames and grieves me. If it weren’t for God’s mercies in Christ I would be buried by the pain of that reality. Yet in his mercy I find comfort and relief. …
Read More I’m a sinner . . .Social misconduct in the 1980’s—such as a man walking away from his marriage—was often linked to the notion of identity, as in “he’s having an identity crisis.” I’m not sure what light the label of ‘identity crisis’ actually shed on the man’s decision except to lift the onus a bit. “Not much to be done,” …
Read More An Identity CrisisI’m writing this at the beginning of December as a nudge: New Year’s day is coming and it’s a great time to launch a Bible read-through! So let me encourage you to pray and plan accordingly. Here’s my unsolicited advice: be very ambitious! A six-week reading of the entire Bible will have a dramatic impact …
Read More Reading as a New Year DelightAt this time of year—with Thanksgiving as the launching of the Christmas sales period—all the avid consumers in America go wild. My Thursday newspaper, full of “black Friday” sales, weighed almost as much as the turkey I’ll be enjoying later today. Backbreaking stuff! It’s the season when things we don’t really need are being marketed …
Read More “How YOU can be more Godly!”After an early church service this past Sunday I drove to Hug Point. It’s an aptly named scenic section of the Oregon coast, a few miles south of Cannon Beach. I visit there at times to enjoy God’s embrace—a good time of Bible reading, praying, and taking a nap while serenaded by the thundering surf. …
Read More Standing in God’s CouncilThis week I was reminded that I share a very small feature of life with Charles, Prince of Wales. We have lived the same number of years. By almost every other measure I have little in common with his royal highness. The difference is summed up by the rubric of nobility. He’s a nobleman and …
Read More Joining the nobility