Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Easter always invites reflection. Think of how divine devotion and human response come together. The Father so loved us that he sent the Son to swallow our death for us. It reveals how he values us. His beloved Son, at the Father’s request, took on our sins at the cross. He tasted our forsakenness and …
Read More EasterIn his lifetime Richard Sibbes’ (1577-1635) theology changed at some key points. For any who appreciate Sibbes the claim invites some attention. We know he was a lifelong learner and was ready to think for himself. As a pastor and teacher he read widely and explored the Bible both for his teaching and in his …
Read More Our Ultimate EndJesus was asked about the “end of the age” and his answer offered some surprises. “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one …
Read More Cold loveThe bold progressives were venting their spleen at the old man. In their view Jerry, the target, was a peddler of the past. He had resisted their vision for a secure future: a vision that included moving to a new setting—to a lush and gated suburb of Cairo—and building a strong new faith. As we …
Read More Sorting Spiritual VoicesPaul is blunt: anyone outside the faith is as thick as a brick about God. Without faith no one will ever grasp God’s ways or wisdom. Even if they happen to be otherwise bright and able. Yet once faith comes alive the promise of Isaiah 64:4 is available to all: “‘What no eye has seen, …
Read More What God has preparedLet’s play with words for a moment. We speak of feeling sheepish in the embarrassed moments after an obvious mistake. But what if we apply “sheepish” to the quality of human character God finds attractive? God often refers to believers as his sheep but not as his lions, horses, camels, ferrets, or wolves. Is there …
Read More Sheepish thoughtsA growing field in Christian missions is called member care ministry. Workers in this field help global workers—missionaries—with emotional and spiritual hurts that have come from their time in ministry. Our question for today, then, is: Why the wounds? And who’s doing the damage? We may have heard the easy answer to the Why question: …
Read More Is the Spirit in?Our question for the day: how pragmatic can we be as followers of Christ without losing our credibility? Is there, in other words, such a thing as a pragmatic faith? Or are the terms an oxymoron and the stuff of hypocrisy? Faith, we know, is a response of trusting obedience to God and his word. …
Read More Pragmatic FaithA few years ago at an academic conference in San Antonio I sat in on a debate between a scholar who had just offered a paper on the reformer John Calvin and a questioner in the audience. The presenter had argued that Calvin’s ideas were “pre-critical.” The questioner respectfully disagreed; and a productive exchange went …
Read More Comfortably non-CartesianI confess: in days past I’ve used a laser pointer with our family cat. You know the trick. A jiggling laser dot on the floor can entertain us and frustrate a bewildered pet for minutes at a time. It only takes a bit of human perversity and the cat’s preying instincts to have Mitsy pouncing …
Read More Chasing Dots