Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
As Christmas arrives this week let’s picture a sweet six-year-old child who is enjoying the big day. When she’s asked, “So, dear, what would you like for Christmas?” she’s likely to respond with our title phrase. What are the chances this will surprise her parents? The “What I really want …” response will almost always …
Read More “What I really want is …”“In God we trust,” the official motto of the United States of America, was affirmed in 1956. Even before then, in 1864, the words were inscribed on an American coin. It’s a popular slogan. In 1860 Nicaragua had already adopted the phrase; as did the Canadian Province of New Westminster on their coat of arms. …
Read More “In God we trust”Most of us have heard of Cervantes’ story of Don Quixote and the windmill. Quixote wanted to joust with a “giant”—actually a spinning windmill—so he galloped ahead with his lance taking aim. Of course he lost the joust: the windmill shattered the lance and knocked him off his horse. So what do we make of …
Read More Don QuixoteLast night I couldn’t sleep. Jos, Nigeria, at 2 AM on a lumpy mattress wasn’t working. So I reached out for my aged little iPod to listen to John’s gospel. I expected it to offer a reprieve and it did—I faded back to sleep by 3. When morning arrived I retraced the ten chapters—part of …
Read More In the WordIn the Bible Jesus is presented as the source and sustainer of life. For all of life and all the time. Jesus spoke of this in John 15:5, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” His imagery of a …
Read More Walking WorthyOur title needs some context. It comes in a question. Does faith work in a fast paced world? In other words is there such a thing as “fast” faith? Let me pose a real life scenario. In my work I’ve often visited Turin, Italy, where I adopted a coffee shop. Over time I noticed a …
Read More Slow FaithSolomon offered us an upside-down gift. His bold curiosity—part of his famous wisdom—led him to explore both good and evil. This quest led to his confused Bible profile: a man of vast wealth, intelligence, and privilege; but also a profligate and apostate soul. So a gift he offers is a warning … of what not …
Read More Solomon’s GiftJ. I. Packer’s Knowing God is a good read, but in this entry I’ll just draw on his title. Knowing God is a key feature in life. Whatever our view of him happens to be is evident in how we live. Yet the range of views about God is vast and often vague. For many …
Read More Knowing GodTwo familiar forces in life, magnets and gravity, offer analogies for love and faith. Magnets attract anything made of ferrous metal. That attraction, in turn, sets up the magic of a generator. And gravity keeps us grounded because without it things float apart. So with gravity at work we aren’t left to chase handholds like …
Read More Magnets, Gravity, & LoveThe newspaper editorial was scathing. The writer charged insecure white evangelical Christian men in America with hypocrisy in electing a conspicuously broken president. A “morally destitute, insecure narcissist.” The writer’s thesis is that we—I’m an evangelical Christian man—made a bargain with the devil in an effort to restore our former social hegemony in the country. …
Read More Bargaining with the Devil