Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
In the past year I’ve had two friends fail in ministry. I’m grieving and praying for them. I’m also learning some lessons. A church collapse also fits our focus. Let’s begin by noticing an obvious challenge: failures bring shame. Yet we are wise to carry on despite shame. Some souls have even dismissed their shame …
Read More Successful FailuresSound hermeneutics—the principles of interpretation—are crucial to effective Bible study. Good interpretation offers a reliable grasp of the meaning of a given text and a proper sense of how to apply it. This interpretive work comes as part of a Bible college education. Graduates ideally go on to coach church members in sound Bible study. …
Read More Reading RightlyLet’s think a bit more about the Spirit’s ministry in salvation. Here are some basics. Paul wrote of our “having begun by the Spirit” as we meet God in faith (Galatians 3:3). The need for this ministry began with Adam’s death—a death that left him still walking and talking. Paul said more about this in …
Read More God’s New JobLet me come back once more to the late Heiko Oberman’s outstanding biography, Luther: Man between God and the Devil. In this work Oberman saw Luther’s reformation ambition for what it really was: an effort to correct the misportrayal of God that dominated the church in his era. Oberman summarized a representative question on Luther’s …
Read More Every Man a PhilosopherDesiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) and Martin Luther (1483-1546) were marking figures in their day, an era when some of the biggest questions of life were being debated. Their views did much to shape the world we now experience. That’s a bold claim so let’s take a brief look in their direction in case you’re curious to …
Read More A Long DebateMy life-changing response to God’s love—my conversion—came through a conversation with Christ. I was a young skeptic—ready to dismiss my Sunday-School charade of faith—when a chain of unlikely events caught my attention. Was God at work? Did he actually exist? Or, more to the point, if he did exist was he trying to catch my …
Read More Conversion as ConversationHow do we respond when we’re served? Do we treat the service as a nice benefit that deserves a tip if it’s done well? Or is it something we expect—a benefit appropriate to our status? Or do we receive service as a kindness that delights us? Answers may vary, of course, depending on the context. …
Read More Good ServiceAnger remains a puzzle for many Christians. We all wrestle with it in daily life but it still holds some mystery. Is it ever okay to be angry? The puzzle is that the Bible affirms God’s anger—and sometimes allows for it in believers—but then confronts it as evil in most cases. Why? Is there an …
Read More Anger ManagementThrough the centuries the Church’s perception of the Holy Spirit has often been overstated or understated. The Montanists, for instance, stirred a strong reaction by their claims of immediate Spirit-direction. And centuries later Joachim of Fiore mistakenly posited a new Age of the Spirit to displace the presumed passing of the ages of the Father …
Read More Catching the Spirit of RomansPaul’s epistle to the Romans is well known for presenting the nature of faith. One commentator claimed, more broadly, that knowing Romans well will keep readers from heresy. Amen! Yet there are some interpretive shoals to navigate. Let’s consider one, in chapter 2:14-15. Competing views of this text have produced very different and competing versions …
Read More Reading Romans