Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
This post is also found on the Cor Deo site. Please offer any responses there. Thanks! A feisty debate stirred the New England churches in 1636. The question at stake was the nature of faith—what is it that makes a Christian? In an early exchange of letters between two of the pastors, Peter Bulkeley asked …
Read More What do you think?Do you enjoy beauty? Perhaps a dramatic sunset, or a remarkable piece of artistry? The scene at the top of my Spreading Goodness site is a sunrise on Whidbey Island, Washington, near my parent’s former home. The brilliant colors and the slow motion of a fog bank rolling in from the right captured me on …
Read More BeautyIn a Cyprus setting properly suited to the standing of Sergius Paulus, Barnabas and Saul were invited to talk about Jesus. We don’t know how or why the meeting was arranged with Paulus, a Roman proconsul, but it was certainly a good opportunity for evangelism. Was the meeting stirred by a connection this figure might …
Read More Straight paths made crookedEverything starts with God. But who is he? What is God like? Dionysius, the self-professed convert of Paul, has helped shape one point of view. The true Dionysius, noted in Acts 17:34, isn’t known to us beyond his cameo Bible reference. But a much later figure who borrowed the name and identity of Dionysius is …
Read More Where should we start?Acts 1 presents us with Christ’s promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit and chapter 2 tells us of his arrival. We get the impression that the Spirit was uniquely commissioned for the New Covenant ministry to empower Christians in ministry. And with that, as many have presumed, his appearances in the Old Testament …
Read More The Holy Spirit before JesusThe Council of Nicaea in 325 worked hard to summarize a sound understanding of the Triune God in the face of Arian error. They explained how Jesus, the Son, exists in eternal relationship with the Father. In a final document they added this truncated final object of proper faith—“And in the Holy Spirit.” The Father-Son …
Read More “And in the Holy Spirit”This repeats an entry offered at Cor Deo. Please offer any responses there. Thanks! Of all the questions we may ask few are more important than the simple query, “What really matters?” What should be our greatest priorities in life? The question presumes that priorities shape the way we live—that some options are more important …
Read More What really matters?Bible reading can make a reader uncomfortable. This morning, for instance, I came to Zephaniah 1:12. “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’” [ESV] The marginal reading …
Read More Bible DiscomfortWhat does it mean to be “in Christ”? I recently surveyed a book about Paul’s use of the theme in the New Testament. His regular references to believers as people in Christ help explain what union with Christ represents. The book was meant for an academic audience—tracing complex Greek grammatical issues in the underlying text—yet …
Read More In ChristThis post is also offered on the Cor Deo site: please post any responses there rather than here. Thanks! Let me offer a magnet parable. A man bought an industrial grade mobile magnet—a smaller version of what one sees in the auto crushing business. He was proud of himself for being both noble and practical. …
Read More The Magnet Parable