Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Formal training in theology isn’t always reliable. I’m thinking of the disaffected vision of God, and the rationalistic faith, offered in too many schools. Such settings represent cooling embers of once bright fires. With students who arrive with lively faith and then graduate with chilled hearts. The “fire” is the Bible portrayal of a living …
Read More Experiencing the SpiritJesus is the most attractive man in human history. No one matches him in the qualities we all want and need in a person. He’s incomparable, even if most of the world ignores him. Even when many Christians will view this claim as a teasing overstatement. Which is why we need to pause and reflect …
Read More Jesus as attractiveAdam’s fall reset our human identity. The forbidden fruit consumed Adam and Eve. And we still live with the bitter aftertaste of their choice with so many today missing what we were made for. Let’s reflect on that day. Adam and Eve were created as the singular male and female “man.” They were, together, a …
Read More Bonding to JesusFaith is tied to righteousness. Or, by another name, to justification. As in, “The righteous shall live by faith,” and, “without faith it is impossible to please him [God] …” Faith establishes a believer’s righteousness. And not, by the way, as a choice of the will but as a heartfelt response to God’s love. For …
Read More Faith, Love, and TrustWe need prophets. Weeping prophets. Who love Jesus and his Father. And who grieve over the tragic spiritual state we’re in today. Think of the difference between a doctor who tells a wife of her husband’s terminal cancer with a tear in his eye; and another who is professional and distant. We prefer and trust …
Read More Weeping ProphetsWhen a voice in the crowd asked Jesus about his greatest priority he answered with a defining call from the Torah: “Love God.” And, as its direct corollary, “Love your neighbor.” His answer still alerts us to God’s overflowing Triune love. And we get to respond to him with our own love. The apostle John …
Read More Jesus was rightI first ran into debates between Calvinists and Arminians as a young Christian. Here’s a brief overview. The Calvinists insisted that God’s sovereign rule is behind the doctrine of election. God alone choses the “elect”—those selected, unconditionally, for salvation—and all others face eternal damnation. The Arminians, on the other hand, thought this made God into …
Read More An Affective, Compatible FaithHaystack Rock is a monolith at the ocean edge in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It endures constant waves from the ocean side while on its beach face tourists can usually walk up to its base. I envision something like Haystack when I read about rocks of refuge in the Bible. David, for one, wrote of God …
Read More SteadyAntwuan Malone is black. He’s a pastor. He loves Jesus. And in an online interview this Friday he asked listeners an important question. Why has the church been so passive—so silent—during the national upheaval of recent days? I shared the question so his voice was encouraging and stirring. In the welter of angry speeches and …
Read More Finding VoiceKris Kristofferson’s song, “Why me Lord?” caught my attention in a recent PBS Country Music series. Kristofferson wrote it after another country singer, a Christian, Connie Smith took him to church in 1973 where he heard the gospel and responded to the altar call. I don’t know if or how much Kristofferson’s faith marked the …
Read More Hearing