Growing old, like taxes, is a fact we all must face. Now, you’re not going to get me to declare when growing up stops and growing old starts—not on your life! But there are some signs we can read along life’s journey that suggest we are entering the transition (how’s that for diplomacy?). Physically, the […]
Read MoreTag Archives: Isaiah
Alternatives to Grace
Isaiah 44:22 NLT If I choose not to risk, if I go the “safe” route and determine not to promote either salvation by grace or a lifestyle of grace, what are the alternatives? Four come to my mind, all of which are popular these days. 1. I can emphasize works over grace. I can tell […]
Read MoreSeeing the World through God’s Eyes
Standing ankle-deep in snow, I copied the following inscription from the main wall near the old, iron gate that leads to the campus of Harvard University: After God had carried us safe to New England, and we had builded [sic] our houses, provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared convenient places for God’s worship and settled […]
Read MoreWhy We Praise One We Can’t Comprehend
The culture in which we live, work, and play complains that God makes no sense, so how can He be trusted? They refuse to worship a God they can’t comprehend. My thought is the exact opposite. Unlike others, I find God’s incomprehensibility absolutely refreshing. Especially in a day like ours when executive moguls prance like […]
Read MoreHumility Has a Selective Memory
“Forgetting what is behind” (Philippians 3:13 NIV) is a statement that assures us that Paul was not the type to live in the past. He says, in effect, “I disregard my own accomplishments as well as others’ offenses against me. I refuse to dwell on that.” This requires humility, especially so when you examine Paul’s […]
Read MoreProphetic Momentum
I remember the time I spoke to American football’s Los Angeles Rams at their pregame chapel service, and later that night, they destroyed the Dallas Cowboys. The evening before Super Bowl XIV, I spoke to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they ripped the Rams apart the next day. Then I spoke to baseball’s L.A. Dodgers before […]
Read MoreHow Does the Death of Jesus Save Me?
Question: I’ve been told that Jesus died for my sins. What does that mean exactly? How could the death of Jesus help me get to heaven? What does the death of Christ save me from? Answer: One way to understand the meaning of the death of Jesus is to imagine a courtroom scene in which […]
Read MoreA Good Man or the God-Man? The Case for the Deity of Jesus
“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) Jesus asked this question two thousand years ago, and the answers are still coming in: a rabbi who preached compassion, a brilliant leader who touched the hearts of thousands, a misunderstood innovator who died as a martyr. His enemies said He was a devil, a rabble-rouser […]
Read MoreDependence
For most of us, asking for help is difficult. I really don’t prefer it; some of you may not as well. Yet, God lets us know time and time again that we need help. After all, He refers to us most often as sheep—the most difficult and demanding of any livestock on earth. Admitting need […]
Read MoreGod Knows Your Ways
“God has the whole world in His hands.” Remember the old gospel song? He’s got the wind, the rain, the tiny little baby, yes, even you and me in His hands. How easy it is to forget that! And it isn’t limited to our geography or our culture, you know. He’s got the Middle East in […]
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