Four Reasons Why Christians Should Read the Old Testament Between teaching a Bible study on ancient Israel’s divided history and listening to my pastor’s Sunday morning series on Psalm 119, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the Old Testament for the past few...
Context is King One of my favorite scenes from The Princess Bride includes a conversation between a character named Inigo Montoya and the arch-villain. Montoya spends much of the story listening to the arch-villain repeatedly use the word inconceivable. But...
A Favorite Bible Verse I Don't Always Love The world around us is becoming increasingly challenging. Challenging to live out our Christian faith in a morally relativistic culture. Challenging to share the joy of our faith in a society that is not just...
Psalms: A Book of the Heart I have more questions than answers these days. The world is making less sense to me as the days pass. People are more divided and angrier than ever before. Common sense seems to have been abandoned. Civil discourse has disappeared....
Catch Up to Scripture A friend recently shared a tender prayer request, then closed our conversation by saying, “I just want my heart to catch up to what Scripture tells me.” Wow. That conversation occurred two months ago, but her statement has stuck with me....
The Power of Prophecy The U.S. presidential election is less than a month away. Each side is extolling the benefits of voting for their candidate and confidently predicting victory. Don’t you wish you possessed the power of prophecy to know the outcome of the...
No-Comfort Zones God and I have been having an ongoing conversation. Then again, it hasn’t been so much of a conversation as a monologue on my part. An ongoing monologue centering on my affection for comfort zones. I like being comfortable. Working with the familiar....
Look Up or Give Up? Some of us are ready to give up. Feelings of hopelessness are pervasive as we wonder how much longer this health crisis will continue. And in the face of conflicting predictions, we wonder if we’ll have the stamina to wait it out. Masks....
It was just a tiny spot recognized by the scan—a little more than a centimeter. But as soon as it was identified, the medical community sprang into action. More scans, tests, chemotherapy, radiation. Months of treatment based on the knowledge that this one spot was...
What was the last thing you asked God for? Health? Finances? A relationship? After all, one of the names God revealed for Himself in the Bible is Yahweh Jireh, our Provider, right? And let’s not forget what James wrote: “You do not have because you do not ask God”...
Is Secret Knowledge Trustworthy? Kids love to play hide-and-go-seek. Even as adults, we enjoy making...
The Trouble with Refrigerator Magnet Theology How many magnets grace the front of your refrigerator? One? Five?...
Bearing Each Other’s Burdens Without Enabling The season of giving has begun. Giving thanks. Giving gifts. And...