I sometimes wish that the book of Job simply ended without the epilogue, that last “happy ending” part. (For those of you unfamiliar, go read Job!) I think it tends to raise false hopes that … Read More
Praying down walls of hostility
In the story of Peter and the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10-11), which we considered on Sunday, we saw how the apostle was prompted by the Holy Spirit during his time of prayer to do … Read More
Paradise not yet
As some of you know, we have a small but quite lovely balcony that opens off the back of our bedroom. The railing wall that encloses the space is lined with various flowering plants and … Read More
Customized Sanctification?
The summer is speeding past at an alarming rate. So is life, for that matter! Which is why I find the nuisances of everyday life especially frustrating. So much time and effort is lost dealing … Read More
Spiritual Hardness
I have often heard it said that the spiritual soil in Europe is hard, that people, here, just don’t respond to the Gospel of Jesus. But recently, I heard someone say quite emphatically that this … Read More
The return of the king
In December last year, we began the calendar year looking forward to the advent of Jesus the Christ, the King. We celebrated His birth at Christmas: The Word, which was God, became flesh and dwelt … Read More
Give us this day
This coming Sunday is commonly called (in some circles) “Rogation Sunday,” because it precedes the Rogation Days which have been in the church calendar year of much of the western church for more than a … Read More
Concerned with image
Jesus offered up His entire life as a sacrifice of perfect love and obedience to God, submitting Himself ultimately to death on the cross in accordance with the Father’s will. Through His crucifixion, Jesus also … Read More
“Jesus of the scars”
How can we see God as good and loving when the world He has made and governs is so full of human suffering? The question is, perhaps, as old as the world itself, or at … Read More
Life in the wilderness
We are two thirds of the way through Lent, the 40-day season prior to Easter which finds a pattern in Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, which was itself a recapitulation of Israel’s … Read More