An open letter to all my Christian friends (independent of denomination) It’s Empty Headed to Think that CriticismRather Living Like Jesus is Going to Change the World There is a vicious new sport in our culture that is destroying spiritual passion among many of God’s people across denominational lines. It is currently running rampant in … More Give up Criticism and Become Intoxicated with Jesus
Jesus was unremarkable. That’s what the Bible says, in both the Old and New Testaments. There is no physical description of Jesus, or for that matter, almost anyone in the New Testament. It simply wasn’t considered important information. It’s not that the ancient world didn’t care about beauty and bodily perfections. Indeed, everything we know … More Why Jesus was Unremarkable
Mis-named or Perfectly Named? Yesterday, in the mis-named/perfectly named, Good Friday, we reminded ourselves of the price of our redemption. Today we remind ourselves of the utter loneliness and suffering of the early disciples. On Saturday, their vision of the greatness of the sacrifice was obscured by the pain of their loss, and un-ameliorated by … More A Saturday Meditation Between Horror and Glory
Jesus knew His purpose. Nothing was going to divert Him from that purpose. He came to give His life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45). And timing was everything. The gospel of John makes this perfectly clear. Seven different times we are told that “His time had not yet come” and then in … More The Hour Has Come
Perhaps you have been drawn into the scholarly debate about what Jesus did for the first 30 years of His earthly life. Was He a carpenter or a stone-mason? There are two references/translations that are commonly used to suggest that Jesus was a carpenter, Matthew 13:55, where he is called “the son of a carpenter … More Jesus Was a Painter
My pastor asked me to be a part of our Good Friday service. I said yes. Approximately 15 minutes before the service was to begin, my phone rang. It was my friend Ben’s number. We were in prayer with all the other participants in the evening’s service so I didn’t pick up. But when prayer … More A Good Friday Meditation for Silent Saturday
Sanctify the Day Together — a Call to Worship Volume 1 Day 11 “In the stillness of this morning once again we come to You. We are blind to what will be in this day. But You see it all even before it is. You know where every footfall of this day will land. You … More Magnify the Lord as You Rise
A Benediction for the 24th Day of April Sanctifying the day by directing the heart to God Adapted from EVERY MOMENT HOLY by Douglas Kaine McKelvey Forward by Andrew Peterson page 11
[Listen to the sound file while you read — two inches to the right of this line on this page, marked “Aubre’s Gift”] Preparing our hearts for Good Friday and Easter The Savior is crowned with thorns. Adapted from the accounts of Mt 27:27-31; Mk 15:16-20; Jn 19:1-7 Jesus is flogged and crowned. The soldiers … More “Behold the Man”
God Hates Sin. And he has good reason to hate sin. It breaks his moral law. It deprives human beings of their full flourishing. It brings pain and heart-ache to others. It creates destruction and violence in the world. It destroys the beauty of his creation. And the list goes on . . . God’s … More God Hates.
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