At a recent church service one of the readings in the worship service was from Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9 is a common passage to be read during advent. “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given . . .’ (v. 6). We remember this verse because of the promise, from way back in the Old Testament, that God would send a child to be our Redeemer. And when we think of a child, we think of the sweetness and gentleness and warmth of Christmas. Away in a manger . . . Continue reading →

We live in an anxious culture. Worry and anxiety have always been part of life, but it seems like our culture is more fearful, more uncertain, than in the past. Thankfully, the Bible (and thus God) has a lot to say about worry. It really does. A particular section has struck me recently. The end of Psalm 139 says this (from the ESV): Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Continue reading →

We just came through Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday (my term), Resurrection Sunday. In every way, Easter celebrates the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I realize that there are many, many people who are not followers of Christ. But I don’t understand it. Continue reading →

I think angels are the coolest part of the Christmas story. In chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel, we read that an angel appeared to some shepherds on the night that Jesus was born. Now, we personally don’t have any experience with angels appearing to us. (Please don’t tell me that you have experienced angels appearing to you.) But that’s what happened to the shepherds the night when Jesus was born. Let’s look at some of the details of the story. Continue reading →

One day recently my morning reading in the Bible took me to Psalm 63. It was a familiar psalm to me. The first four verses resound with the writer’s love for God and desire for God. You can hear it in some of the phrases: “earnestly I seek you” (v. 1), I am “beholding your power and glory” (v.2), “your steadfast love is better than life” (v.3), “I will bless you as long as I live” (v.4).
Continue reading →

Why do we have such a hard time believing that God is good? Maybe I should say it like this. Why do I have such a hard time believing that God is good? Continue reading →

One of my favorite cds this time of year is the one by Andrew Peterson entitled Resurrection Letters. It is a handful of songs about Easter: the crucifixion and the resurrection. Peterson is a good storyteller, but he is also a good theologian. One of the songs on that cd is called He Rested. Continue reading →

The story of the nativity is certainly an amazing story. Even if you took out the supernatural aspects, just the facts of the narrative itself would make a great movie. You have an evil king (and Herod was really, really evil). You have a simple peasant couple, engaged to each other, having to make a long trip. She’s pregnant, but not by him. He cares for her anyway, because he loves her and because he’s a righteous man. They arrive at their destination but can’t find a place to stay. All of the hotels are booked. So, they slept that night where the livestock slept and the baby was born in a manger, a feeding trough for the animals likely dug out of a piece of limestone rock. Then at some point later, the evil king gets jealous and tries the kill the new baby king, but they escape in the dark of night. Finally, the baby grows up to be a great teacher who impacts all of the world. Continue reading →

There is a Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 127, that in many ways encapsulates the Gospel. The first three verses say this. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

Basically, the idea is this. Continue reading →

I love the Biblical story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is full of intimate details and emotion.
Mary, Martha, and their brother, Lazarus, were dear, close friends of Jesus. They lived in Bethany, just a few miles outside of Jerusalem, and Jesus likely stayed in their home during his visits to Jerusalem. This story is found in chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, Continue reading →

We just celebrated Good Friday. I’ve often thought that that is a strange name for this holiday. I mean, if you think about what happened on Good Friday—the crucifixion of Jesus—it doesn’t seem too good. But it is. The death of Jesus is good, because we are bad.

You see, we have a good feel for Easter. Easter is celebration. Easter is victory: life over death, resurrection over the grave. On Easter, God defeated death and death is our last enemy. But we’re not really sure what to do with Good Friday. It feels different than Easter—very different. Easter is up; Good Friday is down. Easter is celebration; Good Friday is somber. Easter is about life; Good Friday is about death. Continue reading →

Immanuel. I read recently again the story of Christ’s birth in the Gospel of Matthew. In this account, Matthew quotes the Old Testament prophet Isaiah in saying that the Messiah would be born of a virgin and would be called Immanuel. Matthew interprets that word and tells us that it means “God with us”. What an amazing concept—Jesus is God with us!
Continue reading →

I am reading the Psalms. A couple of years ago, I began reading through the Bible, cover to cover. I didn’t want to use one of those read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans, though those are fine. I didn’t want to feel rushed. I didn’t want a schedule that would force me to read a certain number of chapters each day. I wanted to read at my own pace, lingering in some sections for a while, if they were speaking to my soul. And a few months back, I arrived at the Psalms.

And like other sections of the Bible that I had already read, some of the Psalms are wonderful, and some are a bit hard to get through. Some of them have language that is difficult. I’m sure that they spoke well in the ancient Hebrew of 2000 years ago, but I had a tough time making sense out of some of them. But then a few weeks ago, I came to Psalm 100. It contains only five verses, and they are easy to understand. The truths are simple and straightforward. Continue reading →

I’ve written before about my morning walks. I used to take my old Basset hound, Dixie, the wonder-dog. But back in May, God called Dixie home to heaven. Now, I admit that I have no Biblical basis to believe that dogs go to heaven when they die, but I just believe they do, at least the good ones. Cats—I’m not so sure about. I could probably make a case that cats go to hell, but that’s beyond the scope of what I want to write about here. But I’m quite sure that I’ll be reunited with Dixie in heaven, along with her sister, Belle, and Gracie, the gospel-dog, and Gabby, the golden retriever (but Kim and I will have to share her with the Stallworths, since they had her first). I believe that God will provide us in heaven with whatever it takes to be happy and content, and for Kim and I that will be Basset Hounds—Gracie and Dixie and Belle—and Golden Retrievers—Gabby.

We now have a Basset Hound puppy, Henry, and a Golden Retriever puppy, Peaches. Continue reading →

In my reading of the Bible, I am currently reading through the Psalms. And I have decided to spend some focused time on Psalm 23. It is such a well-known psalm that some of its truths can be overlooked due to familiarity. And to be honest, I’m not much further than the first phrase: The Lord is my Shepherd. Continue reading →

We live in a culture where tolerance is the highest virtue (that is, if your views line up with the current cultural narrative; if they don’t, then they are not tolerated; they are canceled—but that’s a different article). All (progressive) views must be tolerated, really celebrated. When celebrities “come out of the closet” and declare that they are gay or lesbian or transsexual or non-binary or whatever other self-determined version of sexual identity they have devised, their view must be accepted, even applauded.

This glorification of tolerance even influences Christmas. Continue reading →

Most every morning, I walk up the mountain that is somewhat beside my house. I walk up the main road about 30 yards and then I turn into a development of several houses. This road basically climbs its way about a mile up a mountain, with eight or ten houses on both sides of the street, until you get to the top. I take Dixie, the wonder-dog, our 12-year-old Basset hound. She enjoys it, and I enjoy the company. I take my prayer list with me, but I can only pray as I walk back down. I’m too winded to pray as I walk up! Continue reading →

I just reviewed some of my previous articles. I seem to write quite often on suffering. I don’t really know why. At any reasonable estimation, I live a fairly comfortable life. I don’t have a debilitating physical condition. I’m not battling cancer, or anything like that. I have a comfortable home. My wife loves me, my children love me, my dog loves me. But I tend to think about suffering. I tend to think about why things aren’t they way they are supposed to be. I don’t have a debilitating physical condition, but I know people that do, and it seems wrong and unfair. I’m not battling cancer, but I know people that are, and it seems wrong and unfair. I have a comfortable home, but there are believers in Christ all over the world that don’t. I have a wonderful marriage and family, but I know too many believers that don’t—spouses where betrayal has occurred, children where rebellion has occurred, parents where abuse has occurred. Life is hard; there’s no getting around it. (Your dog, however, will always love you.) Continue reading →

Suffering puts us in a precarious position. It is bad enough to suffer. But then, if we are not careful, suffering can lead us into sin. Suffering can cause us to doubt the character and goodness of God. A good example of this can be seen in the life of John the Baptist. At some point in his life and ministry, he was put in prison. This is often what happens when you tell King Herod that he can’t marry his half-brother’s wife, which is what John did! Herod put John in prison, and while he was there, he began to wonder if it was all worth it. (Some time later, Herod would have John beheaded. At his own birthday party, Herod promised “to give her whatever she might ask” in response to the dancing of his stepdaughter. By the suggestion of her mom, she wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter, and Herod complied.) He sends some of his own disciples to Jesus. “I’ve heard about some of the things that you have done. Are you the one that we have been waiting for, or should we keep looking?” Jesus assured John that he was most certainly the long-awaited Messiah. But John wondered. He had been in prison for some time (and he would eventually die in that prison).

Continue reading →

I taught an adult education class recently at my church on the subject of the kingdom of God. I’ve never really studied this topic. In fact, I don’t normally think of myself being part of the kingdom of God. Most of us don’t. When we think of being a Christian, we don’t usually think that that means we are part of a kingdom. We may think of it secondarily, but it’s not the first thing that jumps into our mind. But oddly enough, that is the primary way that Jesus refers to what we call being a Christian. Jesus never calls people to “become Christians.” He calls people to be his disciples, to be his followers. But he calls them to follow him as the King. Matthew tells us that when Jesus began his ministry on earth, “he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (4:23).

We often think of being a Christian as a way of life, or maybe a spiritual transaction that has occurred, or a set of rules or a code of conduct by which we live, or at best a relationship with God. But at its root, being a Christian is being part of God’s kingdom. Continue reading →