"All of life is business with God…" John Calvin
Open your bible to the New Testament, and there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself in one of the letters written by the Apostle Paul. Reading through his epistles, we feel like we know Paul because he wrote in such a personal way to his readers. We hear his exhortations, frustrations, and patient corrections to … Continue reading Grace To You and Peace
I like to peruse my Facebook memories each day to see what was happening on “this day” for the past several years. Since March, I’ve been reminded that four years ago the Covid pandemic and subsequent quarantines were the main thing on my and everybody else’s mind. The most significant memory to surface is the … Continue reading Remember and Pray
“Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name.Your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9–10) Jesus taught us to pray that God’s will would be done here on earth. If we believe that God is sovereign, then we believe that everything that happens on earth is according to his divine will. … Continue reading Not a Blind Faith, but a Puzzled Faith
The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:5b–7 This passage of Scripture is one of the reasons Philippians is … Continue reading When Saints Disagree
I recently wrote about God’s love for his children even in the midst of their suffering, and I still believe it is true. But it was only a sliver of biblical truth regarding suffering. In the face of great suffering, the first thing to say may be nothing at all. I know that all the … Continue reading Unspeakable
Update, we're positive for covid. Let's break this down: The bad news: we're kinda sick and are isolating ourselves. We were exposed along with members of our extended family, one of whom is also positive, and another who is symptomatic and likely positive. We may have exposed others; they have been notified. Our daughter Erin … Continue reading The News: Bad to Best
I was away last week, and our study was led by Jana, who very faithfully and capably put in the work to walk us through this portion of the book of Hebrews, 8:1–9:14. I say “walk,” but getting to this chapter has taken a climb. Together with the author of Hebrews we have scaled the … Continue reading Such a High Priest
As I age, I’m finding that even with the progressive lenses in my spectacles, I often need a magnifying glass to read fine print. (Why does the important information on medication bottles need to be so small anyway?) Pulling out the curved lens of a magnifying glass enlarges and brings clarity to that which was … Continue reading After the Order of Melchizedek
In my previous post, we considered the personal rebuke and sober warning found in Hebrews 5:11–6:8, and the questions raised concerning assurance of salvation. As we learned, that passage does not teach that a genuine believer in Jesus Christ can lose her salvation. But where do we find assurance of salvation? Knowing that genuine believers … Continue reading A Sure and Steadfast Anchor
