“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was … Continue reading –>
Has modern technology removed the need for sacrifice? Now everyone can have their own way. When I was growing up back in the 20th century, my family had one black and white TV. On Monday nights, at our house we had to make compromises. My dad and me missed the first hour of Monday Night … Continue reading –>
Multi-Level Disasters? Mother-in-Law Debates? Maple-Lemon Duck Sauce? Acronyms develop when something appears so often that it calls for a more efficient name. No need for, “Repondez s’il vous plait.” Just write, “R.S.V.P.” Same with A.M., P.M., B.C., A.D., P.S., ASAP, B.Y.O.B and many more. I’ve decided to coin an acronym: M.L.D. stands for Major Life … Continue reading –>
If you were a high school student in the United States any time in the last 100 years, you were probably assigned the reading of a sermon preached in 1741 by Jonathan Edwards, called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It’s not a warm and fuzzy, feel-good sermon. Edwards describes God as angry … Continue reading –>
In Numbers 21:1-9 God has Moses set a brass serpent on a pole so that if anybody was bitten by a serpent, they could look at this serpent on a pole and be healed. Now as real and literal as this serpent was it was only symbolic. There was no magic in the brass or … Continue reading –>
Where is the most holy place? Is it a building on earth or in heaven? Or is it somewhere else? While I was a child living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a tornado hit the surrounding area where I lived. Among the destruction was a Methodist church. That night on the news, I remember the Methodist pastor, … Continue reading –>
The term “sanctuary” comes from the Hebrew “miqdash” and means “sacred place, sanctuary, holy place” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance H4720). It has the sense of being holy – something above the common or something consecrated. It is a term that is strongly associated with the word to sanctify which in its most basic sense simply means “to … Continue reading –>
I received a tortured call one evening. “Horrible things are happening, my life is coming unraveled,” the caller said, spilling out a litany of disasters that tangled financial loss, physical illness, family estrangement, and psychological despair. “Your addiction is catching up with you,” I said. The dialog between the two of us had been protracted, … Continue reading –>
There is a trick question I love to ask people. What was the tallest mountain in the world before Mount Everest was discovered? I get all kinds of answers, like “Mount McKinley “and so forth, but you know what the answer is? Mount Everest! Mount Everest was the tallest mountain in the world (Now I … Continue reading –>
Have you ever noticed that humans, as a group, tend to be extremely superficial and shallow? We expend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy making sure that we look a certain way – wear particular brands of clothes and shoes, dye our hair, even have surgery. We go to great lengths to change our … Continue reading –>
