There is no greater praise than the adoration delivered by Mary as she proclaimed what we call the “Magnificat.” Found in Luke 1:46-55, the Magnificat reveals the depth of why Mary declares her praise of God, and it is both personal and historic...
The wise men gave Jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each of these three gifts correspond to aspects of Jesus’s identity and redemptive mission in the world. The gold is symbolic of Jesus’s royalty. Jesus wasn’t the King of an earthly...
One of the most mind-blowing, inexplicable aspects of the Christmas-commemorating incarnation of God in Jesus is that the mysteriously terrifying yet fascinating holiness of God is wrapped up in innocent, gentle, weak human flesh. The terrifying...
At Christmas time we celebrate that God became incarnate in Jesus Christ and walked amongst us. This is an amazing, world-altering idea. God in flesh. For years before Jesus, if you wanted to be in God’s presence you would have to go to the temple...
C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, reflects on Jesus’s incarnation with this: “Did you ever think, when you were a child, what fun it would be if your toys could come to life? Well suppose you could really have brought them to life. Imagine turning a...
God is more interested in your holiness than your happiness. This goes against the grain of common culture. Common culture tells us to pursue happiness. Pursue your dreams. Aim high. Shoot for the stars. Do what makes you happy. Only pursue a career...
Not long ago I visited the State Tretyakov art Gallery in Moscow. On display were hundreds of works of art ranging from Ivan Aivazovsky’s (1817–1900) masterful seascapes, to Orest Kipreksy’s (1782–1836) famous portrait of Alexander Pushkin...
There are two kings in the story of Jesus’s birth: (1) Caesar Augustus, and (2) Jesus. These are two very different kinds of kings, but they have a bit in common. Caesar Augustus was the most powerful man in the civilized world at the time of...
The solution to the world’s problems is a person, not a thing. I’m grateful for this. I’ve been serving as the President of Emmaus Biblical Seminary in Haiti since 2012. Since that time, the institution has faced its share of...
Serious Christians take the Bible seriously. Taking the Bible seriously is a dangerous thing. It’s dangerous because there are things in the Bible that are hard to understand. There are also commands to Christians in the Bible that are hard to carry...