Outside of Jesus we are all completely and utterly bankrupt, and it is not until we come to the place of embracing this that we can fully receive him. The Bible affirms this point of theology. The book of Joel starts out by talking about locusts...
Another great one from Oswald Chambers. And Abraham built an altar … and bound Isaac his son. Genesis 22:9. This incident is a picture of the blunder we make in thinking that the final thing God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants...
One of the reasons Isaiah is known as the “Prince of the Prophets” is because he foretold the coming of the Messiah more than any other prophet. His prophecies are even at the heart of the Christmas story in the Gospel according to Matthew. This...
For Christians, Christmas is all about the story of Jesus’ birth. It is the story of the birth of the most significance person in human history; the story of the birth of the King of the universe, the very Son of God, Creator of heaven and...
The Christmas story reminds us of the great relief of innocence and humility. That Christ comes to us in the form of a soft, helpless, and innocent baby restores in our hearts the truth that God is more powerful than human manipulation, oppression...
No one simply stumbles onto Jesus. There are always signposts to Jesus. There is always someone (or something) pointing the way to Jesus. We see this in the birth narrative of Jesus. For the Maggi, it’s the star. Even the cosmos point the way...
Note to the Reader This post is longer than usual, but its length testifies to its importance. Jesus was born during a time of high political and racial tension. For starters, first-century Palestinian Jews were divided among themselves concerning...
Just a few weeks ago, my wife said to me, “Every time someone watches a Christmas movie before Thanksgiving, an elf kills a reindeer.” She feels pretty strongly about when the Christmas season does and does not begin. As for me, I’m ready to put up...
The book of Genesis is one of my favorite books in the Scriptures. There are numerous fascinating characters, events, charming stories, and ultimately a message of hope for a fallen world. This theme of hope is wrapped up in another major theme of...
When people hear that I’m a missionary in Haiti, many of them ask, “Aren’t you afraid?” The answer is always NO. Haitian voudou, like all mystic and pagan-anamistic worldview and religions, is one of fear and intimidation...