As Jesus approaches Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1–11, he knows exactly what lies ahead—conflict, betrayal, crucifixion. And yet, he rides in openly, publicly, intentionally. The crowd cheers. Palms wave. Coats fall on dusty roads like royal carpets. But...
In today’s individualistic culture, many professing Christians believe they can have a relationship with Christ while remaining unaffiliated with any church. However, the historic and biblical understanding of salvation affirms that being a member...
Where do we find Jesus in the Old Testament? As the ultimate author of both Old and New Testaments, the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible to serve as one big story, pointing to and finding fulfillment in the person of Jesus. After his resurrection...
Psalm 15 is a temple entrance liturgy. It begins with the twofold question, “O, Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” This is an important question. In other words, the psalmist is asking, “What kind of person is...
True freedom is not the ability to freely pursue happiness as we each define it. Freedom is the ability to break free from the crooked, perverse, self-centered human nature and live entirely for God.
Be sure of one thing: following Jesus is hard. It requires you to lay down everything. You can make claim to nothing for yourself when following Jesus. Jesus talked about a lot of things in code. He wasn’t always explicit about what he was...
I grew up in a home of praying parents. Mom had (and still has) a special prayer chair in the corner of our living room. Next to the chair was a little ottoman wither her Bible and a notebook containing a prayer journal and a list of people and...
Humanity has an honesty problem. The problem of dishonesty pervades every aspect of our lives. Dishonesty is why we have locks on our doors, banks, contracts, courts, law enforcement, passwords, firewalls, and the list goes on for eternity. People...
One cannot be a serious Christian without being strong and courageous. There are two particular elements of growing in Christ that require courage and both are a result of being obedient to Jesus. First, obeying Jesus in public life requires great...
Have you ever noticed that there is a pattern to the kinds of conditions and illnesses that Jesus heals in the New Testament? For example, on more than one occasion Jesus heals leprosy (Matt 8:1–4, Mark 1:40–45, and Luke 5:12–16), paralysis (Mark...