Don’t underestimate what God can do through you. When we do this, we’re not underestimating ourselves, but God. We must remember that of all the people Jesus could have chose to change the world he chose uneducated fisherman. The...
When God fulfills his World Renewal Plan through Jesus, his Son, he is not only setting up a government (Kingdom metaphor), but also creating a family. This, once again, means that our metaphors for God’s World Renewal Plan will often times flow...
The story of the Exodus is one of the more popular stories of the Old Testament. Not only that, but it is also one of the most important redemptive events in the Old Testament. It is during this event that God sends Moses to save his people from...
Prayer is a funny thing. I’ve been spending more time in prayer than ever before. At the start of this renewed commitment to pray, I wanted to better understand what prayer was. To be honest, I knew in my heart that prayer was important, but I...
The genealogy of Jesus has always been intriguing to me. What an unusual way to start the final, and most climatic part of the great story of God’s salvation plan for the creation—a list of names. So what’s the importance of the genealogy of Jesus...
This is a short excerpt from Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom. Wipf and Stock, 2014. All rights reserved. Too often we read the gospels against an empty backdrop. As modern readers we tend to be very illiterate of the Old...
The book of Genesis is a book of origins. In fact, the titled itself, “Genesis” is the Greek word meaning “origins”. The Hebrew title of the book of Genesis is “bereshith” (ברשית) which means “in the beginning” (although there’s still quite a bit of...
The Bible plainly teaches that there is nothing that humanity can do to save itself collectively, or individually. No one is able, in their own strength and effort, to put right that which was lost in the Garden of Eden. In fact, the very attempt to...
But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as YHWH had said (Exodus 8:15) True transformation of the heart (salvation) is never be the result of repentance motivated by selfish interest. Every...