Childbirth is something no man can completely appreciate. We can marvel as an observer—a helpless one at that—but we cannot experience it as a woman would. My wife tells me, “I cannot completely describe the feeling that came over me as the doctor held up Curt, cut the cord, and then laid him right across […]
Read MoreTag Archives: Isaiah
How Do We Know That Jesus Is God?
Question: I recently read the book, The Da Vinci Code. I know that it is fiction, but it has caused me to question everything that I’ve always believed about Jesus. How do we know that Jesus is God in the flesh and not simply a good teacher? Answer: For two thousand years, critics have chipped […]
Read MoreMy Experience in God’s Land of Promise
Israel—what an incredible place! You can read about it. You can listen to others’ stories about it. You can see pictures of it. But you can’t truly appreciate it until you’ve experienced it in person. My wife, Laura, and I had the distinct privilege of accompanying Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll—along with about 600 other travellers—on […]
Read MoreGrowing Old
Growing old, like taxes, is a fact we all must face. Now, you’re not going to get me to declare when growing up stops and growing old starts—not on your life! But there are some signs we can read along life’s journey that suggest we are entering the transition (how’s that for diplomacy?). Physically, the […]
Read MoreAlternatives to Grace
Isaiah 44:22 NLT If I choose not to risk, if I go the “safe” route and determine not to promote either salvation by grace or a lifestyle of grace, what are the alternatives? Four come to my mind, all of which are popular these days. 1. I can emphasize works over grace. I can tell […]
Read MoreSeeing the World through God’s Eyes
Standing ankle-deep in snow, I copied the following inscription from the main wall near the old, iron gate that leads to the campus of Harvard University: After God had carried us safe to New England, and we had builded [sic] our houses, provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared convenient places for God’s worship and settled […]
Read MoreWhy We Praise One We Can’t Comprehend
The culture in which we live, work, and play complains that God makes no sense, so how can He be trusted? They refuse to worship a God they can’t comprehend. My thought is the exact opposite. Unlike others, I find God’s incomprehensibility absolutely refreshing. Especially in a day like ours when executive moguls prance like […]
Read MoreThis Should Be Me
The sound of bleating lambs and shuffling footsteps filled the temple. With three trumpet blasts, the priests announced the start of the Passover sacrifices. Worshipers responded to the priests’ psalms with “Hallelujahs” as each man offered his household’s sacrifice to God. As the disciple John raised the knife to the throat of the lamb he’d […]
Read MoreHumility Has a Selective Memory
“Forgetting what is behind” (Philippians 3:13 NIV) is a statement that assures us that Paul was not the type to live in the past. He says, in effect, “I disregard my own accomplishments as well as others’ offenses against me. I refuse to dwell on that.” This requires humility, especially so when you examine Paul’s […]
Read MoreThe Full Gospel…And Nothing More
In Bible college I sat under Dr. Charles Ryrie for a course in soteriology—the doctrine of salvation. He opened the first lecture with this instruction: “Take out a piece of paper. You have less than one minute to share the gospel with a stranger, or he’ll be lost for eternity. Write down what that person […]
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