Thankfully, honesty leads to grace. — There is a lake in the northern part of our county where I enjoy walking. Surrounded by mountains, it’s a beautiful place to slow down, pray, listen, and just be. Recently, on a journey around the three-quarter-mile footpath, I question entered my mind that stopped me in my tracks. Do…

Historic statements of faith, such as the Apostles’ Creed, affirm the angels’ message to Joseph in Matthew 1, saying Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit.” This is to say, Jesus’ birth was utterly unique among all human births. In theology, we call this the Hypostatic Union, a fancy theological concept that simply means Jesus is both fully God and fully human in one person. The term hypostatic comes from the Greek hypostasis (ὑπόστασις, hupóstasis) which…

When we speak of Jesus as Lord, we’re talking about his reign as the eternal Creator-King. As the Apostle Paul writes, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16, ESV) John echoes this in the opening of his gospel…

What the Passover teaches us about Jesus. — As the Son of God, Jesus plays a unique role in God’s plan of redemption. This plan is outlined clearly by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:3–14, where God the Father chooses a people to adopt unto sonship, God the Son redeems them with blood, and God the Spirit seals the benefits of redemption to the redeemed, thus marking, authenticating, and securing believers unto eternal…

The main character in the Scriptures, as well as all human history, is Jesus Christ. Since people today typically have a first and last name, we might assume that Jesus is his first name and Christ is his last name. However, until about the 10th century AD, people typically had one given name. If they had a surname (last name), it was connected to their…

More than you may think. — In the ancient world, names often were ripe with meaning. For example, before his name change, the Hebrew meaning of Abram’s was exalted father, which seemed a tragic irony in that he was old and had no children. However, in the LORD’s covenant with Abram, he receives a name change to reflect the sovereign kindness of God. Abram becomes Abraham…

For Christians to be salt and light (i.e., a gospel influence for the kingdom of God) in a post-Christian culture, we must put down our rocks. The rock-throwing “Christian” is not only a misnomer and a bad look, it’s a fundamentally hypocritical posture. For the disciple of Jesus, my focus…

Sometimes an awareness of my remaining sinfulness makes me feel so far from the Father. Despised. Worthy of rejection. I try to preach the cross to myself. But sometimes the voice of condemnation in my head is too strong and I despair. But for some reason, when I pile all…

Francis Schaeffer said, “There is nothing uglier than [Christian] orthodoxy without… compassion.” When I reflect on my own lack of compassion toward other with whom I differ or disagree, I confess that it stems from the absence of humility. And the absence of humility is a denial of true Christian…