Posts from November 2017

Cup of cold water

Have you checked today’s headlines yet? Several college students got drunk and started a fight, two of everyone’s favorite celebrities filed for divorce, and the coach is “very excited” about the next game. “We hope to be competitive,” he said. There was a murder downtown, a meth lab exploded, and police are looking for a suspect in a string of convenience store robberies. A professional athlete feels disrespected and unappreciated by his $8 million-per-year offer, so he’ll probably ask to…

Afraid of God?

Should we be scared of God? The quick and easy answer is no, of course we shouldn’t. He’s a God of love, grace, and compassion. But that answer would be too quick and superficial. What are we supposed to do with passages like this one? Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,…

A Laughing God

I get mad when I hear that a shooter has inexplicably killed more than twenty innocent people. Again. In a church, no less. It’s becoming all-too-frequent: concerts, schools, churches, other public spaces. These atrocities remind us that evil pervades our world, and we’ve got to be careful that we don’t develop a jaded attitude. We might even lose confidence in the power and sovereignty of the God we serve. Listen to the psalmist: Why do the nations rage and the…

Spoiler Alert

I don’t like for someone to tell me how a movie ends before I watch it, and I’d never read the last chapter of a book before I’d read the rest. So I hope I’m not spoiling the end for you when I let you in on a Bible secret. We win. Big. Or maybe I should say, “God wins . . . so we do too.” He’s dropped some huge hints along the way . . . here’s one…

Are You Righteous?

The word righteous means “to act in a way that’s morally right and wise.” In James chapter 5, we read about the “prayer of a righteous person.” This prayer, James said, “has great power as it is working. My first thought is that I want to be righteous! I want to be able to pray powerful prayers. But, am I righteous? Sometimes, I pray with doubts. Not doubts in God, but doubts in myself. My prayers sometimes focus more on…