Give generously, and do not let your heart be grieved when you give, because for this act the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your endeavors. Deuteronomy 15:10 Some years ago, Harold Bloom, one of the world’s preeminent literary scholars, authored a mammoth study of Williams Shakespeare’s plays...... Read More

Because we have been made righteous by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through him, and through faith in him, that we have been brought into the grace in which we stand. This is why we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And,...... Read More

Don’t be anxious about anything, but in every circumstance, with thankful prayer and petition, make your needs known to God. And God’s peace, which transcends all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7 Human culture has always suffered from a plethora of disease states, with each generation seeming to specialize...... Read More

But now God’s righteousness has come to us apart from the law, although the Law and Prophets bear witness to it — God’s righteousness that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, and are justified only by his gift of grace...... Read More

For in Christ Jesus … the only thing that matters is faith working through love. Gal. 5:6 How do you know that you have real faith in a Real God? That’s the big question that we’re always trying to answer in this here blog space. Last time we were especially thinking about whether the faith...... Read More

Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. 8 He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering. I Sam....... Read More

Wherever you go, I will go. Ruth 1:16b. Like all humans, I love numbers, measurements, and statistics. How did I do on the exam? What was the score of the Lions game (OK, maybe not that)? What’s the unemployment rate, my raise for this year, the percentage of people with health insurance or bald spots?...... Read More

Now David was deeply troubled because his men talked of stoning him; but he strengthened himself in the Lord (1 Sam. 30:6). Therefore, I will gladly boast all the more of my weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9). ______________________________________________________________________________ Last time we met, the conclusion to our introduction was to ask if we are prepared for a...... Read More

When the goodness and loving kindness of God our savior appeared … Titus 3:4 In 1741, Jonathan Edwards – one of my two or three favorite theologians – preached his famous sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.” His words remain one of the preeminent Protestant examples of what I call “Wrath Theology,”...... Read More

No longer do I call you servants, but friends; for everything that I have heard from the Father I will declare to you. John 15:15 How do you do the friend thing? Are you a BFF kind of person, with one or two people who are really close to you? Or do you engage a...... Read More