For I know how to have much, and how to deal with having little. I have learned the secret of contentment in all circumstances, whether well fed or being hungry, whether having plenty or being in want. Phil. 4:12 What does a life lived by faith in the Triune God look like? This is an...... Read More

By faith Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God tested him … even though the Lord had promised that it was through Isaac that Abraham’s descendants would be numbered. It was by faith that Isaac promised future blessings to his sons, Jacob and Esau. And It was by faith that Jacob, before his death,...... Read More

A slave does not remain in the household, but the children belong to it forever. John 8:36 In case you weren’t around, I had a cranky week to begin the month of May. Our new home is missing any semblance of landscaping, and the weather has prevented the situation from improving. Several encounters with customer...... Read More

A Canaanite woman from that area came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me, for my daughter suffers terribly from demon-possession.’ But Jesus did not answer a word. Mat. 15:22-23 To paraphrase the author of John’s Gospel, “If all the things that people have said about prayer were written down,...... Read More

This is what the Lord says: “The wise should not boast in their wisdom, the powerful in their power, or the rich in their riches. Let anyone who desires to boast boast in this: that they know me and understand that I am the Lord who reveals steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth,...... Read More

 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who, though he was rich, became poor for our sakes so that we might become rich in him (2 Cor. 8:9). (The first in a series on freedom from avarice and greed to...... Read More

Abraham believed God, and this was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). It is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). I would say that I experienced a blessed childhood. I had good parents, a stable family environment, lots of friends in the neighborhood and at school, no real fears to assail me....... Read More

The Father’s relentless, gracious pursuit of us is meant to deliver us from our consuming desire to love and serve ourselves above everything else. I don’t think that it would be shocking or controversial for me to say that Jesus is not particularly tolerant of unbelief or that he strongly opposes our indulging in or...... Read More

When God called him to go to a land he would later receive as his inheritance, Abraham obeyed and left his home, even though he did not know where he was going … and lived in tents as a stranger, even in the promised land, because he was looking forward to a secure city built and designed...... Read More

The “alleylon” (one another) passages in the New Testament, Part 5b: Bear each others’ burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2) Carrying stuff is one of those near-universal experiences of the human race, exempting only the fabulously wealthy who hire or force others to assume the drudgery of burden bearing...... Read More