“Faith, in fact, is what gives fullness to our reasoning… Though every thinking being longs for God… it is powerless… to grasp him… it discovers God through the beauty and order of things seen, using sight as a guide to what transcends sight.” Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390) One of the things I pride myself in is I can still beat … Read More
Why I Believe Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Part 2 of 3
“Assessing… [the historical worth of the gospels] can be done, if at all, only by the kind of painstaking historical work which I and others have attempted… I simply record it as my conviction that the four canonical gospels, broadly speaking, present a portrait of Jesus of Nazareth which is firmly grounded in real history.” N.T. Wright in Simply Christian: … Read More
Why I Believe Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Part 1 of 3
When I was a sophomore at Lancaster Bible College, I had the privilege of taking a philosophy class from the school’s most gifted and popular professor at the time. For reasons I won’t go into here, I’ll just call him Bob. Bob had a gift for making difficult subjects like epistemology (the study of how we know stuff) clear and … Read More
Making Sense of “The Fear of the LORD”
Another reason to acknowledge and retain the doctrines of both the universal and redemptive Fatherhood of God is that doing so brings clarity to our understanding of the fear of God. Fear of the LORD is reverential awe. For example, in Psa. 96:4 it says, “For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared … Read More
Exclusive Prayer & Ministry Update- 051321
Hi Friends, We’ve had a beautiful week weather-wise and I’m hoping to take Pam to one of our favorite places Saturday, Longwood Gardens—somewhere we’ve not been since Christmas. And, because they’re just so darn cute and growing fast, I’ve included a recent pic of the grandkids above. Here’s a few highlights from our latest: Personal: We’re grateful that we’re on … Read More
The Universal Fatherhood of God, Part 2 of 2
“The Bible calls on us to develop a theological imagination within which we see the world as a community and not a collection of hostilities.” Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun … Read More
The Universal Fatherhood of God, Part 1 of 2
“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means he does not understand Christianity very well at … Read More
What It Means to Be Adopted by God, Part 2 of 2
Last week, we concluded with Jerry Bridges’ three precious things adoption means for the Christian:[1] We have been brought into close personal relationship with Him. We have confident and ready access to Him. We receive the full rights of sons. Let’s now illustrate these three meanings in various ways by taking a deep dive into the infamous story of the … Read More
What It Means to Be Adopted by God, Part 1 of 2
Long before ABBA was associated with a Swedish pop group, songs like Dancing Queen, and movies like Mama Mia, it was a Greek term akin to “Papa” or “Dad,” connoting “affectionate respect.”[1] Many of us know something of these intimate terms in that when we’ve called our father to share our heart, we begin by saying, “Dad…” Or when our … Read More
The Proverbs 31 Woman: An Important Corrective for Our Times
I tend to love strong, capable female characters in books and movies, especially spy thrillers. As a pastor, however, I fully acknowledge that—in real life—degrading and oppressive attitudes and actions toward women have been rampant throughout history. And that, sadly, many of these attitudes and actions have been vehemently defended by various religions, including Christianity. But, honestly, even our irreligious … Read More