Posts from 2020

“…This, I think, is my favorite Advent text because I don’t know any other that expresses so clearly the connection between the beginning and the end of Jesus’s earthly life — between the incarnation and crucifixion….”                                                                                        …

“…it seems that the Bible warns of three dangers that might accompany a successful vaccine—and therefore three spiritual warnings. These, I suspect, are not so obvious. They’re certainly not in our newsfeeds….”   3 Dangers of a Successful Vaccine    

A  57-year-old widowed father of six children, the oldest of which had been nearly paralyzed as his country fought a war against itself—wrote a poem seeking to capture the dynamic and dissonance in his own heart and the world he observes around him that Christmas Day.   The True Story of Pain and Hope Behind “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”  

“… But now life is hard because I see that God’s sovereignty may also be inclined towards the things I dread, the things I would not wish for.”   I Fear God, and I’m Afraid of God  

When we pray in times of injustice, we are protesting to the highest authority in the universe, the perfect arbiter of all justice…   https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/prayer-is-activism/

Even when we cannot glimpse the contours of our Father’s plan, he is still good. We can trust his hand even in those moments when we cannot see his face. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/trust-hand/  

“Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Num. 11:29). “Moses’s response was more than just a personal expression of humility. His answer expressed a longing of redemptive-historical proportions…” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/moses-wish-came-true/

Before the storms of suffering blow against a person’s soul, we should try to put five foundation stones under their faith. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/before-your-suffering-comes

Under the sun no good gift is ours to keep. That’s what we learn in the house of mourning, and it’s a hard lesson. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/funerals-better-feasts/

The Bible speaks some brutally honest words for the surety of our uncertainty.   Uncertainty is certain. Or at least, so it seems to creatures like us. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/uncertainty-is-certain

The people listening to Jesus that day were looking for an answer that all people of all eras look for: Why this suffering? Why this evil, and why did it befall these victims? What can I do to escape from it befalling me? The answer Jesus gave accomplished, in one stroke, a number of crucial theological corrections.   https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/dont-wait-to-be-done-with-sin

In times of trial, and because each spouse processes situations differently, it’s all too easy to take out our frustrations and anxieties on one another. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/marriage-quarantine/

Enter Psalm 57, a psalm of David, written in a cave while he is actively being hunted. I imagine he could relate to feelings of isolation and fear. What does it look like for you and me to run to God as our refuge, to say along with David, “In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by”? I think it looks like resting in truth and responding in faith.   https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/quarantine-hard-god-good/

There’s no doubt COVID-19 will bring rough days. Yet we also have a unique opportunity to reconnect, rediscover, and rejoice in the family the Lord has given us.   https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/lead-your-family-in-isolation/  

Christianity that ignores the reality of death is utterly inauthentic… https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/video/new-song-christ-hope-life-death/