The gospel in me and through me!
One of the most quoted verses in the Psalter is Psalm 118:23. “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Perhaps you grew up singing the children’s chorus that simply repeats … Read More
Jesus is the Lord. Because He is Lord, He makes the rules. In Luke 18-19, Luke strings together several stories that point to Jesus as Lord. In his rebellion, the rich young ruler declared Jesus as Lord because he made … Read More
One of God’s great works is to take seemingly chance encounters and turn them into divine appointments. As we walk through our days, we attempt to schedule our time so we can organize ourselves. But we also recognize that we … Read More
Christians draw great hope from the promises of God. One such promise that encourages us during hard times is Romans 8:28. In this familiar verse, Paul reminds us of the good purposes that God has in all that He allows … Read More
Faith requires us to acknowledge and accept our finitude and moral need. We cannot have faith while maintaining a prideful self-sufficient heart. We may say we have faith, but our doubting, prideful hearts say otherwise in how we live and … Read More
Considering children and the wealthy creates a stark contrast that highlights the way we must come to God. Luke points to Jesus’s interactions with both groups to expose our hearts. When we think of children, we think of an innocent, … Read More
When you think of pride or hypocrisy, what do you think of first? For those of us who have grown up in church, attending Sunday school or listening to the occasional sermon about such topics, the Pharisee was the prime … Read More
Justice is instinctive in humans. When someone wrongs us, we want a just and fair response from authority. The problem is that we don’t always get justice. Sometimes people get away with wronging us. Sometimes the authorities might refuse to … Read More
Our faith is tested all the time. Probably one of the most common tests is painful experiences. When we encounter some discomfort, we recoil. When the pain intensifies, we attempt to respond in a way that’s consistent with what we … Read More
One of the ways our inherent sinfulness becomes obvious is in our self-righteousness. As we have walked through the gospel of Luke, I am struck by Luke’s emphasis on this reality. The temptation to look down on others and consider … Read More