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As the people of Israel faced apparent disaster, the prophet Jahaziel declared, “Fear not, be not dismayed, for the battle is not yours but God’s, and the Lord will be with you.” The people moved forward in faith, giving thanks to God even before a victory, and... Read More →

“Give thanks in all circumstances.” So declares the apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 5:18. But how can we be thankful if our circumstances look bad? One of the most dramatic Biblical stories on that theme is in II Chronicles 20. The people of Judah, facing a massive foreign... Read More →

Even when it seems that our troubles are insurmountable and that God is absent, we are called to persist in faith, for God is at work and will provide. Read More →

Last week’s election shocked almost everyone. Some were elated at the result. Others were devastated. For all of us, our situation is rather much like that of the people of Israel when they were heading into the wilderness—we are journeying into uncertain territory. So we can... Read More →

These have been “stormy times” in American politics! Many people are unhappy with both major party presidential candidates. What are people of faith to do when the nation’s leaders are flawed? We receive helpful and sound guidance in the Biblical prophets. Read More →

We are in the midst of a political storm. This presidential campaign has delivered a barrage of endless negatives, and our nation is sharply polarized. Can faith enable us to navigate the storm? We can find sound guidance in the Scriptures. Flawed political leaders are nothing... Read More →

If we feel overwhelmed by the world’s troubles and our own shortcomings, the answer is not despair but faith. As we look to God, we can find new direction and vision. Read More →

Things did not go well for Jonah. He was caught in a terrible storm on a ship. He was thrown overboard. He was swallowed by a huge fish. After he was spewed out by the fish onto dry land, he felt compelled by God to go to the people of Nineveh, a people that he hated, to tell... Read More →

Life can take us through some pretty rough times. One of the most harrowing voyages in the Bible took place as Paul was on a ship destined for Rome. It is a story of how God is at work—often in spite of present appearances!—to bring the faithful through the storm. Read More →

Can the story of a shipwreck be a story of hope? It is when the travelers had been lost on stormy seas for weeks, and the ship’s crash lasting was on an inhabited island, bringing all the travelers to safety. This is the story of Paul’s voyage to Rome—the most dramatic sea voyage... Read More →

The world will forever be a mixture of good and evil because God allows people freedom. Rather than losing heart over the bad in the world, we need to keep focused on God’s work, trusting in the harvest to come. Read More →

With the evils that rage in today’s world, it is easy to fall into an age-old pattern—to classify human beings as the good or the bad, the righteous or the unrighteous, and to decide that the way to improve the world will be to eliminate the unrighteous. The church in the Middle... Read More →

Like the disciples, caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, we are often anxious and afraid in the face of life’s troubles. Jesus can calm the storm, and give us the courage to continue on in faith. Read More →

Fear is at the center of much of modern life. Whether we look at the world at large, or at the political situation in our own country, or perhaps at our personal lives, we have multiple reasons to be afraid. Fear also gripped the disciples on multiple occasions, and there are two... Read More →

In the midst of the darkest times in the history of Israel, Jeremiah found hope in God. His hope was well founded, for bright times were coming! Today, even in the toughest times, when it seems that all is lost, we can find genuine hope in God. Read More →

If you ever find yourself in deep despair, read the book of Lamentations. You will find that the prophet Jeremiah was right where you are! But in the midst of despair, Jeremiah reached to God in faith and said, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. The... Read More →

Why is there such evil in the world? The Bible leads us to understand not only the origin of evil, but the answer to it. We will never save ourselves; but the good news is that God is acting through Christ to deliver us from evil. Read More →

This past weekend, the anniversary of 9/11, a man in New York City attacked a Muslim woman, dressed in a traditional hijab, and set her clothes on fire. Horrible acts of human evil, of every size and threatening everyone, continue unabated. Should God prevent such evils? To do so... Read More →

When storms hit in life, we often wonder where God is. The Scriptures affirm that while God may allow the storm, God yet reigns over the storm. When we put our trust in God, we can see beyond the clouds, and we can find the strength to journey through the storm, upheld by the... Read More →

The Biblical writers knew what it meant to be in times of trouble. Of the many different types of Psalms, the most common is a psalm of lament – a cry to God out of the midst of trouble. These psalms can be very helpful for us, because they not only connect with our life... Read More →

We live in stormy times. How can we journey through a world full of such evil and trouble? The story of Noah is an archetypal image of how we can make it through the storm when we put our trust in God. Read More →

One of the greatest challenges in dealing with any issue is when nothing is happening—when there is no progress day after day, and no resolution of the issue in view. This is a key element in the story of Noah’s Ark. When people think of the story of Noah, they often think of... Read More →

Who are the “meek”? The Biblical answer may surprise you. When Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” he is talking about what sort of people find fulfillment in their true destiny. Read More →

The idea of “blessing” is not much in vogue today. People want “the good life” more than “the blessed life.” The “good life” is a long, pleasant life with lots of nice stuff. You gain it for yourself through your own effort and some good fortune. The good life is prosperity and... Read More →

Jesus says, “Blessed are the persecuted.” Through all the beatitudes, Jesus teaches that people who are hitting hard times may become especially blessed. What is Jesus saying to us when we confront rough times? Read More →

Happy are the persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:10) That’s one way of translating what Jesus says in the final “beatitude,” and it points to a central teaching of the Bible – happiness is found, not in our outward circumstances, but in our connection with... Read More →

“Blessed are the pure in heart,” says Jesus, “for they shall see God.” What does it mean to be pure in heart? Jesus points here to the center of the blessed life. Read More →

“Blessed are the pure in heart,” said Jesus, “for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) What is purity of heart? “Purity of heart is to will one thing,” said the Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard, in a classic book by that title. Our problem is that very often we will more than... Read More →

Forgiveness is hard. It can be hard to forgive ourselves. It can be hard to forgive others. Yet Jesus says “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” How do we experience God’s mercy in life? Read More →

Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes—“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7)—speak directly to what is desperately needed in our time. From Nice, France, to Istanbul, from Dallas to Baton Rouge, we see a world torn with resentment, hatred, and violence—a... Read More →

Are you trying to be a peacemaker in your family, or among friends or colleagues? It can be difficult! Do you long for peace in the world? That seems impossible! Yet Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” How does Jesus lead us to create peace? Read More →

The words of Jesus, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9), gain heightened relevance in the face of the terrible violence that we have been witnessing, from the Middle East to Dallas. But how can you be a peacemaker when it seems that people never stop fighting? The Bible... Read More →

What does it mean as a nation to be blessed by God? Does our country have a calling to be “a nation whose God is the Lord”? Read More →

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12) What does a nation look like that is blessed by God? The Bible lifts up two key features: a nation that is blessed will be godly and good. Concerning godliness, the Scriptures are clear that it is only through trusting... Read More →

What are you seeking in life? What will satisfy your soul? We are invited to find our real fulfillment in Christ. Read More →

Can a time when we are feeling low in life become a time of blessing? Jesus said that it is just such a time when we may especially experience the blessing of God. In the Beatitudes, the eight “blessed are” sayings that begin the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew,... Read More →

What does it mean to be blessed by God? How do we enter into God’s blessing? The story of Abraham helps us to understand how God’s blessing works. Read More →

One of the foundational stories of the Bible is when God says to Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you . . . so that you will be a blessing . . . and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” [Genesis 12:2-3] What does it mean to be... Read More →

What is God’s calling for your life? How do you discern, and follow, that call? Read More →

Are you just randomly wandering through this earth, or does God have a calling for your life? The Bible affirms that God has for you a life purpose, and the Bible encourages us to be receptive to God’s direction. But how do we discern God’s call? In the many “call” stories in the... Read More →

How do we come to faith—a personal faith that is real and that is our own? The parable of the bridesmaids gives us an example from which to draw inspiration. Read More →

Have you ever been at a wedding reception, waiting for the bride and groom, and the wait is very long? This is the scenario in one of Jesus’ parables. People are waiting expectantly for the bridegroom (and the bride), but there is an unexplained delay. The bridegroom in the... Read More →

What is the nature of evil? Why does it exist? What do we do about it? Like the first disciples, we are called to “cast out demons” today. Read More →

. . . the people who dwell in a land of deep darkness . . . (Isaiah 9:2) The Bible consistently uses the image of darkness to describe the spiritual waywardness and sin of humanity. When we consider all the evils in today’s world, we see that human beings are indeed “in a land of... Read More →

Christ brings triumph over the power of evil. The battle comes to focus on the cross and culminates in the resurrection. Evil may yet rage in the world, but its power over us is broken, when we put our faith in Christ. Read More →

People do not generally decide to be evil. They are drawn into it, they deceive themselves, and imagine they are OK when they are doing great wrong. We see the pattern again and again—in social movements from the Nazis to present-day Islamist terrorists, and in the behavior of... Read More →

What is the message of the many gospel stories in which Jesus casts out demons? Are there demons in our own lives, or in the world at large, from which we need deliverance today? The New Testament brings a powerful message about how Christ will free us from the demonic powers of... Read More →

The notion of “the dark side” in the Star Wars movies was drawn from an age-old perception in religion—that there are dark powers at work in the world. We see these powers today. As Paul said, “Our struggle is against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the... Read More →

Is there really something beyond this life? Can we believe in eternity? And if we believe in eternal life, what difference does that make for life right now? These questions are decisively answered on Easter. Read More →

We like to do our own thing. We should not have to be responsible for someone else. Or does God have another idea? What is God’s vision for the human race? Read More →