Wisdom and strength require bootstrap-pulling and the placing of noses to grindstones.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
How do the words “The righteous shall live by his faith” go from a context of hope in hopelessness to the cornerstone declaration of the chief doctrine of the Christian faith?

All Articles

In the Old Testament, to zakar ("remember") is not merely to rifle through the files in your head until you find that fact you’ve been searching for. To zakar is to employ your hands and feet and lips to engage in whatever action that remembrance requires.
Freedom and reconciliation were significant themes for both of the Martin Luthers.
Jonah rejected his first call and job description and headed in the opposite direction . Now, after spending three days in the belly of the big fish, Jonah is called again.
Jesus knows you and everybody else come from a long line of life wasters going all the way back to Adam. Jesus died for life wasters! Let go of your bootstraps. Stand back up. Your Father loves you.
Salvation is not simply transactional; it is fundamentally relational. Not anemic, but full-blooded. Not disembodied, but bodied.
Samuel plays a very important role in preserving the line of Judah by anointing and instructing the first kings of the united monarchy—especially King David.
Christ has come to make all things new, and water and the Spirit are used for His new creation just as it was for the original.
The setting for Luke 2 is the first century analog to my backyard. The stage is dressed with rust and decay, guilt and shame, sin and death.
The receiving and/or possessing of a gift, even one from God, is far different than putting it to use.
The Lamb of God is stripped of His garment and sheds His blood on a cross to clothe us in robes of righteousness and garments of salvation—like a bridegroom who adorns himself and his bride.
Hannah’s story is the story of God’s great reversal.
Advent is not a call to prepare to engage in a transaction with God.