God's Command to Save You
The promise here is that God is present with us in our troubles, issuing commands to save us before we ask. God does not ignore our suffering and cries.
Contributors
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman is Lead Pastor at Hillside Lutheran Brethren Church in Succasunna New Jersey. He Holds a BA in History and Political Science from Quinnipiac University, an MDiv. from the Lutheran Brethren Seminary, and an STM in Patristics from Drew University; his research involves Augustinian studies and Early Christianity. He is co-founder of Fifth Act Church Planting, having served on their board.
Most Recent
I Don't Have the Answers, But I Have Hope
There is perhaps no better observation about the nature of anxiety and depression than its fundamental desire for avoidance.
Happily Waiting for My Faith to Die
You might not know it, but every Christian hopes for the day when their faith will die. Really. I promise. Faith’s death is our celebration.
Christmas in Isaiah: The Government's Welfare and the Lamb
The best we would have to look forward to, without Jesus, is a society dedicated to addressing problems and working through them.
Mary: When Gabriel was Frightened by Mary
Grace does not emancipate us from any requirement of obedience. Rather, grace allows Jesus to be obedient on our behalf that the righteous demands of the law can be fulfilled.
Christ's Words of Comfort: John 14:27
Jesus offers to the anxious soul the one thing it ironically wants: certainty of the good.
Why Lent Offers us a Curious Kind of Joy
There is joy in Lent, but it is the kind of joy that comes in being made whole.
The Real Church Pandemic is Nostalgia
Nostalgia is a looter who impoverishes us of the truth that God is in our midst right now.
Mountaintop Words
God is not what we experience him to be, what our emotions narrate him to be, or what our intuition thinks he might be. God is what and who he says he is.
The First Love of God
Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking God's love is like the love we experience in human relationships. But human love is a derivative of God's love. It is lesser.
Inspiration from Mr. Rogers about Coping with a Pandemic
Fred Rogers did not teach children how to live through a pandemic, but he had many profound things to say about loving our neighbors and finding our identity in that calling.
Is Jesus the Only Way?
To the extent that God is exclusive by offering salvation only through Christ we can say he is more gracious than other systems because he takes on our guilt upon himself while gifting us his righteousness.
Fruitful Solitude: Thoughts About Loneliness During the Holidays
The way through loneliness will lie in the blessing of solitude and the care of God.
What are “Facts” and What is Truth?
Freedom is the opposite of woe-dom. We must remind ourselves and teach our children that God's voice is the voice that matters.
God’s Coloring Book: Mr. Sketch, Drunken Sailors, and All Things New
God is coloring over your sin and making you fragrant; he is making you righteous in his sight. The old is gone, forever covered over by this new work.
Why Do You Expect So Little of God?
When we forget that we live by promise, that's when the danger tends to creep in. Because failing to embrace promise means we usually fall back into notions of luck, or even worse--into works.
A Reminder in Humility
As we face our own struggles and successes, let us pray that we may be humble. Let us be grateful for whatever God has provided and not become arrogant in what we have or what we've lost.
All the Suffering, Evil, and Pain in the World Comes Down to Love
Sin is driven by disordered love, and it is love in this sense that leads to all the pain and suffering in the world.
You Can’t Work For Peace
Because peace is a gift and not a product, you can’t work your way into it. However—you can receive it by grace.
Daring to Pray for the Impossible
Prayer dares to call the impossible into reality. It trusts the One who can do all things to do impossible things. It rests its hope on God’s power and not man’s agency.
It is Better to Not See
Miracles, for all their wonder and encouragement, rely on the dazzling of our senses to work. Because miracle-faith produces sensory-faith, it is of a poor quality.
When God Lets You Down After You Tried So Hard
There is often no way forward for us without the prophetic lament, because such laments force out our honesty and resentment at the God who does not treat us as we expect to be treated.
God, I’m Mad At You
When we are hurt, we cry out to God. But sometimes when the hurt gets really intense, our lament turns to complaint. Not only is this normal, but almost every lament in scripture contains a complaint.
Thoughts on Silence and Change
Silence is an important and valuable tool for change and empathy, self-reflection, and learning.
Fortress God
God will keep his promises, but how he keeps them is often quite surprising.