God's Word in Our Lives

The wheat that grows in the Middle East is a variety that looks much like wild grass or weeds. It is difficult to tell wheat and weeds apart until shortly before harvest time, when the wheat stalks develop a head containing the kernels of grain. Try and pull the weeds out of a wheat field and you will likely pull up a fair amount of wheat accidentally. So you need to wait for the harvest to separa...

Planting seed by hand can seem magical. In your hand the seed looks insignificant and lifeless. Yet you put the seed into the soil, and the natural process of life begins. All by itself, the seed germinates and sprouts and reaches to the sun. Except when it doesn’t! Plant multiple seeds and often only some, perhaps just a small amount, will sprout. As these few sprouts grow, birds and pests and we...

From its birth the New Testament Church has been persecuted. The religious leaders in Jerusalem tried to stamp it out, but they only succeeded in spreading Christianity throughout Judea and Samaria. The Roman Empire persecuted Christians with stakes and lions, yet God’s Church exploded with growth in those early centuries. In Martin Luther’s day, both pope and emperor sought to stop the gospel mov...

When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them” (Matthew 9:36). The Greek word translated “compassion” refers to a type of love that almost overwhelms one’s emotions. Imagine a father looking at his little girl lying in a hospital bed near death. The father’s heart aches. That father would allow the surgeon to cut any organ out of him, without anesthesia, and transplant it into his daughter,...

They never forgot their past. Moses never forgot how, in a fit of anger, he killed a man. Paul never forgot how he had savaged the Church of God, overseeing the persecution and execution of Christians around Jerusalem. Matthew never forgot how, as a tax collector for the Roman Empire, he was distained as a swindler and traitor to his people. These men never forgot their past But God did. God forga...

In the first half of the Church Year (Advent through Pentecost) we look at the life of Christ—his birth, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit. In the second half of the year, we look at the teachings of Christ. We begin by looking at one of the most mind-blowing truths: that God is triune.    Already in the very first chapter of the Bible we read, “Then God...

Fifty days after the Passover, God’s Old Testament people celebrated Pentecost (Greek for “fifty”). Pentecost commemorated the gathering of the harvest and was also used to remember the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai, the start of the Church of Israel. Christ chose Pentecost to be the birthday of his New Testament Church too. By pouring out his Holy Spirit, Christ empowered the Church to gather in...

We understand why God became man in the person of Christ. The Savior needed to be able to suffer and die to atone for mankind’s sin. What is fascinating is that when the work of redemption was completed, the Son of God did not set aside his humanity. The God-man ascended into heaven. It is a human, our brother, who sits on heaven’s throne.    The ascension marks the completion of Jesus’ earthly mi...

The LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die’” (Genesis 2:16,17). In giving that command, God showed love to man by making it clear that it is lethal to live contrary to God’s will. In giving that command, God provided man with the ability to de...

The gospel is the most inclusive message in the world. The benefits of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are meant for every man, woman, and child who ever lived. The gospel is also the most exclusive message in the world, for it maintains that salvation can only be found in one place—the person of Jesus Christ. Just listen to how Jesus speaks: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (J...

Every culture has the concept of an ideal citizen, someone who typifies its values. For much of the United States’ history, the ideal citizen was the American farmer: hardworking, innovative, vital to our collective well-being. Even some of our first presidents were farmers.    For the people of Israel, the farmer wasn’t their ideal citizen. It was the shepherd. Sheep were an invaluable source of...

Imagine someone you love is near death. Their only hope of survival is a risky brain surgery, one so complicated only one surgeon in the state will attempt it. The surgery is scheduled. But as that doctor drives to the hospital, he is killed in a car accident. Any hope you had for your loved one’s salvation died along with that surgeon.   That is how Jesus’ disciples felt after his death. “We hope...

Thomas had been taught and trained by Christ himself. He heard Jesus predict his death and resurrection. Yet, even after hearing the eyewitness testimony of friends, who all saw the resurrected Jesus, Thomas had doubts: "Rising from the dead. That can’t be possible!".   Christ Today is a day of great comfort for any follower of Jesus who wrestles with doubt concerning Christ’s promises o...

A dead Jesus would do no one any good. But a resurrected Jesus? That would change everything; that would make Easter the most important event that has ever happened. Today God wants us to know with certainty that Jesus lives. Because if Jesus lives, then so will his believers. God had told his Church what was going to happen. Jesus told his disciples what would transpire in Jerusalem. The disciple...

We often think of the word communion as a synonym for the Lord’s Supper. “I took communion” means “I received the Lord’s Supper.” Yet, the Latin word communion is means “community” or “association” or “sharing.” (In the creed, we speak of “the communion of saints.”) When people come together and share their lives with one another, the result is blessing—a blessed communion. And when God comes to u...

Pick any head of state: the president, a prime minister, a king. Hopefully, they care about the people over whom they have authority. But even if they care, they live and operate above the people. The British royals live in a palace, not a three-bedroom ranch. The President does not fly coach. He sits in a recliner on Air Force One. There’s nothing wrong with this. Those offices are worthy of high...

The author and poet George Eliot once wrote, “Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.” The Roman philosopher Cicero said much the same. He wrote, “The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.” What second rate comfort! But that is the best the unbelieving world can offer—the sappy sentiment that our dead loved ones somehow “live on” in our memories. It is a sad...

We know that unbelief will have consequences in the future—eternal separation from God. But unbelief also has consequences now. It makes you blind, in a sense. The unbeliever is unable to see the world as it really is. That which is harmful the unbeliever considers good; that which is good he considers meaningless. The unbeliever cannot see the danger that lurks behind temptation. He cannot see th...

When assessing the seriousness of need, one factor is how widespread that need is. A homeless individual needs food. During a famine, an entire nation needs food. It is substantially easier to meet the needs of the former than the latter! The more widespread a need, the greater the need. When Jesus said, “No one can enter the kingdom of God,” he declared that the need for salvation is universal. H...

Our modern English word “champion” comes from an old English word that meant “warrior.” In ancient times, when two armies gathered to fight, sometimes as a prelude to the battle—and sometimes in place of the battle—each army would pick a mighty solider, and these two men would fight each other. These elite warriors, these champions, would represent their people in battle. They would meet in the mi...

During our midweek Lenten services this year we’ll be focusing on “His Final Steps”.  The series ponders the significance of the people and places on Jesus’ resolute final steps to the cross and three days later, his final steps from the tomb.  Each week we will ponder one segment of Jesus’ journey to the cross.

Throughout his ministry Jesus said astounding things and did astounding things. Yet, he looked like a normal man. The prophet said, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). This would all change one day atop a high mountain. There, Jesus gave his disciples—gave his Church—a glimpse of the glory he set aside to be our Sav...

The word “holy” comes from an Old English word, “halig” which means “whole” or “healthy.” We have a holy God. He wants us to live a holy life, one that is wholly dedicated to him, one that is spiritually and emotionally healthy for us. So, as Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount, he makes a crucial point that not all his followers (including present day followers) understand well. Jesus came to...

Imagine a beautiful guitar, carefully crafted out of the finest mahogany and steel strings. Now imagine that fine instrument is never played. It is placed atop a bookshelf and never touched. It just collects dust. Tragic, right? What a thing is finds fulfillment when that thing does what it was made to do. Of what use is a guitar that makes no music? What would be the point of turning on a lamp an...

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a series of blessings. “Blessed are…” Jesus says, again and again. In the Latin Vulgate, these all begin with the word “beati” which translates as “blessed” or “happy.” Thus, this portion of the sermon is often called “The Beatitudes.” It had to give Jesus’ listeners pause. For what Jesus calls blessed, the world never would. The world praises the strong a...