CHRIST the REPRODUCER: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (Jn 12:24). As with Abram, the Lord blesses us that we may be the channel of His blessing to others (Gen 12:1-2). The Lord saves us and then enlists us […]
“Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted” (Ps 89:15-16). W.A. Cornaby writes: One sunny morning, after a spell of dismal weather, a little girl of six came running […]
“God” in various religions might be thought of as benevolent towards creation, but the gospel was Good News when it first burst on the world because men realized “God is Love.” The revelation provided by Christ Himself, the awe-full brunt of suffering which He was prepared to bear in order to redeem mankind, His triumph […]
Times of testing test friendships, too. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Prov 17:17). Bad news travels fast. “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite” (Job 2:11). With […]
CHRIST the LORD from HEAVEN: “the second Man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Cor 15:47). Adam was from the earth and so, like the earth, he was “earthy.” But Christ is not like heaven; heaven is like Christ. He is Lord there. The Book of Revelation declares: His glorious presence is the light of […]
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Mt 23:37). Six hundred years before, Jeremiah asked, “Who will have pity on you, O […]
J. Budziszewski, a “repentant atheist,” writes: “How then did I become undeceived? Not because anyone called my bluff. When I told the faculty of the University of Texas that there is no rationally knowable difference between good and evil and that we aren’t responsible for our deeds anyway, they gave me a job teaching the […]
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isa 43:2). When, not if. Through, not into. “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). One NIH scientist thinks Job’s disease was scabies. […]
CHRIST the ULTIMATE GIVER: “the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20). And look what He’s given to us! “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (Jn 10:28). What next? Surprisingly, He offers us His yoke: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for […]