CHRIST the PARADOX: “As deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2 Cor 6:8-10). Explain it, if you can: “it is […]
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.… For each one shall bear his own burden” (Gal 6:2, 5). Alexander Smellie, chronicler of the Scottish Covenanters, tells of one of Christ’s noblemen imprisoned by Claverhouse on lonely Bass Rock. The motto on his coat of arms read, Sub pondere cresco: “I grow […]
Dr. Gerald McKibben comments on the current argument that the degree of similarity between the DNA of men and chimpanzees supposedly proves the evolutionary link between humans and apes: “God used DNA and RNA as the backbone of His genetic blueprints for all organisms, from one-celled ones to the great blue whale. He did not […]
OUR ABSENT but RETURNING LORD: “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). “Blessed” here could be translated “happy,” and—knowing what we know about the promised return of our Champion—we ought to be a happy people! In fact, our hope is linked with joy, for […]
“He cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees” (1 Ki 18:42 KJV). Elijah’s first prayer is not the kind of request we want to make. He called on God to stop blessing His people until they returned to Him. It took three-and-a-half years until they finally fell to their […]
“Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you” (1 Pet 1:23, 25). Michael Boland, in his introduction to John Flavel’s The Mystery of Providence (p. 11), tells the story of Luke […]
Isn’t it amazing! Our Mediator is completely even-handed in dealing with both the holy God and us sinners. Job seriously feels the need of help. He describes his life as hurtling ahead. It’s like a fast-paced runner streaking towards the finish line (Job 9:25), like a ship in full sail breaking through the foam on […]
JESUS “FAITHFUL and TRUE” (Rev 19:11). “Faithful” (pistos) refers to one who “can be relied on…in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties”; while “true” (alethinos) speaks of “that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect.” […]
“Your gentleness has made me great” (2 Sam 22:36). In urging Robert Southey to write a biography of John Wesley, Sir Walter Scott recounts the following: “When I was twelve years old, I heard him [Wesley] preach more than once, standing on a chair, in Kelso churchyard. He was a most venerable figure…. He told […]