Yesterday as I reflected on Isaiah’s amazing words, it struck me that God’s promise to be with us in the fire and waters changes the way we look at the fire and water – the trials of life. We don’t fear them. But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: […]
More than Conquerors
Brief Review: A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible: Second Edition
For years, I have longed to have the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament in one volume. Biblia Sacra is the common gold standard, but it is expensive. After looking at various options, I finally on A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible: Second Edition by A. Philip Brown II and Bryan W. Smith (Zondervan Academic; Hardcover, 2020). A […]
A Higher Power at Work
My children and I are enjoying listening to Where the Red Fern Grows together. After the boy gets his puppies, he reflects on God’s providence: Still mumbling names over and over, I glanced up. There, carved in the white bark of a sycamore tree, was a large heart. In the center of the heart were two names, “Dan” and “Ann.” […]
Another Prayer Based on Jonah 1
Gracious God and Father, we humble ourselves before you and plead for forgiveness today. Isaiah tells us that sin separates us from you, and we know it all too well. Sin also separates us from the neighbors we are called to love. You care for everything and everyone you created, but we are focused only on ourselves. When we run […]
A Prayer Based on Jonah 1
Father, we confess that the spirit of Jonah still lives in us, for we rebel against your commands. We think we know better than you. We lean on our own understanding. We don’t believe your ways “work.” Forgive us for our pride that leads us to say, “no” to you. Thank you that the Son of God said “yes” to […]
A Prayer from Micah 5
Holy God, there is none like you. We bow down before your infinite majesty, your perfect justice, and your inexplicable mercy. You have done what human ‘wisdom’ cannot explain—bestowed salvation on those weak and lowly, saved us through Christ crucified. We give thanks to you for saving us through faith in Christ. You have done this despite our craving of […]
Guilt, Grace, Gratitude
This is the pattern of the Christian life: Guilt, Grace, Gratitude. There is so much to this dynamic. For example, it shows us that: Truth transforms. Christian salvation is not just a “get out of hell free” card that leaves a person living however they want, but gratitude truly comes where God’s grace is known, and that gratitude means life […]
The Many Andrew Millers
Andrew Miller is a more common name than you might expect. I can remember calling the library as a child to renew my books and having to not only give them my middle initial, my middle name, but also my birth-date, before they found my entry! I’m not the Andrew Miller that comes up on google alerts – the MLB […]