Category: Meditations

At first glance, this law might seem somewhat out of place — in the same list as “do not murder” and “do not commit adultery” (Deut.5). But when you think about it, coveting what someone else has can lead to serious consequences. And when practiced by an entire culture,...

When King David committed his infamous transgression, he not only consumed what was not his to have, but he distorted and misused power for his own purposes. He took at least two things that were meant by God for good — the desire for closeness, and the use of...

I caught a glimpse today of how poor my belief can be in the goodness of God. It’s not that I don’t know in my head that He is good, or that I cannot appreciate His goodness much of the time. But there are parts of me that wonder...

“Imagine a sail, full and bright, pulling each boat with all the power of the wind. The oars are gone, along with sore arms and aching backs. Instead, the boaters are learning how to catch the wind and give up the work of forward movement to something much more...

Almost every day we hear news that makes us wonder how long the world can last. And with very little effort we can find doomsday prophets who will predict with certainty that the end is near. Not that long ago we all went through the Y2K hysteria. A few...

I have been reading the book of Joshua lately, trying to understand more of what it means to “take back the land” that God has promised to us. The idea seems very compelling that the whole process of Joshua’s cleansing of the land has a close parallel to conquering...

“Be still and know that I am God” is a well-known quote from Psalm 46. But what is less well known is the context of that phrase. Usually we hear this quotation in reference to making a space to be still before God and listening to Him speak into...

“Beloved, we are already God’s children. And it has not appeared as yet what we shall become. But we do know that we shall be like Him, because we will see Him as He truly is. And everyone who has this hope is already engaged in the process of...

We all know that we generally see things from our own perspective, first and foremost. Only with some effort do we view things from another person’s vantage point. We even do this when thinking about the spiritual life — how to wrestle with our sin; what we should do...

When bad things happen to us, one of the most common responses I hear from Christians is some form of the idea that we do not have to worry because “God is in control.” Now I agree that God is going to work all things for good and that...