The lack of a backup plan is not a sign that God wants you to wait. A friend of mine preached recently from Luke 9, the passage where Jesus sends out the Twelve with nothing—no money bag, no extra tunic, no backup provisions of any kind. Two of his observations have stuck with me. Here … Continue reading No Safety Net in Obedience
7 Marks of an Offensive Christian Witness From Acts 17
Will being a Christian cost you something in the present day? If you merely identify as one—even if you aren’t—will that help or hurt your social standing? Most of us already know the answers. We feel the cultural temperature. Aaron Renn has called the years since 2014 the negative world—the stretch in which Christian conviction is no … Continue reading 7 Marks of an Offensive Christian Witness From Acts 17
God’s Mandate to the Ends of the Earth
I am not a missionary. Not every Christian is called to be one—not in the sense of being commissioned to cross cultures to preach the gospel and plant churches. But that doesn't let the rest of us off the hook. Paul was clear in Romans 15. Some must go. Others must help send them. There … Continue reading God’s Mandate to the Ends of the Earth
Between Borders and the Kingdom
Immigration is as controversial as it has ever been in American life, particularly as patterns of migration from Latin America intersect with broader global movement and displacement. Some cross borders fleeing violence or persecution. Others move primarily in search of economic opportunity and stability. According to the United Nations, an estimated 122 million people, including … Continue reading Between Borders and the Kingdom
Easter Sunday: Seeking the Living Among the Dead
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two … Continue reading Easter Sunday: Seeking the Living Among the Dead
Holy Saturday: The Glory of the In-Between
Early in my musical training, a wise, older musician taught me that equally as important as the notes one plays are the intervals—what is not played in between the notes. In the intervals is where tension builds, thoughts develop, and sublimity resides. Likewise, in the interval between Good Friday’s minor tone and the triumphant chorus … Continue reading Holy Saturday: The Glory of the In-Between
Good Friday: A House Condemned
Of the various characters that appear in the Gospels’ accounts of Good Friday—Pilate, Herod, the chief priests, the soldiers, Simon of Cyrene, the thieves—one character that is often forgotten is the temple. Throughout the Gospel narratives, the temple looms as a significant player in the story. Jesus cleanses it twice (John 2:13–17; Matt. 21:12–13), teaches … Continue reading Good Friday: A House Condemned
Maundy Thursday: Passover Fulfilled
We tend to think of Holy Week as a week that brought some small sense of dread for the Lord Jesus—from a human standpoint—based on his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and the willpower required to willingly submit to the cross. We do not often associate Holy Week with joyful anticipation. Yet for our … Continue reading Maundy Thursday: Passover Fulfilled
Holy Wednesday: Costly Devotion, Cheap Betrayal
Any of us who have been in church budget meetings know something of this attitude of pious austerity that affects Christians of all stripes. For some reason, no one is more careful with money than when it is time to judge how someone else spends it, especially in the Lord’s name. Many of us have … Continue reading Holy Wednesday: Costly Devotion, Cheap Betrayal
Holy Tuesday: The Million-Dollar Question
Though Protestants don’t typically make much of Holy Tuesday, it’s a helpful way of marking time during Holy Week and preparing our hearts for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. According to some interpretations, Holy Tuesday is when—after Palm Sunday and the cursing of the fig tree—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes questioned Jesus (Mark 12; cf. … Continue reading Holy Tuesday: The Million-Dollar Question
