The Greatest Promise

“I promise”  How many times have you heard someone utter those words to you?  Maybe you have uttered them yourself to someone else.  Did they believe you?  Hebrews tells us that God a covenant with Abraham and swore by Himself…  His Name…  His...
Institutions and Loss

Institutions and Loss

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24 We live in an age of great change, and great change usually means great losses. All of us face losses on a...
The Happiness of True Blessings

The Happiness of True Blessings

In a previous article, When Blessings Become Curses, I wrote about one of the Old Testament words for “bless” and “blessing,” the Hebrew word, barak. This article focuses on another word for blessing, ashar, or asher, which originally meant “straight,” “level,”...
Law and Relationships

Law and Relationships

Many of us have an ambivalent relationship with law. Just mentioning the word “law” brings up many different images in our minds. For most of us, the law means a set of fixed rules and regulations that we are supposed to live by. We operate by law at many different...
Repentance and Consequences

Repentance and Consequences

After the children of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt, they spent 40 years wandering in the desert before entering the land God had promised to them. In that 40 years, almost all of the adult generation died. It was their children who eventually entered...
Racism: A Rebellious Power

Racism: A Rebellious Power

Two weeks ago, I started writing about the “powers” as spiritual forces in the world. We have seen, on the one hand, the Apostle Paul’s admonition to stand against the powers (Ephesians 6:10-12). In that passage, the powers are seen as spiritual forces...