DEATH WORKING BACKWARDS
Easter is the story of Death working backwards. With the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God began to undo the comprehensive damages of sin, restoring his Creation to its original…
Seeing God’s Will
One of the most common, and yet most puzzling, questions people ask concerns God’s will for their lives. Is it God’s will for me to get married? Is it God’s…
We Are All Pharaohs
There are ways in which we are all Pharaohs. We may be reluctant to consider this, but at some point we must be confronted by the fact that everyone has…
GOOD FOR US, BAD FOR GOD
Good Friday is when we remember the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ at Calvary, when he offered his life in order that we might be reconciled to God. You’ve seen…
Moses’ Return: Dealing With Your Past
Moses left Egypt twice, under very different circumstances. Perhaps this is always how it must be. The first time he left his adopted home he was ashamed. He’d murdered an…
Counterfeit Ur: God’s Plan Without God
The greatest city in the ancient world was Ur, the birthplace of Abraham. Its 220 acres were filled with canals and harbors, gardens, markets, industry, and artistry. Ur demonstrated the…
God Remains In the Muck
The Flood represents the closest God has ever come to giving up. We used to be stewards of the whole earth; after the Fall, we were stewards of the whole…
Danger Zone: The Path God Puts Us On
Too often Christians think of both our origin and our destination as milquetoast, watercolors of dandelion-skipping and harp-playing. But these saccharine depictions miss what the Bible actually says: there will…
DEATH AND THE DIVINE
In the Bible, “Death” means separation, not cessation. Did you catch that? The biblical writers didn’t believe your life “ended”—neither your consciousness, nor your existence—but that through death you were…
Truth Serum: Trusting God
God created Adam and Eve, planted a luxuriant garden to provide for their welfare, and walked with them daily to enjoy its many pleasures. Nevertheless, the serpent insinuated God had…
Selfhood to Sainthood
The Bible declares we are saints. That word means “holy people,” and though we don’t feel holy, it is precisely through prayer that our outer reality becomes aligned with our…
Active and Contemplative Prayer
Though I’m reluctant to categorize, it is fair to say there are two broad kinds of spiritual people: actives and contemplatives. Most people think the contemplatives are the spiritual ones…