Live With The End In Mind
Typically people employ one of two tactics for living Christianly. They try to live authentically, or they try to be obedient. Let’s explore each of these in turn. The first…
The Ordinary Unfamiliar
Revelation 4.1-6 John has a knack for making the ordinary unfamiliar. A throne…that shoots lightning. A sea…of crystal, or glass. Seven lampstands…that are spirits, and—earlier—churches. But this is a good…
We Have To Change
My grandmother’s friend Alice was a sour, cantankerous woman who complained about everything. One fateful Sunday after church, as Alice was complaining about the preaching, the music, the government, and…
Recommended Reading on Revelation: Reversed Thunder
If you’re looking for something to help make Revelation a little more personal, Reversed Thunderby Eugene Peterson is a great place to start. Peterson digs through Revelation from beginning to…
"Being Christian"
Revelation 3.14-22 I think the chief enemy of Christian spirituality in America is that we are a “Christian” country. There. Finished. What more is there? We’re already “Christian,” so what’s…
There Are Different Kinds of True
Revelation 3.7-13 Jesus says he is the True One. That’s right—in Christian thought, Truth is a person, not a proposition. But that’s another riff for a different day. I’m more…
Pleasantly Numb
Revelation 3.1-6 No one at the church in Sardis ever made anybody mad. They were the perfect picture of inoffensive Christianity. By all accounts, they were well-organized, doctrinally sound, and…
Love Service, Patient Faith
Revelation 2.18-29 That’s the connection that Scottish theologian William Barclay makes here, based on the words in 2.19: “I know your love, your faith, your service and your patience.” Barclay—who…
Recommended Reading: Revelation For Everyone
N.T. Wright is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading biblical scholars. Revelation for Everyone is the last in his series of guides to the books of the New…
But Wait. There’s More.
Revelation 2.12-17 Can we please acknowledge right away that the promises made to Pergamum are the coolest of all the seven churches? Heavenly manna? A white stone with a secret…
Home-wrecking Atheists?
Revelation 2.8-11 This church has done nothing wrong. Besides the church in Philadelphia, Smyrna is the only church not to get their comeuppance from Christ. That’s saying something. Perhaps more…
The Old Manhattan
Revelation 2.1-7 You can’t help but compare Ephesus to Manhattan—cultural center, sporting hub, beautiful architecture, crowded markets (in both senses of the word)…it was the most cosmopolitan city in Rome,…