Understanding Deuteronomy

This week we began reading the book of Deuteronomy. In this book, Moses recounts for Israel the giving of the Law and recites the history of the nation in living Egypt so that they will not forget the truth that obedience to God is their singular priority (4:9, 23, 31; 6:12, 13-15; 8:11, 14, 19; […]

Understanding Numbers

The last couple of weeks, we have been reading the book of Numbers, which is one of the Old Testament books that people are prone to skipping or skimming because it is not readily understood. Because of that, I thought a chart of the book might be helpful to comprehending the contents and flow of […]

Sunday Leftovers — Beyond Forgiveness

Genuine and complete forgiveness is more than just transacting forgiveness. There are further implications when we forgive those who sin against us. Forgiveness means that we will go beyond what is “required” (Philemon 21). Remember, forgiveness is granted in two ways: forgiveness is transacted when a sinner confesses his sin to the one he has […]

Your motive matters

Almost three decades ago, when I was a first or second-year seminary student, a retired pastor in our congregation pulled me to the side in the foyer one Sunday morning. “I have a question for you,” he said. And pointing his finger somewhat aggressively towards me, he asked, “why do you do what you do?” […]

Who decides?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been collecting articles that indicate moral dilemmas and debates in our culture. The spectrum of articles I’ve seen is broad. In January, the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision was marked. Those on either side of the debate are seemingly becoming more entrenched in their positions. The […]

Prideful or humble

The story Jesus tells in Luke 18 is not just about justification and how one can be justified (v. 14). It’s also about pride and humility; and Jesus’ purpose in telling the story is to expose the pride of the self-righteous Pharisees (v. 9). And that means this is a parable not only for unbelievers, […]

Reading the Pentateuch

This year our church is following an Old Testament reading plan — reading through the entire Old Testament chronologically, along with two of the Gospels. So these first months of the year, we are in the first five books of the Old Testament — the Pentateuch. For many books of the Bible, I have put […]

Just as the Lord commanded

Obedience is hard. We tend to do “kind-of obedience” — the kind of obedience that moves towards fulfilling the spirit of the law, but not the letter. Full obedience? That’s rare. Obedience that is complete, exact, to-the-letter, joyful, and non-resistant is unusual. We cut corners — “that’s close enough.” So driving 73 (or 75 or […]

“I don’t do blood”

I don’t do blood. Those real-life operating shows on TV? You’ve never seen anyone flip channels so fast! Dissections in my high school and college biology labs? Someone else had to do them. Emergency room and intensive care visitations? They better be quick — I’ve had more than one hospital room start “spinning” on me! […]

Passover and communion

This morning I read again the account of the first Passover in Exodus 12. As Jesus makes clear (Mt. 26:2, 18-19; Lk. 22:15; see also 1 Cor. 5:7), there are obvious connections between the Jewish festival and the Christian church’s ordinance of communion. After reading the biblical account, I further refreshed my mind about the […]

“I am the Lord”

One of the tenets of bibliology is that Scripture is the self-revelation of God. Through the words of the Bible, we discover truth about the nature and character of God. And sometimes, that self-disclosure by God is particularly evident. Consider, for example, the declaration, “I am the Lord.” Though the Lord only makes that declaration […]

Necessities of life

What we deem to be necessary for our lives and what God deems to be necessary for us are often in conflict. We idolize simplicity and solitude and ease. God desires our sanctification and Christlikeness. And sanctification rarely happens in ease and leisure. So God — decreeing what is necessary for us (1 Peter 1:6) […]

The tree in heaven

“And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:2; NASB) Heaven. What pictures come to mind when you hear that word? Streets of gold? Pearly gates? “St. […]

Praise the Lord

Indicators of skewed priorities in churches abound. Yet this morning’s newspaper contains a statement from a pastor of a “sound,” “evangelical” church that pinpoints the problems in too many contemporary American churches: “We’re really building a community center, more than we are a worship center.” It’s rare to read or hear such an open acknowledgement […]

Looking for — and seeing — God’s glory

It’s often hard to see the good in the midst of hardship. When a child receives a diagnosis of cancer or a long-time employee is laid off before Christmas or a college student fails a required course in the semester before graduation or the girl says no to the marriage proposal or the friend betrays […]