Four Benefits of a Blameless Life

King David, in Psalm 119:80, offers this rich prayer: May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame! Indeed, this prayer ought to be on the lips of every follower of Jesus Christ. I ask myself what might be the benefits of a blameless life. It appears that READ MORE

Select Reflections on Preaching

Preaching is among the sublimest gifts of life, for in it the written Word of God comes alive for the hearer, and the Spirit of God uses such a hearing to direct the soul of a man or woman right to the very foot of the Throne. Preaching can never be taken lightly within the READ MORE

“With You I Am Well Pleased”

When was the last time you really, truly felt loved and appreciated? Like you were special? That someone, anyone, really delighted in . . . well . . . you? The ancient Israelites wrestled with these questions. They felt forgotten. Abandoned. Lost and desperate. Isaiah 63:19 gives a hint of this, at which place their READ MORE

Values for the Disciple

Mark 7:31-37 offers a striking moment in which to grapple with some important values for every disciple of Jesus. To begin with, consider the story, as told from Mark’s perspective: Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they READ MORE

Doing Good; Planning Harm

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on READ MORE