Our Father and gracious God, You have given manifold blessings to us, and we in gladness return them all to You. Prepare us for worship in the morning, and equip us now for that great privilege. We ask that this time of Sabbath resting and feasting would teach and instruct us rightly about the graciousness …
A Wide Something or Other
Once there was a high school boy who was taunted mercilessly at school by another boy who was several years older. This younger boy was too big and too strong to be physically bullied, but the older boy would harass him constantly, and would always predict his own dominance in any future settings where there …
Worshiping in the Will of God
As faithful worshiping Christians, we all want to live our lives in the will of God. Unfortunately, this has led many Christians into the unbiblical practice of trying to find the will of God beforehand, in order to be able to go do it. This practice seems very pious, but it actually little more than …
Profound Frustration
“Muslim society has a hard time explaining what caused the loss of power and prominence . . . Whatever index one looks at, Muslims can be found clustering toward the bottom, whether in terms of military prowess, political stability, economic development, corruption, lack of human rights, health, longevity, or literacy” (Daniel Pipes, Militant Islam Reaches …
The Wicked Limber Up Their Bow
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! In the Lord I trust, How can you talk to my soul like that? How can you taunt, saying, “Fly like a bird To your mountain home?” The wicked limber up their bow, They set the arrow on the string, To shoot …
Thou Art the Potter
Remember that the Lord makes all things new, and this includes us. We come to worship the Lord, not to fashion ourselves according to what we think He might want. We come to worship the Lord, not to assume that we need not change at all. In worship, we present ourselves to God, as clay …
The Artistic Temperament
“The artistic temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs . . . But in artists of less force, the thing becomes a pressure, and produces a definite pain, which is called the artistic temperament. Thus, the very great artists are able to be ordinary men—men like Shakespeare or Browning. There are many real tragedies of …
The Problem of the Old Testament
I just finished reading Inspiration and Incarnation by Peter Enns, a book that was, in unequal measures, edifying and frustrating. First, the strengths. Enns does a superb job, on a number of issues, of raising questions that easily frustrate traditional Bible believers. This is because traditional Bible believers want (in the name of inerrancy) a …
The Source of the Problem
“Islam does not countenance accepting part of the Koran and disdaining the rest. Islamic authorities insist that all of the Koran is God’s word settled in heaven from eternity past — abrogations, hell-threats and war verses included. Thus the Koran itself is a de facto crowbar radical Muslims can use to leverage moderate Muslims away …
Kinda Fun
Today this little blog o’ mine (I’m gonna let it shine!) passed a significant milestone. The January just passed was the first month where I averaged over 4,000 visitors a day. Great to have you all here.