The Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
Waiting is hard. Whether it is sitting at a traffic light or standing in a checkout line, we have no choice but to wait and watch the seconds tick slowly by, often with gritted teeth. We wait because we are…
Tag Bible
The Fruit of the Spirit: Peace
As I was sitting down to write this article initially, there were at that very moment, unbeknownst to me, a hoard of rioters breaking into the Capitol of the United States. In the days that have followed, people living in…
The Fruit of the Spirit: An Introduction
What Metaphor? The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians five brings to mind images of an orchard. It’s a serene and beautiful scene. However, the more I look at the text of Galatians I start to think that the orchard…
Liang Fa – The First Ordained Chinese Pastor
Liang Fa – The First Chinese Ordained Pastor In 1804, fifteen-year-old Liang Fa moved to the big city of Guangzhou (then known as “Canton”) to find work, first as a brush-maker, then as an apprentice printer. His parents had…
The Deadly Sins of Proverbs 6:16-19: Haughty Eyes
First, let it be known that God hates; He hates sin and he hates sinners.[1] And we ought not shy away from this truth for it is really only out of this reality that the Gospel explodes with such wonderful…
Lord of the Years
Constancy is something every human being craves. Knowing that, in the midst of all the upheaval and change that marks the course of life, there are anchor-points that provide stability along the way. But where can we find such certainty? …
A Walk of Deliberation: Ephesians 5:15-20
As we come to the end of our series on walking in the book of Ephesians it is appropriate that Paul would urge believers to walk carefully.[1] The adverb “carefully” has the idea of walking deliberately. I can just imagine…
Scipione Lentolo – A Firm Hand in Unstable Times
Scipione Lentolo – A Firm Hand in Unstable Times John Calvin didn’t have a good opinion of Italians. Basing his judgment on the scholars he had met, he thought they were too skeptical, too eager to get embroiled…
How to Love Our Neighbors (part 2): By Keeping the Law
One of the great sites of Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Archaeologists have confidence that this sprawling church is located near the spot of Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus likely was buried and therefore emerged from the tomb either…
Psalm 121: The Unbelievable Promise
How can the believer reconcile the suffering, trials, and persecution they are guaranteed with the astounding assurance in Psalm 121 that the Lord will keep them from all evil? Some might misinterpret this passage and claim a false gospel of…