Recent Posts
Gold from Martin Luther
Gal 1:4 Who gave Himself for our sins. He does not say, “Who received our works,” but, “who gave.” Gave what? Not gold, or silver, or paschal lambs, or an angel, but Himself. What for? Not for a crown, or a kingdom, or out goodness, but for our sins. These words are like so many […]
The Purpose-Driven Fruit Checker
So, in typical fashion with grace, and with the notion that “God gives to His beloved even in their sleep,” ( Ps 127:2 ) I woke up with another insight about the question from the last post. First, you should know that in our house, fruit-checking is a bit of a derogatory term. “You’re being […]
Painting Perfect Fruit
Let’s imagine we have a man with a paintbrush, a palette of colors, and a blank canvas. Suppose he says to himself, “I am determined to be a great painter, and this will be my first masterpiece!” How do you think his painting is going to progress? I think he will be staring at that […]
Take up your cross daily!
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if […]
Covenants Old and New
I always start nodding off when people drift into talk about covenants. First, I’m sure that no one knows anything about ancient legal agreements, and I’m sure most of us know barely anything about modern day legal agreements. This only changed for me as a consequence of spending time with friends going through the book […]
Self-Loathing and Sufficient Grace
Often we have a very much easier time forgiving and loving others than we do forgiving and loving ourselves. One of the most crucial insights of the gospel is that the man under law does not want mercy extended even to himself; he wants the chance to remain to prove his worth. We reserve the […]
Therefore Now Year in Review
The teacher in me wants to review everything, and it is the season for looking back and looking forward. I am always looking for spiritual insights and breakthroughs in understanding grace and living in the light of God’s love for us, so this is how I look at the past year. Here are my favorite […]
Random Reviews of Stuff
I’ve got a few random thoughts on stuff I’ve read and seen, so I thought I’d put them all together. Preaching on Christmas day at a homeless shelter. My pastor Lee Connors works at the Bellingham homeless shelter, and he invited us to minister there on Christmas night. What do you say to 100 homeless […]