kingdom

“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2).   Read Habakkuk 3:1-15.   There are times when we pray and there doesn’t seem to be an answer. There are other times when God’s answer seems to be “Wait just a little while longer. Not yet.” And, as Habakkuk experienced, there are times when the answer we receive is the opposite of what we want to hear. When any of these things happen, it can be easy to sink deep into discouragement. But that is not our only option. Like Habakkuk, we can allow these disappointments to draw us into greater intimacy with God.   Instead of being angry with the Lord, instead of developing a hard heart toward God, instead of deciding to give up praying, Habakkuk turned his unanswered prayer into an opportunity to grow […]

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25a). Read Romans 7:1-25. In this passage, the apostle Paul outlines four Truths about our life in Christ to encourage us as we seek to live for Him.  We are bound to Christ, not the law (vv. 1-6). Christ frees us from the bondage of performance of the law so that we now have joy instead of despair, life instead of death, love instead of duty, and willing service instead of begrudging effort.  Maturity builds up (vv. 7-13). Immature Christians live depending on themselves. But sooner or later, they fail because the law cannot help anyone overcome their sin. Mature Christians do not blame the law, but daily accept their desperate need for a Savior.  Do-it-yourself religion will fail (vv. 14-23). Temptation will always find us on this side […]

“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Romans 7:6). Read Romans 7:1-6. Many Christians today are confused about the balance of grace and obedience. One extreme would have us use grace as a license to sin, and the other is legalism—relying on our good works for our ultimate salvation. You know you’re under the influence of legalism when you get up in the morning and say, “I’ve got to obey today—or else.” When you find mild success, you pat yourself on the back with pride. But when you miss the mark, you become overwhelmed with guilt and shame. Praise be to God—Romans 7 gives us a more excellent way. True freedom is no longer found in our performance—that was the old way of the law—but by trusting Christ’s powerful work […]

“And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:25). Our culture most certainly recognizes Christmas as the season of giving. Believers and unbelievers alike see it as a time of gifting, celebrating, and gathering with friends and family—a time when we overload our schedules with events and obligations, when we make lists and worry about the right gift or about having to get another gift. In the midst of all the bustle, for many, it’s also a time of depression, loneliness, despondency, and discouragement. Why? Because we buy into the message of our secular, commercialized culture that turns Christmas into a carnival—a time of superficial indulgence—rather than the deeply satisfying, soul-awakening celebration it truly is. The holy God, who is from everlasting to everlasting (see Psalm 90:2), who does not need anything from us, not praise nor love nor sacrifices (see Acts 17:24-25), […]

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Read Hebrews 12:1-3. Christ knew the glories and splendor of heaven. And yet, He left heaven for earth, and He did so with joy. How can it be that Jesus was delighted to leave the majesty of heaven and come to this broken world in order to do the will of the Father? Though He was counted among the poorest of the poor and the lowest of the low; though He was placed in a feeding trough normally reserved for animals; though most of His life was spent in a small town as a humble carpenter; though He had no place to lay His head during His earthly ministry; though He was betrayed by His closest friends; though He was falsely accused and arrested by the religious leaders of His day; though He […]

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Read Isaiah 53:4-9. God made us to reflect His goodness and righteousness to a watching world. But this life of purpose would not be possible if Jesus hadn’t known His purpose. He knew the reason the Father had sent Him. But He also knew that He was both God and man. He was uniquely suited to be the perfect sacrifice we need. We have all sinned and rebelled against our Creator. Not one of us is without scar or blemish. That is why we need a spotless Lamb—a perfect, sinless, beautiful Savior—to die in our place. Because He came as a man, Jesus understands life in our fallen world and the temptations of this world—even though He never sinned. Because He was fully man, He could represent us and take […]

“Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God’” (Hebrews 10:7).  Read Hebrews 10:5-7. In three short verses, Hebrews 10:5-7, the author of Hebrews gives us the Christmas story according to Jesus. You see, Jesus saw Himself as the fulfillment of Psalm 40. That particular psalm tells us that the sacrifices of the Old Testament were never enough to cleanse us from our sins. No matter how many bulls or lambs the people offered to God, the offerings could not deal with the root problem, and so another sacrifice—a better sacrifice—was needed. That is why Jesus said, “I have come to do your will, my God” (Hebrews 10:7; cf. Psalm 40:8). Jesus was born on that first Christmas for a distinct purpose: He came to die as a sacrifice for sins. That is why, in that field outside of Bethlehem, an angel of heaven pierced the night sky […]

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).  Read Luke 1:26-38. I’ve often wondered what Mary and Joseph would say about Christmas. I imagine that if I had the opportunity to interview Mary, she might say, “I will always remember the agony, pain, and bewilderment of being pregnant when I had not been with a man.” She would probably tell me, “In the midst of this hurt, I remember the comfort that came when the angel Gabriel spoke to me and told me that, of all the women of Israel, I was privileged to carry the Messiah.”   Mary might also share about her visit to the home of her cousin Elizabeth and how John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb at the sound of her voice. She might explain in detail the shepherds’ visit on the night Jesus was born. She might describe the three astronomers from Persia and the gifts […]

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42).   Read Matthew 24:36-51.   To illustrate just how sudden His coming will be, Jesus told three short parables. First, He compared the generation that will be alive for His return to Noah’s generation, which was filled with wickedness, self-indulgence, and complacency. The people had no regard for God’s Word; they mocked Noah as he tried to warn them of coming judgment—and they were taken by surprise when the flood came.   As part of this first picture, Jesus described the separation that will take place between those who love the Lord Jesus and those who merely pretend to be Christians. Two coworkers, two relatives, two next-door neighbors, two roommates—one will go to heaven, the other one will go to hell. Our Savior, who paid for our salvation with His own blood, is warning us that not everyone will be saved. Only those […]