"That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." —Matthew 20:28, The MessageEugene Peterson, author of The Message paraphrase of the Bible, died on October 22, 2018, aged 85. He was a scholar, a ... Continue reading
Look up!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the ... Continue reading
Anything: Yielding to an unsafe God
"Then Aslan isn't safe?" asked Lucy."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." — The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis What might happen if I put my career, my ... Continue reading
Distant relatives
The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda-five in all. The son of Carmi (a descendant of Zimri) was Achan, who brought disaster on Israel by taking plunder that had been set apart for the LORD. — 1 Chronicles 2:6-7, NLT No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece ... Continue reading
To dream the impossible dream
Nebuchadnezzar was unhappy. The ancient Babylonian king had had a disturbing dream and needed to understand its meaning. He called in his seers and advisers, but he knew they were sycophants who would try to flatter and praise the king with their words. He was disturbed enough by the vision he had ... Continue reading
Our bodies, our souls
What does it mean to be human?In an earlier age, that question would have been answered with a conviction that we are a temporal manifestation of a spiritual reality, finding our beginning and end in a sovereign Creator who fashioned us and set us loose in the playground of his designs on ... Continue reading
Winter and the presence of God
A gray ooze has devoured the horizon and wrapped the sky in a damp, claustrophobic dreariness. The sun has been swallowed up; beneath a tinplate damp life shivers, slapping arms and stamping feet to stay warm. A monochromatic twilight robs the desert of its color, while an icy wind rips the last few ... Continue reading