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I came across this interesting text in Isaiah. My soul yearns for You in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks You. For when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the LORD. (Isaiah 26:9-10)

I don't think this line of thinking comes naturally to us, at least not in our day. I think that it is more natural to think that God only does "nice" things and, in fact, that all "good…  ( Click for more )

We are celebrating the Resurrection this Sunday. In the timeline of events, of course, the Crucifixion occurred first. When else did such horror produce such good? You know the story. You know about His betrayal -- Judas's kiss -- and arrest. You know of His trial. Before they put Him to death, they performed all sorts of cruelty. There were the false witnesses and the scourgings, the beatings and the blood. There were the crown of thorns, the whipping, the robe. It was more than we can imagine. And Scripture says, "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not…  ( Click for more )

No, not the song from the '70's. What is "respect"? Today it means "admiration". Fine. It may even mean "deep admiration." Okay. But is that always the concept? Maybe not. In Ephesians wives are told, "Let the wife see that she respects her husband." (Ephesians 5:31) "Okay," we think, "that means that she should have a great admiration for her husband." And, of course, at that juncture we run into a problem. You know the problem. Say it with me. "Respect is not given, it is earned." What do we mean by that?…  ( Click for more )

It used to be that "acceptable people" were allowed in the front door, but the "less acceptable people" had to go in through the servants' entrance. You know ... we needed them around; we just didn't want them to be seen. Immanuel Kant, in three separate works, carefully and persuasively explained that it is impossible to prove the existence of God. In the view of many, what Kant managed to do was to usher God out of the front door of the Logic House. You know ... "Sorry. We don't want you in here." Or, "There is no God." Now, of course,…  ( Click for more )

Paul, in his farewell address to the elders of the church at Ephesus, offers them a warning. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.…  ( Click for more )

When Tim Tebow was in college playing for the national championship, he had "John 3:16" written under his eyes and 93 million people googled John 3:16. Exactly 3 years later in the first round of championship play-offs with Denver against the Steelers, Tebow encountered some interesting statistics. He threw for 316 yards, with 3.16 yards per rush, 31.6 yards per completion, and a time of possession of 31.6. Oh, and the Nielsen TV ratings for the game peaked at 31.6. Coincidence? The truth is that John 3:16 is among the top 10 best known verses in the Bible. (It used…  ( Click for more )

It's Valentine's Day, so of course we have to talk about love. We all know what love is. It's that warm, gushy feeling we get when we feel affection for another. Oh, sure, that's too vague. The dictionary puts it like this: Love is "a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person", "a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend", or "sexual passion or desire". Yeah, that's the love we all know and love. (Yes, that was intended to be humorous.) The Bible does include some of that. The Greek…  ( Click for more )

In Acts 8 we are introduced to a character named Simon. He is a magician (however that is meant) (Acts 8:9). Up until Philip arrived preaching the gospel, Simon was regarded as "the Great Power of God" (Acts 8:10), but when Philip showed up it says, "Even Simon himself believed" and was baptized (Acts 8:13). Well, now, this is good stuff. An evil "magician" repents and comes to Christ, baptism and all. So it's a bit strange how the story plays out. Some time later Peter and John arrived and started praying over new converts. They laid hands on them…  ( Click for more )

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Picture the sequence. Two people meet ... maybe at a cafe or in an alley or wherever. One says, "Did you bring the stuff?" The other nods. "Did you?" Yes. So they hand each other the bag or the attache or whatever they're carrying. Each takes a look at the new one they acquired. "Yep, it's all there." So one walks away with Christ's righteousness having successfully exchanged it for his sin. Silly? Sure. But I think…  ( Click for more )

Among the pro-abortion crowd the chant is for "the woman's right to do with her body as she chooses." Now, the pro-life side will raise the objection, "Yes, but that baby your killing isn't 'your body'." Still, is it true? Do people have the right to do with their bodies what they choose? On the surface, despite all certainties to the positive, I think it's quite clear that we don't. I mean, there is the obvious. You can't kiss your elbow no matter what you choose. You can't tickle yourself. You can't sneeze with your eyes open. Then there is the legal. Suicide…  ( Click for more )

(There appears to have been a "Live as if" outage for a week, so I'm just giving you this one again ... in case you missed it.)

Biblical Christians consider themselves "people of the book", so to speak. We aim to be serious about Scripture. The Bible is our sole authority on matters of faith and practice. It is God's Word. And we're serious about that. So we read it for all it's worth. We try to understand and try to conform our lives and minds to what God has to say. Why is it, then, that we seem to be so blind to some of the obvious things? When I was…  ( Click for more )

Biblical Christians consider themselves "people of the book", so to speak. We aim to be serious about Scripture. The Bible is our sole authority on matters of faith and practice. It is God's Word. And we're serious about that. So we read it for all it's worth. We try to understand and try to conform our lives and minds to what God has to say. Why is it, then, that we seem to be so blind to some of the obvious things? When I was young, I was told, "Never use 'never' and always avoid 'always'." (If you didn't smile at that, you missed the joke.) Those extreme…  ( Click for more )

There are those today who suggest that the concept of the church choir is outdated. However, if we look at the history and purpose of the choir, I suspect we will find that this ought not be the case. The “church choir” has its origins not in Roman Catholicism or in Christianity at all, but in the Old Testament. The first “church choir” was appointed by King David some 3000 years ago. These choirs were far more serious than anything we have today. Now these are the singers, heads of fathers' households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple…  ( Click for more )

Here's a New Year's resolution for you. I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection…  ( Click for more )

What is Christmas really all about? It's about white. You know, "white Christmas", like the one I'm dreaming about. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7).

Yeah, white ... like snow. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without trees. Trees symbolize Christmas. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).

The tree is an important component of Christmas. It's not possible to think of…  ( Click for more )

That was the famous question from Pilate (John 18:38). He walked away when he asked it, so I don't think it was an actual question, but it is certainly one worth asking. Anyone who has followed my stuff here knows that I'm often about words, definitions, meanings, that sort of thing. And it wouldn't be far fetched to think that I might want to pursue the definition of "truth" as a word or concept. But, this time, that's not my aim. Let's just go with the basic understanding. "Truth" is simply that which corresponds to reality. I don't think that would be too…  ( Click for more )

It would be difficult for anyone with any reasoning capacity and reasonable knowledge of the Bible to argue that "no-fault divorce" is a good thing biblically. I think it is abundantly clear that divorce, both biblically and in society, is a bad thing. The Scriptures describe the marriage bond as two becoming one. This is more than a mere metaphor. There are bonds formed that make a married couple one body, one soul, one spirit. Paul warned against sex with a prostitute for this very reason (1 Corinthians 6:15-17). Divorce, then, is a very literal rending of a union.…  ( Click for more )

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron. (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

This is a stunning statement from Paul to Timothy. Paul says that some will fall away and he explains how. Notice the two components. First, the origin of the problem is "deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons". I've often suggested that there is a conspiracy on many fronts. Some think I'm talking about people…  ( Click for more )

The University of Georgia did a study of 468 married individuals. In their study they found that the most consistent, significant predictor of marital quality was ... get this ... spousal expression of gratitude. Didn't see that coming, did you? Not sex, finances, or communication. Gratitude. They said it decreased male and female divorce proneness. They said that when couples engaged in negative conflict patterns, "expressions of gratitude and appreciation can counteract or buffer the negative effects of this type of interaction on marital stability." Imagine that! So,…  ( Click for more )

Perhaps you've heard the phrase, "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills." You know ... referring to God. As it turns out, it was God Himself who said it. And then some. "Every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine" (Psalm 50:10-11).

Now, most of us would be happy to acquiesce on this. "Yes, God, it's all yours." So why is it that we don't actually believe it? Oh, you didn't know that? Consider. When something goes wrong, do you complain, "Why,…  ( Click for more )

Try to find out what the Gospel is and you'll get a lot of different answers. There is the social gospel and there is the street-corner gospel and there is the "Romans Way" and so on. Some agree, but trying to actually pin down the essential pieces can be tough. So I thought I'd do it from a single paragraph in Scripture. For your consideration, then, here is the Gospel in one paragraph: Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works…  ( Click for more )

There are lots of sins in the Bible. (Who knew, right?) And we know that all sins are equal in the eyes of the Lord, right? Well, perhaps not. All sins are equal in the sense that all sins deserve God's judgment, but I don't think it is true that all sins are of equal weight. We know this because of things like Jesus's words to the cities where His works had been displayed without repentance. He told them that "it will be more bearable on the day of judgment" for the cities that would have repented had His works been done there (Matthew 11:20-24). And John writes about sins…  ( Click for more )

I'm quite sure that this quote from a Christian article won't meet with much resistance: "The Bible says that God loves us completely no matter what we do." Yes, sure, we all know that. God loves unconditionally. Got it. Clear enough. We know. But wait! Is that true? You see, we often pass off on some theological or doctrinal point without examining its veracity. Is it true? It sounds true, I suppose. But is it? If it is true, where in the Bible do you read it? Now that will be an interesting trick, because it's not in there. (Easy verification. Do a word search in the…  ( Click for more )

1 Corinthians 15 is a fascinating chapter for a variety of reasons. It is there that we find the simplest presentation of the Gospel in all of Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). We read of Paul's astounding apologetic for the Resurrection -- eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). We have that interesting exercise in logic -- "If there is no resurrection of the dead ..." (1 Corinthians 15:12-20). And who can forget the classic "mom" line: "Bad company ruins good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33). This chapter includes the glorious "O…  ( Click for more )