Declare to others the truth of who they are. We all struggle with our identity. We are tempted to vacillate between self-righteousness when we are doing well and despair when we are missing it. The secular world often seeks to affirm our identity by telling us how great and worthy we are. But this is... Continue Reading

Our King is the one who put the world on notice. That babe in swaddling clothes announced to the nations you will either bow down and worship Him or be trampled underneath His glorious feet. The Son of Man, the Prince of Peace, entered brokenness and brought His Shalom. He went raiding behind enemy lines,... Continue Reading

As you listen to her words, listen to her words not just as a peasant girl, but a girl growing up under the political oppression of the Roman Empire, a girl whose grandparents and parents longed for the freeing of Israel and for the coming Messiah, the King who would rightfully restore Israel.[viii] Mary’s song... Continue Reading

Even when we are opposed, we can speak truth firmly but lovingly to others. Are you pugnacious? Christ calls us to a better way. Speak firmly as you are convinced of the truth, and be meek and gentle like our Lord.   Not many use the term pugnacious today. Looking at just the word itself,... Continue Reading

There is only one who has the power to deliver us: to overcome our sinful nature and the wrath it deserves. It is only by Jesus that we can be saved. I will then trust in Him and the means He has provided for our growth. He has promised to conform me to His image.... Continue Reading

God showed us His desire to be with us in the greatest possible way. He came to us in the person of His Son. He gave this promise of His coming decades before it happened so people would know He was coming—the Messiah, the Deliverer—and they would be assured that He intended to be with... Continue Reading

Scripture refers to the Son’s eternal origin from the Father with a variety of metaphors, including Radiance, Image, Wisdom, Word, and Ancient of Days (each of which I treat at length in Simply Trinity). But one we can consider here is truth. As Jesus Himself says, He is the truth (John 14:6). Was there ever a time when God... Continue Reading

Heaven-sent messengers appear to Zechariah the father of John the Baptist; to Mary the mother of Jesus, followed by an appearance to her husband, Joseph; and upon Jesus’ birth an innumerable company of angels to shepherds in Bethlehem’s fields (Luke 1:11–20, 26–38; Matt. 1:20–21; Luke 2:8–14). A special star in the heavens guides the magi... Continue Reading

In all of the evil and unpleasantness of living in a world stained by sin, for the Christian, God never intends any of it for evil. Isn’t that such a comfort? That our God is able to take all of those things that we wish most to avoid, and mean them for our good. We... Continue Reading

Jesus humbly submitted Himself to begin in the earliest stages of human life, to be confined in a small space in amniotic fluid hidden from the world, and dependent upon nourishment and protection from a woman.  This is simply about the incredible state of humiliation of Jesus Christ, “the Word,” that John wrote was “made... Continue Reading