"How," someone asks, "would you summarize the Bible's message in a few paragraphs?" * * * There is one true God, who made all that exists. He made human beings in his image for fellowship with himself. We humans went astray, choosing to run our own lives without regard for God's will and purposes. Our sin separated us from God, divided our own hearts, alienated us from each other and threw creation into turmoil. God loves us despite our sin and set out to bring us back to himself. To that end, he chose Abraham and his Jewish descendants to become a model community of justice, mercy and love, … [Read more...]
STUDYING THE BIBLE
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "I do not feel I am a good Bible student. I do not know how to conduct a comprehensive study of any subject. My usual study plan is to read a book of the Bible and glean from it what I can using my study Bible, but I am not able to make reference to other related passages. Can you recommend a study guide or provide any personal advice for growing in the knowledge of our Lord?" * * * You need a good study Bible with center-column references. The New American Standard, English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version and Jerusalem Bible are excellent … [Read more...]
STAYING ON COURSE
Captain Francesco Schettino was more than two miles off course when the 114,500-ton Costa Concordia hit a reef this January 2012. The impact sent more than 4,000 passengers on the luxury cruise ship into a panic. It sent a still-unknown number of them to their cold and lonely deaths. There is a reason for rules. In a world filled with hazards and threats, they define the approved course. They show the way that is safe. They mark the path we can trust. Our confused society has given rules a bad rap. Torah, the Hebrew word for "law," means "instruction"--always given, by the way, for the … [Read more...]
LIFE NOW AND FOREVER
This final week of 2004 has seen what is perhaps the largest natural disaster in the world's history, following an earthquake under the Indian Ocean more than 740 miles long and having the force of a million atomic bombs. The quake, which jolted the earth's rotation, spawned monster waves called tsunamis which swept across the Indian Ocean, killing (says the Associated Press) more than 44,000 people in eleven countries from Thailand to Somalia. Human life is fragile and precious, in the big picture and in our individual cases. Immortality is Christ's accomplishment and the Christian's hope. … [Read more...]
GOD’S ‘POEMS’ (2)
April/May 1997 -- Yesterday we noted Paul's use of the Greek word poema (from which we get "poem") to describe God's workmanship in Creation (Rom. 1:20) and in his New Creation in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10). I described the divine handiwork in Creation, which we experienced recently in California. It aawed us into silence and then elicited outbursts of adoration. God's "poem" in his New Creation awed us as well these past eight days. For four days at Pepperdine, we joined an estimated 5,000 believers who packed the Fieldhouse twice each day to worship God in song and to enjoy soul-stirring … [Read more...]
