John 3:16 is perhaps the most memorized verse in the Bible. It begins with the familiar phrase: "For God so loved the world . . . ." The Greek word translated "so" can express both manner ("this is how God loved the world") and degree ("God loved the world this much"). God shows his love in many other ways, of course, but this is the supreme demonstration of God's love for human beings made in his image -- that he gave his Son to bring us back to himself. Whenever New Testament writers mention God's love, they most often tie it to the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. And the more we … [Read more...]

The midweek ladies Bible class at our church is studying Isaiah this year and they kindly invited me to take three sessions over chapters 34-48. The occasion provided special incentive to read chapter 40 again, a passage that has encouraged and inspired me for at least that many years. This chapter begins the second major division of Isaiah, a message of comfort for Judean exiles during the Babylonian captivity written in advance but intended for encouragement later. (Quiz: What book in your home has 66 divisions in two major parts, 39 in the first, 27 in the second; the second part opening … [Read more...]

In view of 1 Samuel 15:35 which says that the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king, a Presbyterian brother asks: "Does God change his plans for us, depending on our responses, or does God's sovereignty mean that He 'did unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass' (The Westminster Confession of Faith)?" *** I take the passage you quote at face value. The Bible frequently represents God as changing his mind about earthly affairs, depending on the actions and reactions of people. One thinks of Abraham's intercession for Sodom (Gen. 18:20-33), God's saving and then destroying the … [Read more...]

The ancient Psalms of David still refresh and encourage us after 3,000 years. Here are just three examples as relevant as today. When circumstances do not reveal God's presence, we may repeat: "How long, O YHWH? Wilt thou forget me forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? . . . But I have trusted in thy steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation" (Psalm 13:1, 5). When justice does not occur on the earth, we may say: "I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. . . . When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber wrote: "How could God be disappointed in human beings, since he knew everything before the foundations of the earth?"   * * * As happens dozens of times each week, I responded directly to her. "I do not know," I stated. "The subject of God’s knowledge of things in advance makes my head swim!" She wrote back: "Oh wow! This is a new possible way of thinking for me! Thank you for your kind response, your honesty and your ministry." I pass on this private correspondence, not because of its complimentary comments about me, but because the fact that this … [Read more...]

A brother writes that "the God of the Old Testament does fierce and horrible things to people, and this makes me pretty nervous. I know that perfect love casts out fear. But I understand that I show my love by my obedience and that leaves me scared again." *          *          * The New Testament also exhorts us to contemplate "the goodness and the severity of God" (Rom. 11:22), and it warns us that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God" (Heb. 10:31). However, from Genesis to Revelation, God reveals himself as indescribably gracious and generous to the person who … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes, "I am studying philosophy in my university courses and wonder whether it is safe for me to do so as a Christian. Some of my Christian friends in science programs wonder the same thing." *          *          * In about 1971, I had the good fortune to study briefly under Francis Schaeffer, whose books, lectures and Swiss retreat, L'Abri ("the shelter"), have blessed so very many. Dr. Schaeffer continually stressed that all truth is God's truth. Since God made everything that exists, he noted, nothing exists anywhere that God has not made. Therefore any genuine … [Read more...]

Genesis 4:26 says that in the days of Adam's grandson Enosh, men "began to call upon the name of the LORD" (Hebrew: YHWH). Yet centuries later God reveals himself to Moses as YHWH and states that he was not known by that name to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A gracEmail subscriber asks whether Moses inserted the name YHWH in writing Genesis after the fact or whether his ancient ancestors also used that name of God. *          *          * For the Hebrew people and their Mesopotamian neighbors, a name was more than a label. It often described or defined the essence of the person named. Israel's … [Read more...]

One gracEmail subscriber has heard that God's name is "Jehovah" and that we should always use that specific name. Another subscriber asks how "Jehovah" could possibly be the correct name of God, since the Hebrew alphabet contains no letter "j." *          *          * God identified himself to Moses as YHWH or YHVH (Ex. 6:2-4), which the Jews call "The Name" or "The Sacred Four Letters" (Greek: Tetragrammaton). Long before the birth of Jesus, the Jews stopped pronouncing this actual name lest they speak it in vain. When they read the Bible and came to "YHWH" they would say the Hebrew word … [Read more...]

It is Sunday, November 17, 1996, approximately 4:20 in the evening. I have taught and preached this weekend at a little church in the southern Arizona desert, and the Tucson traffic has almost made me miss the plane home. I rush to check in at the American Airline ticket counter, then run -- as fast as my stubby, out-of-shape body can travel -- to the departure gate marked "Dallas." I appear to be about the last person boarding. I find my aisle seat on the two-passenger side and fasten in. The flight is about 2-1/2 hours to Dallas, where I will change planes for a 45-minute jump down to … [Read more...]