Blog

"Advent is a time of waiting and longing for the coming of Christ. We reflect on the centuries of waiting for the initial fulfillment of God’s promise to provide a savior, and we also long for the consummation of that promise when Christ returns to make all things new."

Abram is an example to us as he boldly listened to God, as his self sufficiency was “scrubbed away” in the belief the Lord had refined in him that God is good and He is for us.

"The hope presented in Revelation is that the battle has already been won. We look forward to the return of Christ when not only will suffering and death be absent, but in our new home we will dwell with the Father: the giver of life and the one who wipes every tear from our eyes."

"We can take heart, even as our hearts are broken, that one day Christ will return and the troubles of this world will fade away."

Eugene Peterson says that “the primary use of prayer is not for expressing ourselves, but in becoming ourselves.”

So here I sit, wrestling through this reality, all the while examining areas of my life where my worship is misplaced. How have I been duped?

My trials and suffering feel like the squashing of color and blurring of lines to the point that my portrait isn’t the perfect and skilled mimesis of what the world expects. Yet, there is so much more depth, so much more character.

Even in this chapter, of this overwhelming book, we see how all of scripture is brought together to accomplish the same plan that has been laid out in the Bible all along.

Turns out, I may be pretty good at structuring a prayer, and asking for spiritual-sounding things, but this weekend God reminded me that I’ve also been pretty good at missing the point of prayer.

I don’t have to deny or hide my weakness because the beauty of them is they point to a God who promises to make me new.

When I realized a few months ago that Easter fell on April 1 this year, I initially saw it as incongruous - the high point of the Church calendar juxtaposed with the a day of playful trickery.

As broken as this earthly existence can be, there are eternal promises that break through and transcend the brokenness.

There’s nothing like a natural disaster to inspire people to ask deep questions about the meaning of life, justice, and the existence of evil and hardship.

The rainbow is not a promise that life will get better after experiencing a storm. The rainbow is the promise that God will send a rescue, that God will be our refuge.

Adam and Eve based their hope on Cain, as a result of an incomplete and flawed understanding of God’s promised redemption.

God addresses the chaos of humanity through the living Word, the incarnate Jesus. Do you believe that? God has intervened. God is still intervening.

Sometimes, hard things happen, and they’re just hard, and no ah-ha moment comes later when you realize how every painful piece of the puzzle was indeed working together for your good.

How often do I “rest” by binging on show after show? Or fritter my time away on silly articles on Twitter or Reddit? Or squander my Saturday on a unimportant book?

In Daniel’s vision, the journey for God’s people is long and painful, and begs the question; will God’s people finish? Will his purposes prevail? How long must we endure before we feel the relief of redemption?

There is such an urgent need for Jesus in this city that it becomes overwhelming and easy to give up on people and our mission.

We, as Christians, have the privilege of engaging with our Creator, demanding a response for evil that seems contrary to His very character, and throwing ourselves into the eternal love that began between the Trinity and has been mercifully extended to us.

Marriage isn't always perfectly romantic, but in the rhythm of the ordinary, God is revealing Himself and His love for His people.