Posts from January 2018
THE MARRIAGE ARENA
St. Paul wrote one last letter to young pastor Timothy from death row, his “green mile,” in a Roman dungeon. The old lion in winter sounded a warning: “Know this: In the last days there will be terrible times…” (2 Timothy 3:1 EHV). He lists a legion of symptoms. We see the truth of Paul’s warning all around us, don’t we? The family feuds, rebellious children, irresponsible parents, recreational sex, gay marriage, abortion dumpsters, out-of-control love affairs with alcohol, unscriptural…
OUR DUAL CITIZENSHIP
“Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the king as the supreme authority, or to governors as those who have been sent by him,” says Peter in his first epistle. Only a few verses earlier, Peter addressed the scattered children of God as “aliens and temporary residents in the world.” The fact is, we Christians are dual citizens. By birth we are all citizens of some earthly nation. And by faith in Christ we are…
HOPE
The overarching theme of Peter’s first epistle is “hope.” The Bible does not use the word hope the way we usually use it. This hope we have through faith in Christ is not the worldly hope of wishful thinking. This hope is not the gamble of the godless that somehow things will turn out alright. This hope is not a fuzzy optimism of our own. This hope is a sure and certain confidence in Christ and in Christ’s word. This…