Read Reflect Writing several hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah paints for us a picture of Christ’s suffering. He tells us that the suffering will be so extreme the Servant will no longer look human. He will be painfully abused, wounded and crushed. Many of these words have become so common to us, as […]
Read More prophecy, Jesus’ love, sufferingRead Reflect What does reconciliation look like? In this chapter, Isaiah shows us what our relationship with God can be, even though our sin and betrayal gets in the way. The Lord tells us that his love is everlasting, that he will have compassion on you and that the blessing of his mercy will remain. […]
Read More compassion, mercy, reconciliation with God, fresh startRead Reflect What were you thinking? You have probably asked that question when you see someone do something foolish. Perhaps you’ve asked it of yourself when you’ve messed up. The same question applies to situations when someone does something extraordinarily generous, kind or self-sacrificing. In a tone tinged with wonder, we ask: How can they […]
Read More God’s faithfulness, God’s love, God’s holinessRead Reflect I don’t know about you, but when I think about God’s salvation being for everyone, I always think about Peter’s statement in Acts 15:7-9. There Peter boldly declares that God “decided long ago” to preach to the Gentiles. Yet in this chapter of Isaiah, we find Old Testament evidence of God’s love for […]
Read More God’s love, inclusivenessRead Reflect Recently my pastor gave a sermon about how the people in the Bible were just like us. It’s a bit hard to take. After all, we don’t dress in long robes, bring sacrifices to a temple, practice polygamy, or worship carved images. However, a close look at this chapter of Isaiah reveals that […]
Read More relationship with God, busyness, idolatryRead Reflect I’ve always found the tradition of giving a watch or clock as a retirement gift a bit odd. After all not having to keep to a specific time schedule ranks as a retirement perk. The tradition, which dates back to the Pepsi Cola Company in the 1940’s, stems from a good intention. You […]
Read More worship, service, loving peopleRead Reflect Psychology has shown that our perceptions do not yield a 100% carbon copy of reality. That is, our thinking often falls prey to a number of biases. As we think about justice in a particular situation, a bias called the fundamental attribution error comes into play. Here’s how it works: When you see […]
Read More judgment, justice, Holy SpiritRead Reflect Hope has become a hot topic in psychology and in ministry. Researchers and ministry professionals alike are coming to realize that hope is more than just a squishy feeling – a determination to keep our rose-colored glasses on even in the darkest of circumstances. Psychologists define hope as the will and determination to […]
Read More God’s promises, trust, hopeRead Reflect In my years of studying how people interact with God’s Word, I’ve learned many things. For example, 40% of Christ followers have never read the entire Bible. They believe the Bible is inspired and the source of truth, yet are satisfied with skimming the surface of familiar books and passages. When we only […]
Read More justice, salvation, Scripture, Old TestamentRead Reflect Recently I read a dissertation that explored why men in the Caribbean are reluctant to attend church. The author argued, quite convincingly, that the traditional portrayal of Jesus as a blue eyed, fair skinned man with a gentle spirit contrasts too sharply with that culture’s masculine ideal. Verses 1 to 6 in this […]
Read More salvation, masculine ideal, Jesus’ power