Character and Life
Some Thoughts on the Nature of Sin
As Karl Barth noted, “the very fact that we are sinners incapacitates us to recognizing ourselves as sinners.” We are not in a position to estimate and evaluate our own condition. Therefore, if there is going to be any revelation and understanding of the truth of our condition, both as individuals and as a nation, […]
Teaching: A Moral Vocation
Teaching touches the lives of students in those things that have to do with moral questions: questions of meaning and questions of value. What is really true? What is really desirable? What is real? What is reality itself? Whether you are conscious of it or not, you are touching all of these questions every day, in one way or another; therefore, it is important that you become conscious of it and you need to ask yourself what do I consider moral, true, righteous and good? To be truly moral, one must be heedlessly ruthless against one’s self-indulgence in favor of what is right, no matter what the cost or consequence to one’s own comfort or that of others.
The Context of Humility in the Cosmic Purposes of God
In his book entitled, Humility, Andrew Murray calls humility “the only root from which the graces can grow.” In other words, there is no growth in grace and no receiving of anything from God without this ultimate and essential requirement. The scripture that supports this is: “He gives grace to the humble, but resists the […]
The Davidic Kingdom
God gives great honor to King David in using his name as being emblematic of the kingdom that is God’s forever. What is the Davidic kingdom? What is the essence and the character of David that God would want to employ that name to designate that kingdom? Are we Davidic saints now?
The Heart of David
How significant can be a single episode in the life of a man. It was so for David at the height of Saul’s’ relentless pursuit of his life as recorded in I Samuel 24. It is not only historical, but typical as it represents two antibodies symbolized and summed up in both David and Saul.
The Joy of the Lord
We are living in an hour where the word joy is being cheapened and made to stand for something that God never intended. Its meaning has been reduced to some kind of emotional and giddy experience, rather than a life-giving provision of God to keep us from the deceptions and perils of the last days.
The Lord’s Coming in the Clouds
Without in any way questioning the literalness of this eschatological glory, I suspect, as is often the case, that it contains an allegorical and spiritual meaning as well perhaps a necessary principle pertaining to the coming of any revelation of the Lord in fullness: namely, a ‘coming’ or revelation of the Lord that must, somehow of necessity, be preceded or accompanied by ‘clouds.’
The Righteousness of God as revealed in the Baptism of Jesus
What are the implications for the church? At the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, the heavens were opened and the voice of the Father was heard, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” I have always appreciated that episode. It was a significant event at the very commencement of the […]
The Veil of Self
I have a subtle theme for today. This will make an ultimate demand of your faith, namely, the faith to believe that the veil that covered the holiest place of all, and which barred every soul from entry except the Aaronic high priest once a year, is now open and available to you. Can you […]
Virtue, Power and Healing
The gospel of Mark chapter 5 has intrigued me for the longest time, and something was finally stirred in me that I want to share. It is the episode of the woman with the internal bleeding that no physician was able to heal, but she had a faith to believe that: “If I am touched […]