The world is always judging Jesus. At His birth much was made of His name (Matthew 1:18-25). At His death the key issue was His identity (Matthew 26:63-65). And the central question of the Gospels is “What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42). Sometimes the labels He attracted were true and well-meant, as in “Behold […]
Last week David Cameron called “pockets of our society… not just broken but, frankly, sick.” He was referring not, of course, to politicians but to the riotous youth of Britain. Jesus says, there is a problem with moral and spiritual sickness – a deadly one. Yet the far greater problem is people who deny their […]
Sometimes the KJV translates it as “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28) Sometimes it says “wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:42, 50) Both are translations of the same Greek phrase. (The King James is not as consistent as some like to make out). Yet the popular reception of […]
After His baptism, Christ is driven by the Spirit into the desert. (Matthew 4:1-11) In His battle with Satan, Christ is like Adam, like Israel and like David. Like Adam, the devil confronts Him with audible temptations to doubt God’s word and eat. And like Adam the fate of humanity rests on His shoulders. Like […]
They looked so nice on the vine but the acid bursts into your mouth and you realise they are unripe. You spit them out proclaiming, “I didn’t want them anyhow!” “Sour grapes” has come to mean disparaging something you had previously desired – probably because you can’t attain it. That particular meaning originates with Aesop […]
Can people change? Really change? Aristotle thought so. And here’s how he thought change can happen: “it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the temperate man.” If you want to change, well then, perform righteous acts and you will become righteous. It’s ancient wisdom. But […]
What could be so bad that it warrants this warning? A scientist morphing into an insect? An alien monster rampaging through a spaceship? What could have possibly produced: “Be horribly afraid”? What dread terror might have birthed this saying? Answer: The refusal of God’s abundant grace. According to God, that is the horror of horrors! […]
What does a spiritual experience look like? Warm feelings? Groovy vibes? Not if you ask Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 6 the prophet has the ultimate spiritual experience. He meets the LORD: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train [i.e. […]
“She’s pure as New York snow” says the song. That’s to say – not pure at all. New York snow is quickly sullied by the city’s grit and grime. But, for the first hour or so, that white blanket covers over a multitude of sins. Isaiah the prophet knew a people whose spiritual condition was […]
From the very first verse of the book, Job is presented as a blameless and upright man. The LORD is proud of Job’s matchless virtue (1:8; 2:3). Job fears God and shuns evil. And even when calamity falls he does not sin by cursing God (1:22; 2:10). Instead, through all his laments and complaints, the […]
