Hope for the Addicted
Read: Romans 7:14-25 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (v. 24) Several years ago, I worked at a large drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Chicago. Despite the large budget, wonderful facility, and excellent personnel, there was a sense of despair in the residents. Many had little […]
Hope for the Brokenhearted
Read: Psalm 34:15-18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted. (v. 18) At any given moment, at least one song (if not several) at the top of the Billboard charts is about love gone wrong. Songs about unrequited love and broken hearts are ubiquitous because they speak to a universal aspect of human existence: sorrow. […]
Hope for the Weary
Read: Matthew 11:25-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (v. 28) In 1995, I attended a Christian college leadership training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The camp was two weeks long, with the first week designated for a few student leaders who would be trained […]
Hope for the Faithless
Read: John 21:9-19 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (v. 15) My teenage son is a fan of the British sci-fi television show Doctor Who, a drama about a maverick (the “Doctor”) who travels time and space fixing the wrongs […]
Hope for the Hopeless
Read: 1 Peter 1:3-5 He has caused us to be born again to a living hope. (v. 3) We live in a world where many foundations are crumbling. Many institutions are fading. People that we admired and respected are being exposed as predators and frauds. Natural disasters have become more devastating. And in our lives, […]
God’s Grief
Read: Ephesians 4:25-32 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. (v. 30) This passage offers myriad dos and don’ts. The essence, however, is to “not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (v. 30). I used to think this was some hidden, unforgivable sin. When I studied this verse in seminary, my colleagues debated […]
More like Christ
Read: Ephesians 4:17-24 . . . to be renewed in the spirit of your minds . . . (v. 23) Paul makes spiritual growth sound as easy as taking off some old clothes and putting on a new spring outfit. If only it were so! I accepted Christ more than four decades ago and I […]
My Favorite Missionary
Read: Ephesians 4:7-16 . . . to equip the saints . . . (v. 12) My favorite missionary is my dad. He has no formal academic degree and does not live overseas, but if a missionary’s purpose is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (v. 12), my dad certainly qualifies. The church […]
One?
Read: Ephesians 4:1-6 There is one body. (v. 4) Newcomers to the Dutch community in Iowa where I lived were surprised not only by the number of churches, but they were also confused by the varieties of “Reformed.” There were Reformed, Christian Reformed, United Reformed, Protestant Reformed, and Netherlands Reformed congregations. And those were just […]