Judas Iscariot “was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). Has it ever struck you as odd that Jesus put a thief in charge of his…

Beneath intellectual objections to Jesus’ claims are often deep-seated fears. Imagine a conversation between Paul and “Jonathan,” a friend from Paul’s pre-Christian days who visits him in Felix’s Caesarean prison. Jonathan was escorted into the dingy cell where his old…

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:11). The story behind your existence is wilder than any story…

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear…

Why is it so hard to just find some peace of mind? Well, peace is hard to come by when you live in a warzone. And like it or not you are in a war—a very serious one. This war…

Remember the story of Narcissus? He’s the proud, beautiful man in the Greek myth who saw his reflection in a pool, fell in love with it, couldn’t tear himself away, and it killed him. Mirrors are very dangerous for…

How does God want us to deal with the emotion we call disappointment? Joseph Barsabbas was disappointed by Jesus. Joseph was a candidate to replace Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve, but when the lot was cast it “fell…

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me (Job 30:20-21). These words came out of the mouth of the man God considered…

Malaise is a mercy that feels yucky. Malaise is that feeling you get when you’re getting sick but you don’t quite know it yet. It’s a vague sense of dis-ease. Your energy is draining. You just want to lie down…

W. Somerset Maugham once said, “There is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror.” With networks and newspapers broadcasting another New York Congressman’s sordid sexual secrets, and…

If you’re a romantic (and I think you should be) you love the book of Ruth. This short story almost seems like it was made for film. It has all the components of a great romance: tragedy, loyalty, courage, virtuous…

Princess Diana once said, “Only do what your heart tells you.” This is a creed believed by millions. It’s a statement of faith in one of the great pop cultural myths of the Western world. It’s a gospel proclaimed in…

You can often tell what mattered most to a person by what they leave behind when they depart this world. What Jesus left behind is more astonishing when you think of what he didn’t leave: No wife or child No…

Pontius Pilate is picture of worldly power. He is competent and calculating, he is pragmatic and self-preserving. But for all his shrewdness, his life demonstrates that the “Word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth.”1 Imagine a…

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both…

The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” But for all its grammatical simplicity, it’s packed with unfathomable complexity. Jesus wept after speaking with Lazarus’ grieving sisters, Martha and Mary, and seeing all the mourners. That seems…

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him” (John 19:16-18). One astonishing thing about the Gospel accounts…

Philippians 2:9-11— Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and…

Philippians 2:8-9 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every…

Philippians 2:5-7 — Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the…

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”1 Can you bear these two sentences? The most loving thing Jesus…

What are you more concerned about today: where Jesus is leading you, or whether you really trust him? I can tell you what Jesus is most concerned about: your trust.  When Jesus informed the disciples that he was going away…

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 ESV) But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand…

Jesus’ words “let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1a) are comforting. But this it is not merely counsel. It is a command. What Jesus is saying is that in the face of trouble—terrible trouble—we must not allow our hearts…