God’s mercies are new every morning, and they are also new every year. However, sometimes, we can expect too much from the turning of the calendar. If we look back over the past year, even with its joys and graces, many aspects of this fallen world still plagued us, including personal battles with sin. This … Continue reading The Turning of the Calendar
The angels came from glory to announce the birth of Christ, but why did they appear to shepherds? Their testimony did not even count in a court of law. What would it have been like to hear the shepherds tell their story? Though we do not know what they said precisely, it might have sounded … Continue reading A Shepherd’s Encounter with Glory
Why did God allow humans to fall into sin? To answer that question, we need to think of redemption. If our redemption (and glorification) is merely a return to the garden-of-Eden-state, then the fall makes little sense (hardly the felix culpa it's known to be). On the other hand, if our redemption eventually brings us to a state that is better than our original state in Eden, the fall begins to make sense. In that way, the fall is a tool in the hands of the Redeemer... CLICK TO READ MORE.
The Magnificat, when Mary praises God after Gabriel tells her that she will be the mother of the Messiah, is a beautiful picture of the grace of God towards fallen humanity (Luke 1:46-56). But there is another side to the Magnificat ignored by many. Just as God is merciful to his children, he is righteous … Continue reading The Two Sides of the Magnificat
The following is a guest post by Pastor Rob Golding of First Artesia Christian Reformed Church. He also writes for the Westminster Theological Seminary Magazine. Nothing is more frustrating than being a small-time pastor. Pastors spend their time reading and preaching God’s word. They constantly pray that the New Heavens and New Earth would come, that unbelievers … Continue reading The Pastor’s Futility and the Pastor’s Hope
Too many of us celebrate the birth of Jesus while neglecting Christ himself. This negligence is because, though many of us would like to experience the joy of our salvation, our indulgence in worldliness cuts us off from it. We have lost the reason to celebrate. Many of us also desire the Lord to use … Continue reading Celebrating Christmas with Jesus Himself
The following is a guest post by Pastor Rob Golding of First Artesia Christian Reformed Church. He also writes for the Westminster Theological Seminary Magazine. Do not forsake individualist Christianity! We are rightly concerned with avoiding over-individualism. We know Westerners are inherently individualistic. Americans are proponents of “rugged individualism.” We have heard that Old and New Testament … Continue reading Good Individualist Christianity
Sometimes our lives can grow dim because we are no longer walking closely with the Lord like we used to. However, our God is so gracious that even after we have wandered away, he not only forgives our sins, but he also gives us times of refreshing (Act 3:19-21). In Acts chapter three, the phrase, … Continue reading Times of Refreshing
The Fight of Faith 