Lead Story

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’”
(Mark 16:15 NIV84)

The story is told of a doctor back in the day who moved from the East to a small Midwestern town. One of his first patients was a man who was afflicted with a vexing skin disease from which he had been suffering for a long time, for which no other doctor had been able to provide relief. The new doctor used the medical knowledge he had accumulated over decades of practice to diagnose the man’s problem. He then prescribed a course of treatment for him that cleared it up in a matter of weeks. His patient, delighted to be relieved of the discomfort from which he had been suffering, couldn’t wait to tell his friend. His friend spoke to his wife about it. She told the grocer. The grocer told a truck driver. The truck driver told the people at the warehouse. Before long the whole city was abuzz with news of “the talented doctor from the East” who could do amazing things for people. It didn’t take long for his office to be crowded with patients seeking help for their own medical ailments.
During the past months the world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic health problem. Concerted efforts have been made to halt its spread. Scientists the world over have been working feverishly to develop a vaccine that will provide people with immunity. What a glorious day it will be for the world when it happens! The threat of COVID will at long last be removed. People won’t need to practice the safeguard measures of donning face masks and social distancing any longer. Air travel will go on as before. Schools and churches will be opened fully. Life will be back to normal, or the “new normal,” as some like to say. Read More »Evangelism Is Sharing the News of Jesus’ Perfect Cure

COVER STORY – CONVERSION

I certainly believe that the Lord works conversions, I just don’t think my actions always show it. If you’re like me, you find it comfortable—even exciting—to share God’s Word with those you find agreeable. If they look like me, share similar interests, and carry a friendly demeanor, the light bulb goes off: “I should encourage this person to come to church! I think he’d be receptive.” But if a person doesn’t meet those standards, the conclusion is, “I think I’d be wasting my time.” This mindset is a shameful denial of the converting power of the Holy Spirit. To be converted means to be changed from one state to another entirely. It’s not a side-shimmy into faith as my subconscious prerequisites imply.
Consider the Apostle Paul’s trip to Athens (Acts 17:16-34). Exploring the marketplace and likely marveling at the wide range of exotic goods, he was soon overwhelmed by the presence of rampant idolatry—statues and shrines dedicated to every god that man could invent. He even found an altar dedicated “To the Unknown God.” I’m quite certain if I had been there that day, I would have kept a low profile. “I’m clearly an outsider here. They won’t believe anyway.”
Paul didn’t think that. He went to the local synagogue and reasoned with the Jews and believing Greeks concerning Jesus and the resurrection. A group of philosophers was present and, hearing these new ideas, invited Paul to share his teachings at the Aereopagus, the hill outside the city that served as a debate floor. “Thanks for the invitation, but I’d actually better get going.” That might have been my response to the unbelieving Athenians, but Paul leapt at the opportunity.Read More »God Called Me by the Gospel

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”
(1 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV)
Bible words and phrases are routinely tainted by secular usage. Christians hear one thing, the unregenerate hear another. The challenge is to prevent their misunderstanding from altering our understanding. When Christians, for example, hear the word grace, we understand “God’s undeserved love for sinners.” The world conjures up visions of weightless ballerinas and socially polished debutants. When we hear cross of Christ, we think “victory” and “life.” The world hears “injustice” and “death.” We hear Easter and think “resurrection.” The world sees bunnies.
So it shouldn’t surprise us that the biblical concept of “Christ our Mediator” is tainted by the world’s misunderstanding of both mediator and mediation. In the world’s view, a mediator is someone who stands between two parties that are at odds, and whose job it is to come up with some sort of compromise (mediation) that is fair to both sides. Jesus is not that sort of mediator. He does not reach out to both sides (Creator God and fallen man) seeking mutual concessions and compromise. He does not seek to represent the rights of both parties, nor does He view the two parties as peers. Though He does proclaim the goodness of God to man, He does not extol the virtues of man to God. There is nothing to extol. The mediation that Jesus performs is all one-way. He carries nothing from man to God, for man has nothing to offer. He carries only Himself. He Himself is the good that is brought to God the Father on man’s behalf. That’s exactly what Paul was telling Timothy in the passage quoted above: “. . . who gave himself as a ransom for all.” In that way Jesus is not only the Mediator, He Himself is the mediation. He Himself is that which creates peace. What He then carries to fallen, helpless, powerless mankind is God’s declaration of forgiveness.Read More »The Mediation of Christ: A One➜Way Street

COVER STORY – ASCENSION

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” (Psalm 33:8)
When we contemplate the greatness and glory of God, how can we do anything but stand in awe of Him? We stand in awe of His power when we see how He created the whole universe and everything in it simply with His Word. We stand in awe of His love when we consider all the good things He has created for us to use, and how He takes care of us daily. We stand in awe of His grace and mercy when we ponder how He gave His only-begotten Son into death for us rather than condemning us forever for our sins.

There is much to stand in awe of when we consider all the qualities of God, not the least of which is His triune nature.

A couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses came to our door, and I talked to them about the Trinity. They pulled out a pamphlet to show me how artists have crudely tried to visualize the Trinity. There were pictures of three headed statues and other ridiculous things. They suggested that the very idea of the Trinity was ludicrous because there is nothing in all the world like it. How can we believe in something we cannot comprehend? How foolish to think that because human beings can’t relate to the Trinity or comprehend it, it can’t be true. We all believe in light. We know it is real, our lives depend on it, yet the greatest scientists still do not fully understand the nature of light. There are many things we know about it, but we can’t fully explain what it is.
God is so vastly greater than we are that we should not expect to be able to comprehend Him. King David writes, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:3)Read More »Stand in Awe of Our Triune God

COVER STORY – ASCENSION

“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.” (Luke 24:50-51)
If you’re acquainted with the topography of the Holy Land, you’ll understand why Jesus, when speaking of His travels to Jerusalem, often described them in terms of “going up.” He literally had to climb uphill to get to Jerusalem because it was situated on Mount Zion, which had a higher elevation than the surrounding terrain. It was on this mountain that He endured the suffering of the cross as the world’s Savior and came alive three days later to show beyond doubt that His mission as Savior had been accomplished.
It was forty days later that Jesus led His disciples to another place of high elevation located not far from Jerusalem—the Mount of Olives. From this mountain He ascended to the greatest of heights! He was carried up to heaven in full of view of His disciples to God’s right hand, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Ephesians 1:21)
The ascension of Jesus is a truth we confess each Sunday in the Creed. It’s with good reason that we include it as part of our Christian confession, for it is an event loaded with meaning. Jesus’ ascension gives us the assurance of our own eventual ascension on high. What the two angels told the disciples will assuredly come to pass: “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) Then will the promise of Jesus also be fulfilled: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3)Read More »Jesus Went Up So That You May Go Up

COVER STORY – Palm Sunday

One of the fun parts about attending a professional basketball game is the home team player introductions. The lights dim, the pump-up music plays, spotlights pan around the crowd, and the stadium announcer stretches every syllable of the star player’s name so the fans can cheer for longer. But sometimes the cheers turn to boos if the star’s performance doesn’t live up to expectations.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is an excellent demonstration of the contrast between Jesus’ dual nature of true God and true Man. He was given the praise He deserves, yet demonstrated His perfect humility. “And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna in the highest!’” (Matthew 21:8-9) The big event on Palm Sunday is often called the triumphal entry. The crowd hailed Him as the promised Son of David and laid their clothes before Him. He got such a star treatment that it bothered the Pharisees: “And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.’” (Luke 19:39-40) Jesus’ response to them showed that His glory as true God would not be removed from Him. But Jesus’ royal parade was also marked by the perfect humility that He demonstrated on earth. He did not come on a royal horse or with a company of angels. Rather, He humbly sat upon a borrowed donkey. These details together reveal the King of heaven, Who was willing to humble Himself to be like us.Read More »Triumphant Humility

COVER STORY – INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE

The simple child of God takes those words at face value and knows that when he reads the Bible he is reading the very words of God. What a glorious truth and solid foundation for our faith! Since the Bible is God’s Word, it is completely without error, and we can depend on every word.
However, the inspiration of Scripture, and therefore also its inerrancy, has always been under attack by those who don’t want to submit to every word of Scripture. Those attacks continually get more refined, therefore we must define the truth ever more precisely.
Critics and skeptics have said, “Sure the holy writers were inspired,” but they mean the apostles and prophets were inspired like an artist or novelist, not that God breathed every word into the apostles and prophets. They might even say, “God gave them the thoughts but the writers used their own words.” That is why it became necessary to speak of verbal inspiration, indicating that the very words are given by God.
Then some false teachers said, “Yes, the Bible is verbally inspired in the parts that are authentic.” So they will say “The Bible contains God’s word.” Therefore we now speak of verbal plenary inspiration, which means that every single word in every part of the entire Bible is God-breathed.Read More »The Reliable Word

COVER STORY – Epiphany

How often in our world of self-centered people don’t we hear promises of big things, soon to come. Coming soon, we are told, is the newest, greatest breakthrough in automotive excellence. Coming soon is the ground-breaking, sure-fire, Oscar-winning movie.
But in the world of man, it sometimes happens that a big, public unveiling is merely a moment of frustration and shame. The big movie is a flop. The automotive breakthrough proves a disappointment. Do you remember, some years ago, when the biggest name in electronic devices publicly demonstrated his latest invention—and was embarrassed by a series of glitches? More recently a highly touted inventor was demonstrating breakthrough technology in bullet proof auto glass—and a hand-thrown steel ball cracked and dented the windshield.
We live in a world where hype is normal but is viewed skeptically by careful people. The bigger the noise, the greater the skepticism. We prize the times when good news comes in confident but understated tones. That we can trust.
What about in God’s world? Read More »The Big Unveiling

COVER STORY – CHRISTMAS

The sight, smell, and sounds of a little baby give no reason for fear. Quite the opposite; watching a sleeping baby can overwhelm one’s heart with comfort, contentment, and joy. The world’s noise, wickedness, and danger all fade away when one is gently rocking in a chair while cradling a baby.
Joseph and Mary experienced the love that saturates parents’ hearts, but God was giving even more. The difficulties of life in the world may very well have faded into the background while baby Jesus was cooing and Mary was swaddling Him, but Jesus was born for much more than baby-joy. Jesus was born to defeat sorrow and to conquer its source, sin.
The words most frequently repeated throughout the account of Jesus’ birth are, “fear not,” or more literally, “stop being afraid.”
These words always come from God, either directly or through His messenger—an angel. Every time these words are spoken, Jesus and His work are the antidote for fear.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, he said, “Stop being afraid.” Why? Because God would give Zacharias a son who would be the forerunner of the Savior. He would “. . . make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17) Zacharias and Elizabeth had been praying and waiting for a child for decades, but Israel had been praying and waiting for the Messiah for millennia. The time was full, the Savior was coming—stop being afraid.
Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Stop being afraid.” Why? “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) Jesus means “Savior.” Stop being afraid, the long-promised Savior is coming to pay the ransom for your sins.Read More »Stop Being Afraid