There is more to it than just the pattern, but the pattern sets us up and supports the truth. 

The brooding of the Spirit of God upon the face of the deep, first produced order and life, and in our hearts, he causes and fosters new life and light.

Reflecting on my life reminds me that God truly works in mysterious ways. But I'm reminded that God also works in another, more primary way, that is, through the local church. 

At the end of it all, he makes his final offer: all of your sin and unloveliness for all my kingdom of righteousness and unending, unyielding, unashamed, outrageously faithful love. Does that sound good?

We must let time pass over us with the night and we must give in to letting God be the sovereign one.

You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so: he who counts the stars, and calls them by their names, is in no danger of forgetting his own children. 

God has spoken the verdict of “not guilty” over law-breakers in his realm.

We should all seek to know the story of the Bible, not as simple facts, but as a vivid living story that we find our place within.

There is a powerful beauty in beholding oneself in another.

The saints are God's heritage, and he is in the midst of them, and will protect his own. 

He may not change your circumstances, but he will give peace in the midst of hardship as he promised.

I am a long way from having the character of our heavenly Father, but my daughter is helping me understand what it means to be drawn fully into the gospel story.

Marriage is a covenant and not a contract. Marriage is intended to be commitment to which we maintain trust and fidelity until separated by death.

It is a divine lesson to know how to be full

Whatever Albert Einstein meant when he said “God does not play dice with the universe,” the believer can assert with even greater conviction (and gratitude) that his heavenly Father does not play dice with his people.

When we pursue kindness, we direct our lives to reflect God and to live for what He expects of us.

Jesus promised that we would be baptized by the Holy Spirit. What on earth can that mean?

Christ, to the uttermost, has satisfied divine justice; the account is settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given.

God's good word gives us the ability to simply breathe, to live, every single day. 

When you get a little grace, you start asking, “Who else?” Because there must be someone.

The idea of the professing Christian living in isolation from the local church is quite foreign to the New Testament.

Holding a grudge never ever results in what we think it will. 

This is the good news of the gospel. Words that didn’t make sense together make sense now because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.​

Trials, of all kinds, test our faith in crucible-like ways—ways that will show the greatness and goodness of God and result in our greater praise to him. This is, in part, because he endures the trials with us.​

There is much good in young men rejecting passivity, taking responsibility, and seeking to better themselves. But the arteries of anger, victimhood, and aggressive machismo running through the new masculinity movement do not bode well.

There is no magical formula for you to faithfully walk with Jesus. 

Oh, what a fulness must this be of which all receive!

In the Christian gospel, we have not only a God who answers our questions, but also a God who enters our pain. The fact that Jesus entered our world to live as a man of sorrows proves he’s trustworthy.​

There is no “being the church” apart from “going to church.” The two are intrinsically connected.  ​

When I look at the history of the Church, I am reminded that God often works wonders through deeply broken people, and through some of the darkest atrocities imaginable. My faith is not in Christians, but in Christ — a holy, good, and just God.​

We are to handle our disagreements with humility, not with even an ounce of grumbling or quarreling.

The truth that God is in control of our suffering is offensive to many, but it is a truth we should want to embrace when faced with the alternatives.

This is a fit prayer for every day.

The New Testament is saturated with the local church. Trying to understand these 27 books apart from the local church is like playing baseball without the bases. You may be able to recognize the sport, but the path to winning has been eliminated.

To think rightly about what we deserve, we must start with God. Our flesh wants to make everything about us, as if the world revolves around humans, but creation tells a different tale.

We must be mindful to walk in humility, being open to learning what God has taught others, knowing that we are not the only saints who have traversed the path we are on.

My desire for rest is not wrong, it’s just often misplaced. 

Beloved reader, what is thy desperate case? 

Let stories be as bold, brash, and audacious as they were meant to be.

It is life and death. The wind is howling, the waves are building, and life is coming at me with all its fury. What have I to cling to? Hold fast to the gospel. Cling to Christ.

What are you hiding? 

"Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening."

Against this dark backdrop of depravity beams the love of Christ. 

Seeking the blessing of the city means knees will bow.