“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Never have so few words carried more far-reaching implications than the first verse of the Bible. For instance, in a single sentence God reveals Himself as the origin of everything, apart from whom nothing would or could exist, without whom we have nothing, and to […]
Archives for September 2016
Empty Pursuits Made Eternally Meaningful
“‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the preacher, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’” (Eccl. 1:1-2). Or, to paraphrase, “all is pointless, all is empty.” Ecclesiastes so reduces our many earthly activities to “chasing after wind” that it begs for an answer to the important question: What, then, gives life and living meaning and purpose? More to […]
Is Love to God No More Than Self-Love?
Mr. Christian’s neighbor had a new bumper sticker: Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. To Mr. Christian, random and senseless acts seemed, well, random and senseless, so he asked his neighbor what it meant. His answer was startling and disturbing. “Selfish acts of doing something to get something are not virtuous; […]
Know Your Enemy
“Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians […]