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The genius of marriage

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The genius of marriage

The Old Testament often pictures the relationship between God and his people as a marriage. God is shown as a husband seeking out a wife who has gone astray, but whom he still loves and seeks: “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name…. for the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer” (Isa. 54:5-8). 

Jesus took over this teaching and with boldness referred to himself as the Bridegroom. Within the context of a wedding he said, “Can the wedding guests fast when the bridegroom is with them?… the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day” (Mk. 2:19-20). 

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What's your spiritual resume look like?

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What's your spiritual resume look like?

I had to construct a resume - a “curriculum vitae” in more official terms. It’s been a very long time since my last one! But the institution for which I am teaching this summer required it.

To be honest, my resume writing skills were so rusty I had to borrow one from a colleague to use as a template. As I read all his impressive achievements, I began to wonder how mine would stack up. Not very well, at least in the academic context.

The word curriculum in Latin means a race. Vita means life. So a curriculum vitae means literally the race of life.

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The death of death

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The death of death

We should always be ready for the unexpected when it happens.

We were sitting in church this morning at Firm Foundation in Centreville, Michigan waiting to ordain elders. Everything had been planned well in advance.

But just as we arrived the previous day, word came of a terrible accident in which the daughter of a couple in the church had been tragically killed. The couple showed up at church the next morning. Part way through the worship time, they came up to the front and simply fell down on their knees at the edge of the platform, casting themselves upon the grace and mercy of God.

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A handful of quietness

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A handful of quietness

A handful of quietness.

It sounds like the title of a novel you found at your local Christian bookstore, doesn’t it? Or maybe just somebody’s desperate cry for peace after a busy day.

It is in fact a Bible verse. The full verse reads like this: “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” It goes on to talk about the futility of a man who keeps on working harder and harder in order to amass more and more riches, but has no heir to pass them on to.

There's a lots of interesting things in Ecclesiastes, and you really have to study up on the background to understand it properly. But there’s gold in it if you look.

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Joinings of the Lord

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Joinings of the Lord

Joinings of the Lord. My friend Art Good used to use that phrase all the time. You could dress up the language a bit to express what he meant, but I think he got it just right.

A joining of the Lord takes place in that moment where you realize God has brought you and someone else together to partner in relationship toward the advancement of his kingdom. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But I think most people miss it.

And here’s the reason. Our culture is very shallow, a mile wide and an inch deep. It’s not easy for most of us to develop depth in relationship. We prefer to keep our distance. And that attitude seeps into the church.