Robert Murray McCheyne was a godly Scottish Presbyterian minister in the 19th century who died before his 30th birthday. But he famously said many times, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” It became a motto for many ministers who understood that McCheyne knew that he was not able to save anyone but that he, through an ungodly example, could lead many astray. And that the church’s...  Read More

Were any of us given a pair of sanctified dice when we were born? You know, ones that we can throw that will tell us whether to marry this person or not? Whether to go to this college or another? Buy this house or rent? No? Ok, then should we consult the fortune teller down the street or go eat Chinese every day to get a fortune cookie? Or should we get a Magic 8-Ball or a Ouija Board or Tarot Car...  Read More

It is important to recognize that neither Aaron nor his sons claimed the office of priest for themselves. Their calling came from God. There were no self-appointed priests in the Bible. In fact, whenever a man in Israel, even a king, presumed to act in the place of a priest, it was considered a grave sin. Remember King Saul, who was impatient because Samuel did not arrive when he wanted him to. Sa...  Read More

When the tabernacle was built in the wilderness, it was a place where the presence of God would reside with his people. There was a beautiful screen at the entrance to the tabernacle. It was there to keep out all people except priests. Moses was also instructed to make a veil, a beautiful one that matched the color and the design of the innermost curtains. Royal colors for the King of kings and sk...  Read More

Cindy and I enjoy John Piper’s “Solid Joys”, and in a recent devotion he said that even Satan believes in the resurrection; he saw it happen. So, part of what it means for us to believe Romans 10:9, to confess with our mouths that God raised Jesus from the dead is much more than accepting a fact. Piper wrote, “It means being confident that God is for you, that he has closed ranks with you, that he...  Read More

The ark of the covenant was a box of acacia wood, covered with pure gold, which God instructed his people to build in the wilderness. It was the place (and of course God is not contained in a box) where God was, to be with his people. The lid of the ark was called the mercy seat, and it was crafted from pure gold, and on it were images of golden cherubim. These were not chubby little cherubs playi...  Read More

At the end of the Book of the Covenant in Exodus, God is giving his people two things. First, a promise that he would be with them and lead them to the promised land. They would need only to trust him to remove their enemies when they arrived. God said he would be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their adversaries. It is a whisper of Genesis 12, isn’t it? Where God promised Abraham, “...  Read More

God paints two scenarios for his people in the book of Exodus that we can apply to our lives today. Let’s imagine you are driving down the road and you see a person you consider your enemy. He is standing beside his car on the shoulder ahead, engine boiling over, steam rising to the clouds, desperately trying to flag someone down for help. What do you do? Well, you blow the horn of course, and wav...  Read More

God taught his people after delivering them from slavery in Egypt how to treat the most vulnerable in society. That group, especially in those times and still today in many parts of the world, included widows and orphans. You may have heard the saying, “The measure of civilization is how it treats its weakest members.” You can tell as you read the book of Exodus that God is very serious about how ...  Read More

If they are deported back to Germany, the Romeike family could face fines, jail time or worse: They could lose their children. They had already paid nearly $10,000 in fines before they left Germany and sought asylum in the United States. They had even suffered the pain of watching the German police apprehend their children and place them in the public schools. When Uwe and Hannelor realized that i...  Read More

What if you left your favorite donkey with a neighbor for safekeeping and it ended up dead or injured or missing when you returned? Don’t have a favorite? Ok, any of your donkeys. That problem was covered in the civil laws God gave to His people in the wilderness. The man who was responsible for keeping the donkey would stand with the owner and swear before God that he did not kill, injure, or los...  Read More

In his book, “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen,” David Brooks writes this: “We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.” And he writes, “She who only looks inward will find only chaos, and she who looks outward with the eyes of critical judgment will find only flaws. But she who looks with the eyes of compassion and understanding will see c...  Read More