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"Immediately" in the Ministry of Jesus
- -Mark, the Gospel writer, frequently expressed immediacy in his accounts of Jesus and his ministry. In this shortest of the four Gospels, Mark uses the word immediately 12 times, more than any of the other three. His Gospel is one of action, suddenness, and surprisingly fast, dramatic outcomes. This got… Read More -
We Must Stand Firm in Faith
- -In both Isaiah and Judges, the theme of God’s faithfulness to his covenant in the face of the cyclical rebellion, disobedience, and apostasy of His people resonates. This is the age-old story of human fickle-mindedness; people can be on fire for God one day, and the next, forget all about… Read More -
What Doors Will You Open or Shut This Year?
- -All my life, and especially since I embarked on the path of the serious writer, I have been drawn to metaphor in a big way. This is how the Holy Spirit often communicates deep things to me--in figurative, metaphorical phrases and images. Metaphors are one way that Scripture comes to… Read More -
The Glorious Tabernacle
- -I've been reading Exodus this month of February 2025. I inevitably feel a connection between ancient truth and today's headlines when I dig deep into Old Testament books. And this is to be expected; times change but truth does not. I also find inspiration and wisdom to be remembered in… Read More -
The Serenity Prayer's Lesser Known Portion
- -Anyone who has spent time in rooms where 12-Step Recovery is happening is well familiar with the first stanza of the Serenity Prayer. Christ-centered 12-Step programs like Celebrate Recovery recite the full poem penned by the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), but traditional AA and Al-Anon groups typically leave out… Read More -
Iron Sharpening Iron
- -I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how people in this world influence us, as followers of Christ, in both positive and negative ways. I believe we are fully responsible for what we allow to influence us, especially the people we choose to attend to. The loudest, most impactful voices… Read More -
Ecclesiastes: The Theology of a Conflicted Teacher
- -Ecclesiastes is a fascinating literary masterpiece. It encompasses wisdom like the Proverbs, poetry like Psalms, prophecy like Jeremiah, and dark perspective like Job in his worst moments of grief. The first chapter and verse identifies the author as Solomon, the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem. This fact of authorship… Read More -
Wanting to Want to Love God More
- -Psalm 119 I’ve been reading Psalms and now adding a bit of Matthew to my daily devotions. It’s always thought-provoking to recognize parallel messages in the New and Old Testaments and ponder how they converge. What is the psalmist getting across in these passionate 176 verses? I’m moved by the… Read More -
Accepting God's Realignment
- -I’m not sure what I did to injure my left knee recently, but it has become rather painful. Having had very good experiences with chiropractic care in the past, I decided to see whether a new, highly recommended chiropractor in town could help me. Chiropractors diagnose and treat neuromuscular irregularities,… Read More -
Are You the One?
- -The same skepticism about Jesus that existed while he was living as the man from Nazareth still exists today. Some people are confronted many times over a lifetime with what we call the gospel, the good news that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, offer them forgiveness, and welcome them… Read More -
12 Lessons from the Risen Christ
- -Last Sunday, Christians around the world came together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. That event, more than any other, changed the course of history, bringing hope against hopelessness and light to those living in darkness. You know, if you are also a Bible fan like… Read More -
Aging Gracefully: Clues from Scripture, Psychology, Experience, and the Skin Horse
- -Well, folks, two months ago, I crossed over the line into senior citizen territory. Objectively, that means I am eligible for Social Security and Medicare. Subjectively, it means having to be more careful where I set my foot, my car keys, or my phone down, so as not to fall… Read More -
Spiritual Lessons from the Holocaust: Clinging to the Eternal One, Repairing the world, and Watching God turn evil into good.
- -As most of you know, I have been working on a historical novel about my grandmother’s efforts to help her two Jewish cousins escape Nazi Germany when Hitler came to power. In this book, I have tried to balance depicting the ordinary and the extraordinary. My characters were ordinary people—intelligent,… Read More -
Powerful Prayer Principles from Watchman Nee: A practical summary of Nee's book, Let Us Pray
- -Watchman Nee, born Nee Shu-tsu in China in 1903, became a Christian at age 17 and immediately embarked on a ministry of writing, preaching, teaching, and traveling far and wide to serve the body of Christ. He was imprisoned for his faith in 1952 during the Communist Revolution and remained… Read More -
Prophetic Truths from Daniel: 5 Lessons on Judgment, Satan, Israel, Pride, and Prayer
- -In my last blog, I outlined the character traits and convictions that enabled Daniel and his three Hebrew friends to withstand the trials, temptations, and persecutions of Babylon, an extremely pagan and ungodly place. Daniel was an “as usual” man when he started his long captivity in Babylon and remained… Read More -
Living in Babylon: Daniel's Tests and Ours
- -This week I completed a group study of the book of Daniel, in the company of a number of my subscribers (you know who you are). I have extensively studied and written about the first half of Daniel in the past, including two chapters about Daniel and his three friends… Read More
The Scripture Comes to Life Blog
One of my greatest joys is reading and studying the Bible. While I do so, I pray that God will give me supernatural insight I’ve never seen or heard preached before. He has faithfully done so. A teacher at heart, my study is driven by a desire to teach and share the wonderful truths he reveals.
I’ve written on a wide variety of themes and topics. The blogs are searchable by topic and with keywords.
As you read, may Scripture come to life for you in many marvelous and helpful ways.