In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth with words. He said, “Let there be,” and there was — and there is. So important were words to God that of all the creatures He created, His image bearers are the only ones to possess language. As we will see, that can be both […]

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I have always been afraid of not finishing what I start. As early as age eleven, I worried that I could not say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). How did Paul remain faithful through more than thirty years of […]

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When I heard that the Bible Advocate was spending a year on the Ministry of Reconciliation, I was thrilled. Some of my first Christian thoughts were those of reconciliation. Today, after seven years as a pastor, I still think we need to hear this message and spread it with the greatest resolve. I base my […]

The post Peace and Goodwill — Toward All appeared first on Bible Advocate.

Worship and evangelism in the company of doubt.

The post Disciples in Distress appeared first on Bible Advocate.

Paradox is a Christian word. That is, God is larger than logic, which means God, by His nature, is paradoxical. His grace that forgives us through the cross of Christ allows relationship with Him, contradicting how we should be treated for our sins. When we are brought into new life with Him, we begin to […]

The post Koinonia and the Cross appeared first on Bible Advocate.

Something is always lost in translation. That is a sickening axiom to all who have a sacred book in their non-native tongue. But because it is true, we are forced to translate in imaginative ways in order to benefit the reader most. Whether you read a word-for-word or a thought-for-thought translation of the Bible, you […]

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The New Testament says we are engaged in a powerful battle. But before we get to this, we should understand that another type of battle was taking place in the time of Jesus and that how Jesus fought transforms how His disciples make war. In the story of the feeding of the five thousand (Mark […]

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This summer brings change in leadership for many congregations and for our whole denomination. We are the ones selecting most of this change, for better or for worse. The church always resides at the crossroads between heaven and earth, between God’s ways and man’s ways, between life and death. The distinction between them is not […]

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