One of Jesus’ shortest parables has always stuck out to me — even haunted me. Just these few verses make me examine myself to see who I really am as a Christian, and often, I don’t like what I see. “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first […]

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It is safe to assume that almost everyone has taken part in creation. Most people have played a part in creating something. It may have been a small something; it may have been a massive something. As children, we make art out of dry noodles and paper plates. As adults, we build cabinets, manufacture cars, […]

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Prayer is a gift that allows leaders to come before God while God renews their mind and transforms them to be good and acceptable before God.

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For a long time, I committed more “fits” than “starts.” For those not familiar with the idiom “fits and starts,” it refers to irregular intervals of action and inaction, as in “His presidential campaign is proceeding by fits and starts.” The expression began in the late 1500s with “as by fits.” The noun fit meant […]

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“I just need to check my Instagram one more time before bed.” “If I don’t worry about it, no one will.” “I cannot believe I just did that. People are going to think I’m a loser.” At the start of my New Testament Survey class, I did a study on Matthew 6. I had always […]

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Does being made righteous refer to a status or a process? The short answer is both. Let’s take a closer look at this great word, starting with its background in the Old Testament.  In both Hebrew and Greek, the basic meaning of righteousness is “conformity to a norm.” In its biblical context, the norm that […]

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Visionary Leadership in a Global Crisis These are troubling times. As I’m writing, the World Health Organization is reporting over 16,000,000 global cases of COVID-19 and over 650,000 deaths. The Center for Disease Control reports that 4,000,000 of those cases and nearly 150,000 of those deaths are here in the United States. I know several […]

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We are called to be ambassadors for Christ. We know that. But what might it mean in this season of COVID and change? Make no mistake, we are living in the end. If not The End, an end. Hinges in history — turning points — are tumultuous, but they are also generative. God brings new […]

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The Lord Jesus Christ, known as the Prince of Peace, made some fairly disturbing statements to His first disciples concerning the violent prognosis of His followers during their lifetime, and for His future followers. He told them that they should not be troubled by “wars and rumors of wars. . . . For nation will […]

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In the last “Spotlight” we examined Revelation 21 and the new creation that began in Christ and the ministry of reconciliation. This time we focus on the new covenant. Just before Paul communicates that reconciliation is a God-given ministry and that we are ministers of God (2 Corinthians 5:18; 6:4), he writes that God has “also […]

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Editor’s Note: This was my original First Word for the May-June BA, written in February before the COVD-19 outbreak. It was replaced with a more timely editorial just prior to publication. Written with “The Ministry” theme in mind, the original is offered to you here as an online exclusive. ….. We have another beautiful cover […]

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In the last issue of the Bible Advocate I began a series of six articles exploring 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 with a question: “What motivates you?” That article discussed the power of Christ’s love that compels us, and concluded with a call for us to join God’s redemptive mission in the world.   Cosmic courtroom However, […]

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