“It will always help us if we regard this world as organized not for our comfort but for our training.”[1] So says our friend William Barclay. The old saying was…
Jesus has been telling those who want to be his followers about the sort of life they are to live. He has been telling them about the disposition of the…
It’s Scottish pastor, Bible student, and professor William Barclay, again, who writes of the ability to choose to be loving. We have this ability as a gift in Christ through…
Poor Jimmy Carter. You just know there’ll be trouble when you get interviewed for Playboy magazine. Why would anyone agree to that interview? Back in 1976, Carter mentioned—confessed—to the reporters…
People were just floored by how Jesus spoke and taught. “[H]e taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Mk 7:29). The rabbis said,…
But we’ve always done it that way. What is that tried-and-true definition of insanity: repeating the same actions while expecting a different result? Because Jesus did not do the things…
What characteristic makes a Christian Christian? Faith? Love? Hope? Obedience? Humility? I believe—I hope—that I speak with you often about these virtues, these qualities. These are what give distinctive flavor…
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.” Well, I don’t know of anybody being persecuted for unrighteousness. In Calgary, Alberta, there are some three thousand people living on…
Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see, little ears, what you hear. Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say, little hands, what you do. Oh, be careful, little…
Mercy forgives. Forgiveness does not undo the consequences of our sin; this is why you and I must struggle, continually, against those impulses to sin that come and knock, like…