Category: <span>Blog</span>

Surely you know that cinnamon rolls are not the point. Neither is bacon or hot coffee or waffles or biscuits and sausage gravy. These are not central to Sunday’s celebration. Yet, they matter. This needn’t be primary to serve a valued function. We often say that though we fast for a reason, we also feast for a reason. The first phrase of...

It’s likely that most of us underappreciate the goodness of the fact that we are shepherded through life. Is that unfair? How readily do you reflect on the truth that you are (even on the most ordinary days) being guided by your faithful shepherd? Suppose you found yourself dropped into a hostile environment, a place...

Last year, I read an interesting book about the peculiar life of Christopher Thomas Knight. In 1986, at the age of 20, he drove his recently-purchased Subaru from his home in Massachusetts to the edge of the Maine woods, left his keys on the console and walked into the forest. He would not have a...

“. . . he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake . . .” Psalm 23:3b An underemphasized expression of God’s mercy toward us is his faithfulness (as a wise and good shepherd) to guide us throughout life. He does not, at our conversion, forgive our sins, then turn us loose in a...

Since grasping the nature of relationship can be a little abstract, it is expressive of God’s love for his people that he communicates in his word by way of metaphor – particularly when describing how he relates to us, his people.  Father. Fortress. Husband. Vine. Friend. Drawing from the 23rd, we’ve begun considering what it means...

This morning, Bridget and I read what Dane Ortlund called “the most famous poem ever written.” For most of us, it was our earliest introduction to Hebrew poetry and its sweetness only deepens as we examine it more closely. I thought we’d take a few weeks and look at it together. Today, we’ll consider the...

I have long thought that the greatest indignity an author can endure is for their book to land in McKay’s “Free Bin”. If you don’t know, our local used bookstore has a large bin outside their front door where they throw books that they don’t anticipate selling. These are offered for free to anyone willing...

“She is so heavenly-minded that she is no earthly good.” You’ve likely heard this biting appraisal leveled at a person who lives openly as a Christian. It’s pithy enough to hold a place among tired, overused criticisms but I have questions about its validity. If such a person exists, I’m pretty sure I haven’t met...

Happy Waiting. “Our God is in heaven; he does as he pleases.” [Psalm 115:3] The best stories take time to tell. Setting. Conflict. Rising action. Climax. Dénouement .– a rich word with a French derivation, meaning “resolution”. It’s just the way that stories were meant to be told. We cheat ourselves by skipping the darker plot points as...