Recently, I heard a media personality say: “Dear God, you did this one. You have completely changed my life. You opened this door that nobody can shut. You make all things beautiful in your time, and this is just perfect… You truly are the God of time and chance. Listen, God is never late, and God can be trusted.” I want to believe these statements reflect her deep conviction that her...
The climactic point in the gospel narratives and the climactic moment of the ages is that Jesus died!1 His was the death of death! By His death, the redemption that He came to achieve had been accomplished once for all.2 Here, we learn that the cross is the one remedy for the sin that Adam brought on this world (Rom 5:12–21).3 In His death on the cross, we see the final act of a life of obedience...
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46) How should we think of these excruciating and shocking words, which sound so different from anything Jesus said throughout his ministry?1 Some have argued that Jesus is merely quoting Ps 22. Yes, but why is he quoting it? I would like...
This is part two of my thoughts on what slander is and how a Church can biblically deal with slander and the slanderer. You can read part one here. Slander is a deeply harmful sin condemned throughout Scripture. It involves speaking false or malicious statements with the intent to harm someone’s reputation. This behavior is contrary to the gospel, undermines love and unity in the church, and...
In this article, I want to explain why slander is such a grievous and destructive sin in the Christian community. In part two of my thoughts on the subject, I will trace out the biblical response to slander when found within the leadership of a local church and how the church should discern its next steps. What is slander? Slander is depicted in five distinct ways in the Old Testament and five in...
Growing up, it appeared to me like there were so many different, can’t-be-merged-together stories about the birth of Jesus. But after I was able to make sense of all the stories reported in Mathew and Luke, it has been my desire to share with anyone as confused as I was growing up. Here is my attempt to help you make sense of all the many stories surrounding the birth of Jesus as revealed in...
It is easy to get into the Christmas spirit, put up our trees and lights, sing our carols, and not meditate or even remember that our celebration is because of the humiliation of the eternal Son of God, co-equal with the Father in essence and substance. This article isn’t meant to dampen your Christmas spirit, no. It is to direct your hearts and minds to spare a moment in your celebration to...
In my recent meditations about my country Nigeria, I realized the darkness had gotten darker than when I was much younger. This is perplexing because there are more churches now than when I was a child. So how is it that that hasn't translated into light chasing away the darkness in this great country?
Suffering is a common thread of humanity. But our heavenly father sovereignly uses these same sufferings and trials for His glorious purpose in the lives of His children.
Rejoice in the Lord (Phil 3:1); Rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4:4); Rejoice always (1 Thess 5:16). This is the will of God for all His children. But, like we acknowledged last time, we all suffer. Some great, some small, but we all suffer. And the pervasiveness of suffering and trials can give us the impression that the command and encouragement to rejoice always, is only possible when all is...