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Published: 19 December 2019

If you grew up in Sunday School, you know that the human problem is sin, and the solution is Jesus. He is the answer to every question . The danger of over-simplifying the problem is that we then fail to appropriately appreciate the solution. What if the problem is much worse than we thought? What if the solution is also incredibly better than we thought? The truth is, on a human level, we are in serious trouble! Our heredity is evil, it leads to self-destructive choices and ultimately death. We have no remedy within the human system to deal with any of this. In other words, without outside, transcendent, or to state it bluntly, without Divine assistance, we are stuck. We are lost. We have nothing to bring to the negotiation table. But thankfully, God came to the table with solutions, with promises and with real help for time and eternity. We don’t negotiate with God; we receive from God. The path to Him and the life He provides is His idea, His provision and His way. That’s why He deserves all the glory! Through Jesus Christ we do in fact receive forgiveness of sins but we also receive a new “mainspring.” We actually become new people that should be becoming who we are. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to those who believe so that there is real power for transformation. Jesus is also the Light, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Door, the Water, the Bread, the Great Shepherd and 100 or more other ideals that we crave. The human problem is serious. The Divine solution is far better than we can imagine! O come, let us adore Him—Christ the LORD.

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Published: 12 December 2019

Do you ever get tired of waiting? Waiting on the phone. Waiting in a check-out line. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for an answer. Ugh. Waiting can be a real pain. The Advent season is about waiting. It reminds us how long people waited for the Redeemer to come. And, as those people waited for the first Advent of Jesus, we are now waiting for the Second Advent. You might wonder why He is taking so long. The world appears pretty messy to most of us so it seems like anytime now it would be fine for Jesus to come back and set up His Kingdom. Is He playing a game? How long O Lord? The answer to that question is found in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God made humans to experience His love and since He has an infinite capacity to love, He wants as many kids as possible to enjoy it. His patience is not for our torture; His patience is an opportunity for many more of the earth’s billions of people to realize that life awaits! Let’s be prayer-filled and available to God’s purposes in these last days. He has a prepared place with lots of rooms, may they all be filled!