The end of Acts finds Paul’s life at risk once again. He’s been unjustly imprisoned, and there’s no semblance of due process. Yet, the book ends with Paul doing the exact thing God had called him to do—to take the gospel to the Gentiles. 

I came across this article on the atonement by Kelly Kapic and wanted to share a selection that draws our attention to how Christ’s work on the cross is a gift of God’s love for us.

I had the opportunity to speak in chapel for my kids’ school on Reformation Day. For those chapels, I spoke from one of the Reformers’ favorite texts: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). What follows is a slightly edited version of what I shared with the high school chapel.

The last few years have led me to reflect a fair bit on waiting. We were waiting to see what was next, waiting to move, waiting for the end of challenging seasons, waiting for a new church to flourish. It seems that the life of faith is often the life of waiting. In all of this, David’s words have become something of a refrain for me—at once an encouragement and a challenge: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Ps 27:14).

What’s the most dehydrated you’ve ever been? Few feelings match the misery of needing water and not having it. Of course, not all water will quench our thirst. Drinking from the ocean or a contaminated stream will the do the exact opposite of reviving you. When Jesus declares that he is the living water, he’s telling us that he is the one who can quench our deepest thirst; he is the one who can truly satisfy.

“Home Alone” tapped into great fears as a kid. Those fears that you’d be forgotten and left alone. While it’s a comedy, the movie plays on some of our greatest fears: does anyone notice me? Will anyone remember me? Am I all alone in this? Eight-year old Kevin outwits Harry and Marv and reunites with his family, but for many, the sense of loneliness is harder to shake than the Wet Bandits. We find that merely being with others can’t overcome these feelings, for often the deepest sense of isolation comes when we are surrounded by others. The hope of Christmas is that we are not alone. We are not forgotten. God himself became like us in order to be with us.