Some of what we will experience in 2016 will bring us joy—some of it will not. Joy seems so uncertain because our experiences are so unpredictable. Is there a sure way to find joy? Is there a stable place to attach our joy? This Sunday at Grace...
O Lord, Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in your presence, in your service, to your glory. Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from you, but may rely on your Spirit to...
O Love beyond compare, You are good when you give, when you take away, when the sun shines upon me, when night gathers over me. You have loved me before the foundation of the world, and in love did redeem my soul; You do love me still, in spite of my hard heart,...
One of my annual practices is to think through how I will spend time in prayer and Bible reading in the upcoming year. This year, I would like to invite you to join me. I have used Bible reading plans that take me through the Bible...
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21 Jesus came to save his people from their sins. His people are a people, not just individual people. There is a corporate nature to salvation. The...
Mountains, oceans, and views into space inspire a deep sense of wonder in us. Grand human achievements in art and science and great acts of heroism grab our attention. In theology, the "omnis" of God's nature (all knowing, all present, all powerful) elevate our thoughts...
When I was a young Christian, I learned to meet with the Lord everyday through reading my Bible and praying. This was called "fellowship" with God. Over the years I have tried to consistently do this in the mornings. I have benefited greatly from this...
What do you see when you look at people? Do you see differences that make you angry or uncomfortable? Demands that make you want to turn and walk the other way? Obstacles to your agenda for the day? A personal threat? Maybe you see the means...
Discipleship is not dry duty, but the result of a spiritual dynamic at work in the heart of a person made new in Christ. This is seen clearly in the activity of love. The command to love God and our neighbor is given, implied, or illustrated...
I am keeping watch with my dying father. He is a man in Christ. Soon he will cross over and be safely home. Like most men in this world, Kyle Richard Patty is unspectacular, unremarkable, and unlikely to be remembered as "the best." In our day,...
