Have you ever woken up from a bad dream to find that life is not nearly as bad as it was in your dream? Occasionally I’ve had a dream where someone I care about was in trouble or my life was turned upside down. But what happens when it’s over?…

It’s easy to deal with sin in the wrong way. When someone is caught in sin how do you naturally like to respond? Do you try to get them to bear the shame of that sin so that they can never outlive it?  Do you make them feel forever inferior…

What is up next for this year of unrest? The CDC and many others have been listing increased stress as a possible result of the pandemic. This is perhaps the most wide-spread contagion so far.  And the symptoms include many things from poor sleep, increased anxiety, and worries of the…

Everyone’s plans changed this year. Whether you wanted it or not, the impact of the COVID-19 virus has hit you. It matters not who is to blame for how much it affected you. Every calamity and every crisis is a reminder that our lives are like a mist. We might…

What do you do when you have a situation and something breaks? I have known a number of people who are self-taught repair men. Maybe you know someone like that. While some of us can be totally helpless when our heat pump or furnace breaks, the self-taught repair man knows what to do. If there's a leaking faucet, the self-taught repair man doesn't call the plumber. He heads to the pluming supply store and tackles the job himself. If you know someone like this you probably call them first when your car breaks down. They'll know what's up. And if the self-taught repair guy fails only then you call the expert. But there is one job which none of us could ever tackle. There is, in fact, no one who is able. Not even any experts. Isaiah writes about such a situation in chapter 59. The situation presented in Isaiah 59 is bleak. We don't have a broken car or leaking faucet. We have a heart which is clogged and ruined with the blackness of our sin. It's a bleak picture when you read about the spiritual blindness of everyone and the evil which flows out of the human heart. Well, couldn't God help fix it? He's certainly able to restore us. We are his creation. But when we cry out to him, why should he listen? When he looks at mankind he sees the selfish thoughts which flow from the heart. He sees the self-absorbed mind which fails to love our neighbor. Our guilt stains us and causes us to be a horrible sight and stench. "You guilt has separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden God's face from you so that he does not hear." When we try to call on him to restore us from the stench of death and sin back to holiness and life, he turns away in disgust from us and our sins. It's the dirtiest job imaginable and we can offer him nothing in payment. It's a horrible thought to have need and to have no one who is able to help. Imagine having a house on fire with no fire department to call. Imagine your car breaking down on the side of a deserted road, thousands of miles from help, with no phone signal to call for aid. Our spiritual situation is even worse. God, the only one who can rescue us from sin and death, is separated from us. He does not listen to sinners. That's a real problem for this world! The best of us should recognize just how far we are in over our head when it comes to our eternal fate. Even the self-taught repair guy knows when he's in over his head. Even the most moral or spiritual person who has ever lived must recognize they are in over their head. We are by nature outside God's kingdom. Outside of his good will. Facing the trouble of sin, the curse of sin, death, and hell. We all need God! We need the one man who can fix our fate. But God is not unaware of our helpless situation. "The Lord looked and saw something evil—there was no justice. He saw that there was no one. He was appalled that there was no one who could intervene. So his own arm worked salvation for him." Fully aware of our helpless need, God stepped into history. Fully aware that we could not do anything, his own arm worked out the plan of salvation. Jesus, the Son of God came as the only man who could restore us. This was prophesied and promised. "...a Redeemer will come...." To restore us he faced our fate. On the cross the Son of God, Jesus, bore all the ugly guilt of our sin. As a consequence the Father turned away from him. Jesus called out, "Why have you forsaken me?" He knew it was because he bore our sins. He faced the curse, the death, and the punishment of hell for our sins. And he did more than the expert repair man. He took everything that was wrong with us away, and gave us his own holiness. "Your righteousness is ruined. Take mine.

Once King David had to decide which punishment he would face for his sin. He had taken pride in his army’s strength and needed God’s discipline. The consequences were listed. David was given the options of famine, war, or plague.  Though he dreaded the thought of the oncoming suffering, he…

One morning, not too long ago, my three-year-old twins staggered sleepily out of their bedroom and into the living room. It wasn’t long before “sleep-mode” was replaced with “play-mode” and wooden blocks began to transform the landscape of the previously clean floor. They were so proud of their block towers…

The smells of roasting lamb would have filled the air.  The family would have tasted the bitter herbs and feasted on the meat. The lamb’s blood would have been painted overhead, staining the door post.  As darkness came over them that night they knew death would soon be in the…

What takes real motivation? Picture one soldier who goes out against his will to spend hard days and weeks in the army. Picture another soldier who throws himself into the line of fire to save his comrades. There are probably two different motivators behind their actions. Fear can motivate. But…

Listen There are certain buzzwords used by many churches trying to reach my generation.  “Authentic” is one of them. Perhaps the underlying implication is that old worship rituals are not authentic and heart-felt. I’ve felt this way before.  I’ve worshipped in many churches and have seen times when someone is…