My family loves Christmas. We enjoy the decorations. We gladly listen to the music. We drink eggnog. We look forward to being with family. And most importantly, we celebrate the arrival of our savior, Jesus. But of course, at this stage, one other part of Christmas sticks out prominently to our kiddos. Yep, the presents. Our Christmas tree sits in the far corner, … [Read more...] about Mark 10:13-16
Mark 5:21-43
In our house, there is a hidden space that I alone can see. Jess can’t see it. Caroline can’t see it. Benjamin can’t see it. Hannah can’t see it. Because only I can see it, I consider myself responsible for cleaning it, and because it is visible only to me, I often put important items, like bills or my glasses, in this hidden space. So, what is this place that only I can see? … [Read more...] about Mark 5:21-43
The Power of Expectations
How powerful are expectations? Very. We feed on the expectations of others. Consider this example: The tendency to see in others what we've been led to expect takes its name from Shaw's play [Pygmalion]. Called the Pygmalion effect, it's nicely suited to controlled experiments. In one of the best-known experimental investigations of the Pygmalion effect, Robert Rosenthal … [Read more...] about The Power of Expectations
Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament
I love these insights on Jesus as the true and better answer to every Old Testament precursor. I wonder if the talk on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27) went something like this: Here is the text from the video:1 Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though … [Read more...] about Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament
How the Gospel Makes Us Bold and Humble
May this be your meditation today: Without the gospel, our self-image is based on living up to some standards - either our own or someone else's imposed on us. If we live up to those standards, we will be confident but not humble; if we don't live up to them, we will humble but not confident. Only in the gospel can we be both enormously bold and utterly sensitive and … [Read more...] about How the Gospel Makes Us Bold and Humble