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All this is from God, who reconciled himself through Christand gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). Reconciled is a wonderful word about a bad situation. Reconciliation is needed when a relationship has broken down, gone bad, been destroyed by evil, injustice, anger, rejection, bitterness, unforgiveness. Reconciliation involves hard and difficult ...
Keep ReadingAnd He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselvesbut for Him who died for them and was raised again (2 Corinthians 5:15). God is Love. Love exists in relationship, and God is all about relationship. God is, therefore, all about reconciliation when there is relationship break-down. The archetype of relationship break-down is found in the Genesi...
Keep ReadingGod made him who had no sin to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) At the heart and center of the Christian faith and life hangs a crucified man. And around that terrible image some weighty and wonder-filled words have gathered: atonement, reconciliation, ransom, forgiveness, redemption, restoration, substitution, sacrifice, blood, victory, along with many others. We w...
Keep ReadingThen Jehoshaphat stood up and said "O LORD God we have no power to face this mighty army. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you" (2 Chronicles 20:5, 12). Ever feel at a loss for words when it comes to prayer? The Bible is chock full of prayers: every Psalm is a kind of prayer, so there's 150 of them. The Lord's Prayer. The prayers that Paul prayed for the ...
Keep ReadingDo not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's (2 Chronicles 20:15b). Some Old Testament stories are grim, but they were preserved because each has a lesson for us. Often we can go for years not-getting-it, then one day our eyes are opened to its relevance for our life. In 2 Chronicles 20 Jehoshaphat and his people are ...
Keep Reading"...Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's" 2 Chronicles 20:15. In the regular army the higher you go up the chain-of-command, the less likely you are to find people who fight. The logic is simple. It's much easier to oversee the execution of a battle plan if you're not on the front lines facing the brunt of the...
Keep Reading"Attention everyone -- all of you from out of town, all of you from Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat -- God's word: Don't be afraid; don't pay any mind to this vandal horde. This is God's war, not yours. Tomorrow you'll go after them; see, they're already on their way up the slopes of Ziz; you'll meet them at the end of the ravine near the wilderness of Jeruel. You wo...
Keep ReadingJehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Israel fell down in worship before the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:19). What's the most human thing we do? Better yet, what's the most humanizing thing we dowhat is it that makes us most distinctively and most fully human? Worship. Every human being is a worshipper of something. Christ calls us to be wo...
Keep ReadingEphesians 6:10-17 There it is, four times, in this classic Pauline passage on "spiritual warfare": stand. Take your stand stand your ground after you have done everything, stand stand firm. Not stand around doing nothing. Not stand still, unable or unwilling to move. Not stand in a safe spot. Stand in the battle. Keep your position. Follow the "standing orders" of Ki...
Keep Reading"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,against the authorities, against the powers of this dark worldand against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). If ever a person had a right to be angry with people, it was Jesus. Think about it: while he was being nailed to a cross, the blood being spilled with ever...
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