It’s easy to get frustrated at God and the way he appears to be ignoring our plans and prayers. But God’s ways are not, so Isaiah informs us, ours. And it’s interesting what can happen when we look back at…
-
Top Posts
-
Recent Posts
All posts by Joel J. Miller
Nourishing your mind
In our present time and culture it is easy to undernourish our minds. So many of our pursuits involve entertaining but generally unenlightening pastimes. It’s the mental equivalent of high-calorie, low-nutrition food. But our intellects are meant for more than…
Why pray the hours?
When you read the scriptures, you not only learn about the content of prayer (contrition, thanksgiving, petition, etc.), but you also notice the discipline of it, the regularity of it. Both previously, Daniel and the Psalmist pray three times a…
The real crisis in Christianity
Andrew Sullivan’s Newsweek cover story, “Christianity in Crisis,” admirably argues for a “simpler, purer, apolitical” version of the faith. He condemns a politicized Christianity that is concerned with prosperity and morality but dismissive of self-sacrifice and sanctification.
What the church calendar is for
In these final days before Easter, it’s worth contemplating the church year. Why do Christians follow a liturgical calendar? People cannot help but follow some sort of calendar. The question is whether we do it consciously or unconsciously. Our spiritual…
April fools for Christ
The Bible presents us two kinds of folly, both very different. We meet the first in Proverbs. It’s the folly of the person who denies the existence of God, the person who embraces a materialist worldview. We encounter the second…
In the community of God’s love
The Trinity speaks to the interrelatedness of the Godhead, each person of the Trinity reaching into the others by an eternal bond of affection and love. That might seem abstract, but our love as Christians is supposed to mirror this…
Meditation on the cross
Terrible stake of execution, Blessed compass and signpost Terrible thorn of the curse, Blessed tree of life
Mary said yes. What about us?
Many modern Christians have misgivings about Mary, but what if we checked those misgivings for a moment? There’s a powerful lesson for us in the life and example of this woman, a lesson about humility, obedience, and putting faith into…
Merry Christmas! In March?
Today is March 25. Merry Christmas! Well, sort of. Let me explain. There is a widespread belief — or maybe a suspicion — that Christmas is little more than a baptized version of a pagan winter solstice celebration. The idea…
