Darkened Glass Reflections

Category: Bible meditations

  • In the Now—Matthew 6:34

    In the Now—Matthew 6:34

    “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34, ESV). I was confronted several times today by the notion of living “in the moment” or “in the now.” Such terms popped up in a tourism commercial for Ireland (a visit…

  • The Holy Name of Jesus

    The Holy Name of Jesus

    It is important to consider the significance of the name of Jesus. His name tells us who He is and why He came into the world. It is the English transliteration of His Hebrew name, “Yeshua,” which means “The Lord is salvation.” He came, first and foremost, to “save his people from their sins.”

  • New Year’s Day: A Time for Change?

    This post is an updated version of an article I wrote on December 31, 2009. “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the…

  • Keeping Christ in Christmas—Colossians 3:17

    The so-called war against Christmas is really just a symptom of a greater cultural war against Christianity and traditional Christian values. Furthermore, the battlefield where this war must be decided is not in store circulars, but rather in the church and in the hearts of people.

  • Advent: A Season of Waiting and Preparation

    I would like to challenge the secular mindset about Christmas and “the holiday season” by urging my brothers and sisters in Christ to use the traditional church calendar as a guide. Instead of allowing mass-marketing to guide your life, allow the timeless truths of the Christian faith to shape your paths. By refusing to allow…

  • At Jesus’ Right Hand

    Jesus, however, never endorsed the world’s leadership style. He would not award special status for the same reasons many rulers would. His approach opposes the world’s system, mainly because the world itself has been in rebellion against His kingdom since the first humans bit into the forbidden fruit.

  • Called to Be Saints—1 Corinthians 1:2

    When we think of the great saints of church history (such as Saint Patrick, Saint Francis of Assisi, etc.), let us remember our place in the body of Christ. We should not merely honor and commemorate the great saints of church history; we are challenged to imitate them, because we also are called to be…

  • Obeying God—1 Samuel 15:22–23

    To obey God is better than sacrifice—or evangelism, or serving in the church, or worship, or prayer, or reading the Bible, or tithing, or fasting, or anything else we say we are doing for God. To wilfully disobey God defiles the sacrifice or ministry. To do your own thing and ask God to bless it…

  • The Prodigal Son—Luke 15:11–32

    God is more concerned with who we are than with what we can accomplish. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, both sons made the same mistake. They had a perspective on their relationship with their father that completely contradicted the father’s perspective. As a result, they missed out on much of what their father…

  • A New Heart, A New Life—Ezekiel 36:25–27

    Part of growing in a relationship with Christ is recognizing what He has done for and in us and trusting Him to do His perfect work in us. At the same time, we have to recognize when the “old me” is popping up again. The old me can take many forms. It can be outright…