Peter’s last recorded words (2 Peter 3) highlight the importance of memory and the danger of ignorance. A person can’t remember something he is ignorant of. But when a culture is “willingly… ignorant” (3:5), its new generations suffer from a corporate amnesia. Peter stirred up the corporate memory of humanity, recalling in

Jesus’ words, “The flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63), explain the mess the world is in. Except for the human Jesus, we each are born “of the will of the flesh” (John 1:13). This is human nature left to its sinful condition. It gives to us only a life "under the law”—on the law’s bad side, out of touch with God’s love. From that

Do you like winning? And do you like surprises? Have you heard that the only way you can win in life’s ultimate contest is through the unselfish giving of genuine love? The meek and lowly win, and the braggarts and proud lose! Surprise! The opposite principles of good and evil are not only the issues in conflict, but are also the weapons.

Fear is a tricky thing. In the biblical worldview it originated—of all places—in a garden named pleasure. It is the child of insecurity, the product of removing one's heart focus from the all-powerful, benevolent, pleasure-giving Creator God, and trying to lean on a broken branch. Not safe! Such a position seemed right at first to Eve,

God loves because He is love. Unselfish love describes the essence of His character and the relational joy of His existence. He asks us to love because He has designed us to enter into this joy. Even after sin’s removal of love within us, we are still enabled to love as He asks, because He continues to love us. In fact,

Why does God love us? Simply put, because that is what and who He is (1 John 4:8, 16), just as what you are directs your actions. What He does in loving us can be measured by its "breadth, and length, and depth, and height" (Ephesians 3:18). Love leads people to make things. The same is true of God. Thus "the LORD He is God: it is He

"How long?" is the ultimate time query in the great controversy between good and evil—how long will it last? From eternity past to eternity future the principle of selfless, self-giving love has been the law of life for the universe. It flows from the heart of the unselfish Ones who created and support all things. It is continual—the love

During that secret interview at Jesus' place of retirement on the Mount of Olives, when the city was hushed in slumber, it wasn't the flickering lamp or torchlight, or the pale light of the moon, that shown into the heart of Nicodemus, that "master of Israel." It was the burning words of an obscure Galilean whom this leader had sought out.

Background In September of 2012, I was asked to serve on the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) "Theology of Ordination Study Committee." This group met four times during 2013 and 2014, and considered voluminous amounts of material on the subject of ordination in general, and the role of gender in ordination. I found it of

It's a loaded question, one that probes my very existence. Jesus faced it (John 8:24-25, 28). When I face it, I usually answer with the name from my earthly family. But we each have an identity from a larger family that draws its identity from the Father "of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named" (Ephesians 3:15). We have multiple

"And they walked hand in hand off into the sunset…." There's something about an ending like that which intrigues the imaginative soul. All's well that ends well. Together… into the future… Could God's ending in the great controversy read something like that? Except maybe a sunrise rather than a sunset? Do we realize how

It was crucifixion week. Matthew and Mark recorded the story (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34). A Pharisee (lawyer and scribe) asked Jesus a profound question that could be referred to as the first law. "Which is the greatest commandment in the law? Which is the first commandment of all?" With no hesitation, Jesus pointed to the secret of unity in

When you read words that are effective in describing something, you can picture it in your imagination. “See ye the word of the LORD” (Jeremiah 2:31). This “seeing” is not simply letters on a page. God is asking us to see the story—His history with us—realities our physical eyes cannot see. Recall Moses’ story, summarized in