Some wounds require time, wisdom, boundaries, and patient rebuilding of trust. Paul isn't asking the church to pretend nothing happened. He's asking them to recognize what God is doing now instead of keeping a repentant person permanently trapped in what happened then. Paul even warns that refusing restoration gives the enemy an opportunity. A church can be damaged by ignoring sin, but it can also be damaged by refusing grace.   Read More

Paul says the Holy Spirit is already at work within us as God’s seal and the guarantee of what is still coming. The God who raised Jesus has not abandoned the work of new creation. God is forming us, strengthening us, and leading us toward the life Christ has opened for us. That means our suffering doesn’t have to become wasted pain.   Read More

“Stay awake, stand firm in your faith, be brave, be strong. Everything should be done in love.” (vv. 13–14) We could easily emphasize the first four and overlook the fifth. Be alert. Stand firm. Be courageous. Be strong. Those sound like fighting words. But Christian strength is always governed by Christian love. Standing firm doesn't give us permission to become cruel. Courage doesn't require arrogance. Strength doesn't justify domination. Faithfulness to truth cannot be separated from becoming like Jesus. Everything should be done in love.   Read More

We may not know exactly how God will gather all those acts of love, obedience, service, creativity, compassion, and witness into the kingdom that is coming. Paul doesn’t explain that. He gives us something better than an explanation. He gives us a promise. Your labor in the Lord is not wasted.   Read More

Sometimes we speak about salvation almost entirely in terms of what happens when we die. Paul’s vision here is much larger. The Christian hope is not escape from God’s creation. It is God’s victory over everything that has corrupted it.   Read More

Whoever we are, whatever gifts God has entrusted to us, Christian worship isn’t a competition for the microphone.   Read More