Many of our difficulties in the Christian life stem from the fact that we don’t really know God as we ought to know Him. We don’t see Him as He is, and we don’t understand Him as He has made himself known in His word.

Different creatures are characterized by different, signature functions. Woodpeckers peck; beavers dam; spiders spin; songbirds sing. Likewise, different people in different jobs are characterized by different activities.

We are living in extraordinary days. The divisiveness of the world is unprecedented. And as followers of Jesus Christ, we are confronted urgently with the question of how to respond to these things Christianly—how to navigate them as authentic followers of Jesus Christ. What will it look like simply to live as Christian people—in such unprecedented times?

Christians believe that the cross of Christ stands at the very center of human history—at the heart of God’s plans of redemption and at the core of our existence as a people of God. But what exactly did the cross achieve?

Have you ever watched a documentary on the opening of the American west in the mid-19th century? It’s all very fascinating and exciting—the story of the gold rush of 1849 and all the rest. But one cannot help but feel a sense of gratitude for the luxuries of the 21st century.