Today is Memorial Day, a holiday in the U.S. to remember the fallen service members of our military. There are many events and people in life worth remembering. What are some of your most important memories? Why are they worth remembering? What does it even mean for us to “remember”? Reacting to our recollection A few weeks ago it was Mother’s Day. Imagine you woke up and noticed the date marked on your calendar but carried on with your normal day. The next day you get a call from your mom, upset, “Did you forget yesterday was Mother’s Day?” “No,” […]
Author Archive: Matt Johnson
The Holy Weight of Glory
About a week ago I was one of millions who traveled to experience a rare opportunity: a total solar eclipse. I had heard that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and indeed, it was amazing. While I gazed at the spectacle above, I couldn’t help but think of what Moses might have felt in Exodus 33:18-23. There, Moses asked to see God’s glory. God responded by eclipsing himself while he passed by, allowing Moses only a glimpse at his back. Even that limited encounter (and time with God atop Mount Sinai) caused an afterglow (or “horns”) on Moses’ head days afterward […]
Who is included in God’s family?
Often in Christian circles, we’ll toss around the idea of being a “child of God” or being included in God’s family. What does this mean? While God made everyone in his image, is everyone a child of God? Are some included and others excluded? If so, who? Sons of Abraham God has always desired a relationship with all people. However, we have the tendency not to reciprocate, preferring our own way. From the time of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) through the rebellion at Babel (Genesis 11), people distanced themselves from God. As a result, God chose one family line, […]
What Was Jesus’ Life Mission?
If someone asked you why Jesus came to earth, how would you respond? Maybe you’d include some of the points found in the Nicene Creed: [Jesus], who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the […]
Spring, A Season Of Change
We are now over halfway through our journey through the season of Lent. A few years ago, during the pandemic, I wrote about this 40-day period of “spiritual quarantine” we call Lent that leads up to Easter. This time I want to focus on a different aspect of Lent: “lent” comes from the word meaning “spring season”. This week marks the official beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. As I write this while snow is still falling here in Michigan, it can be difficult to imagine warmer weather on its way. The land of Israel has its seasons too. […]
A Parable On The Purpose of Parables
Why did Jesus teach using parables? This is the question his disciples asked him, to which he replied by quoting from Isaiah: And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes;lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Isaiah 6:9-10 Did Jesus purposely use parables to obfuscate the meaning of his message? Did he actually not want the people to be transformed by his teaching? At a surface […]
Your Invitation to God’s “Holy Day” Celebrations
Happy new year! I hope you are having a good holiday season. I use the word “holiday” deliberately here, not to obscure the centrality of Christ in Christmas, but to focus on the literal definition of “holiday”: a “holy” day. Throughout the year, we have various celebratory days that are “set apart” (that’s what “holy” means). The rest of the days are common, or unholy, by contrast. There’s nothing wrong with these ordinary days; they’re just not special like the others. As we start a new calendar year, did you know that God has a calendar full of scheduled holy […]
Double Blessing of the Third Day
This post went live on Tuesday, 2/22/2022 at 2:22 am EST. In light of this fun date alignment, I thought I’d share a few thoughts. In Genesis 1, God creates the world in six days, resting on the seventh (Sabbath). The flow of each day is mostly the same. First, God speaks order into the chaos, and things come into existence. Then, God calls what he made good, and time progresses. Creation in Pairs However, a careful reading reveals a more nuanced and complex structure. Reality starts formless and empty. To fix this, God creates in two sets of three […]
Advent of the Suffering Son of Joseph
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”“Joy to the world!”“‘Tis the season to be jolly!” In our culture, Christmas has become synonymous with a time of merry celebration. But, there are hurting people all over our broken world today that holiday clichés of cheer fail to help. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one this year, and this is your first Christmas with an empty chair. Maybe this is the 20th year in a row of being isolated from family or friends. I write this for you: understanding the meaning of Christmas won’t immediately take away your grief or loneliness. […]
40 Days in Spiritual Quarantine
The LORD said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” Numbers 5:1-3 Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I stumbled across that the English word “quarantine” comes from a Latin root meaning “forty”. This word was first used when ships containing people or goods would “quarantine” at a port for […]