Imagine living in the ancient Near East in 1500 BC. You’re a Hebrew, formerly a slave in Egypt, now traipsing through the desert around Mount Sinai. You inhabit a spiritually charged universe of “gods” and “goddesses.” And these divine beings are anything but nice. Read any ancient text. The gods were mean — finicky…
The Gift of Sabbath: I Am Not a Machine
In Genesis 2, at the end of the creation story, we read, Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. The creation story starts with God…
Who Is God?
When we talk about God, it turns out we’re all over the map. In the West, we still live in a hangover from our Christianized past. There was a time when you could say “God,” and people would immediately think of the God we read about in the Scriptures and see in Jesus. Most…
We Actually Crave the Wrath of God
Editor’s note: Who is God? How can we relate to him? John Mark Comer takes a look at the names and descriptions of God in order to understand what is revealed about Him in Holy Scripture and to deepen our relationship with Him. Enjoy this excerpt of God Has a Name. * Next up…
Loveology: The Never-Ending Story of Male and Female
We are the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve. We were created “male and female.” We were set up to love. To absorb the love of God into our bloodstream and then to share it with another human being. But we don’t live in a garden anymore. We’re the exact opposite of “naked…
X and Y: The Controversy of Gender Roles
I’ve heard it said that Jesus was the first feminist. It’s not a bad line. The way He treated women was millennia ahead of His time. And not just Jesus. Historians think Paul was the first author in human history to argue that men and women were created equal. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor…
Everything Is Spiritual
So, you have a calling. There’s someone God made you to be. Something God made you to do. All you have to do is dig it out from under the rubble of your fear and insecurity and upbringing and culture and consciousness. It’s there. Waiting to be found. But I know what some of you…
Waiting Well
A Form of Torture Called Waiting America is at war in Europe and in the Pacific. Millions of young men are dropping everything to go and fight. My grandfather, Bill Comer, is a senior in high school when he meets a girl named Ruth from the nearby town of Muncie, Indiana. A few months later,…
On Singleness: The Inclusive Love of God
From its inception, Christianity was the most radical movement of all time. The incredible nature of the love of God reshaped all cultural norms of the day. This became evident when Jesus took a child in His arms and said, Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My Name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes…
War, Peace, and Why Marriage Is Really About Jesus
There’s a growing movement inside the church to say that gender roles are a result of the fall. From my vantage point, nothing could be further from the truth. Gender roles are a part of the original Edenic, good creation. But the gender wars? Those are a result of the fall. Absolutely. In Eden, the serpent temped Eve, not…
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