WESLEY ARNING

You cannot understand the Last Supper and the Crucifixion without hearing the echoes of the Passover, and you definitely cannot understand Jesus’ ministry without seeing it in the context of the Exodus. Even in the waning days of Christmas, we are reminded: Passover and the Cross are closer than they appear because of Matthew Chapter 2. As hard as he tried, Herod never had a chance of stopping this New Exodus. God’s work of salvation was destined to begin in Bethlehem and t

The joy of Christmas manifests itself because of the joy Christ brings into the world. It’s as simple as that: Jesus brings the joy of heaven with him to earth. What Jesus offers is a deeper joy than anything this world can give. It’s a joy that lacks sentimentality and will not quickly fade like momentary bouts of happiness. It is a joy that is real and authentic to our lived experiences. It doesn’t bypass the tougher parts of life, pushing them under the rug.

As much as we’d like to avoid it, we must go toward the voice of John, and all those whose voice is like his. Their ministry is to unsettle us and convict us, but we must realize that God’s judgment is not meant for our undoing but for our redeeming, and the redemption of all things. Being honestly insecure is a good thing. We should long for the world to be made right; for God's perfect justice to reign in us and our common life together. At the end of the age, wrongs will

Right now is the time of waiting, testing, and tribulation. We don’t have to wait for things to get worse before they get better. We are to live in the here and now, thankful for our daily bread and attentive to what God has tasked us with, while also never losing sight of Jesus’ return when he will set the world right. And oh, what a day that will be, when all is made right.

We should begin each prayer recognizing who God is. He is worthy of adoration and praise—full stop. Almost always in this life, we will praise people for what they have accomplished, the great deeds that they have done as individuals. They have earned our praise. They have shown that they are worthy of our devotion. Not so with God. He doesn’t have to do anything to deserve our praise. He is God and we are not, and that is enough. He is outside the created order. In fact, he

The shrewd manager represents us at our best and our worst. We can use our skills for our own betterment or to reflect the generosity of our Lord. We can share the amazing news of God’s generosity with others and see how it changes lives…or we can selfishly hold it to ourselves as if it was ever intended just for us. We can come before the throne of God either in fear of his righteous judgment, knowing that we should be condemned for our sin and deceit in this life, or in hum

When our identity is rooted in God rather than ourselves, then we can be reassured that we don’t have to be everything. Trying to be everything, even if it’s a childhood hope, can quickly turn into slavery. And we know for sure that God rescues his people from slavery. Jeremiah was far from perfect, but that’s the point. God works through the unlikeliest of characters, and our names can be added to that list. We may be broken vessels, but we are broken vessels who are still m

This life is a gift, but it is not solely ours. We are children of the Living God, who plumbed the depths of human pain, sorrow, and even death—and for our sake, carved a path to eternal life through his resurrection. He died so that none of us would die alone. And he rose on the third day, so that we might rise with him as children and heirs of the Kingdom of God. Be not afraid. Death cannot diminish the glory of God.

Though our bodies grow weak, we don’t lose value in the sight of God. He sees us in our weakness, and he loves us all the more. He is our Good Shepherd, who guides us through the mountains and valleys of this life until we reach our destination. Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the life, and so Jesus is the path, and he is the destination. It is with him that we journey on this earthly pilgrimage, and it is into his loving arms that we run when this life is over.

Xerxes is easily manipulated and without a clear vision for himself, his household, or his empire. Everyone is affected. Yet, as we’ll see, others like Esther and Mordecai are able to affect the kingdom as well. What does it mean to be a person of influence without being an influencer? Without being the one making all the decisions? Jesus said to his disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Faith in Jesus doesn’t wash away being a Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, but it does remind us that we are more than those things. There is more to us than the categories the world gives, for as Paul says, “all of you are one in Christ Jesus…you belong to Christ [and are] heirs according to the promise.” What does our society say about you? What molds are they trying to fit you into in order to be respected, seen, or given worth? And how does that shape what you

For Christians throughout the centuries, the mystery of the Trinity is not to be explained away, but rather it is something to be invited into. It leads us deeper into the nature of God, who is so Wholly Other. We cannot—and we dare not—explain away the glory and majesty and wonder of God, who created all things, sustains all things, and, as the Bible says, shrouds himself in thick darkness and inaccessible light.

In this teaching, Jesus reframes Hanukkah — this festival remembering the Temple’s renewal and rededication — and through the lens of faith, we discover that Jesus is not only the new Temple, the very place God’s glory resides, but he is renewing and reconsecrating the people of God to be his flock. Those with ears to hear are called to listen and believe the shepherd’s voice. Unbeknownst to the crowd, Jesus was offering a wholesale reconsecration not of a Temple or any build

Though our scars don’t ultimately define us, Jesus’ scars do. By his bruises, we have been healed—once and for all. We can look at his scars for our hope in the troubling moments of our life, while also recognizing that our mission is to go towards the broken and scarred places in our world. Nothing is outside of God’s redemptive power.

What makes Christianity unique is that Jesus is the one God who actually comes out of the pages of mythology. He comes out of the legends of bygone tales, and is born in a time and place we know, while Caesar Augustus reigned, and while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and Herod ruled Judea. Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected within history. The other gods can’t do that, they are bound in the books in which they reside. They are prisoners of ink and paper.

This psalm begs us to put down the mask and stop running away. At some point, we need to face the music.

A repentant life, therefore, is marked by such characteristics as gratitude and grace. We have sinned, yet our Lord does not desire the

The transcendent experience on the Mount of Transfiguration is worthless without the Cross and the Grave that are on Mount Zion.

And so, Peter gives us a helpful lesson in discipleship: Stop, Drop, and Follow. There are so many things to hold onto, including all the

Isaiah 43 is God’s love letter to anyone who has felt alone, unloved, forgotten, or in some form of exile. It is a grand reminder that you