I have been reading a book by Pope John Paul II, and recently came across his discussion of René Descartes regarding one of the most famous sentences in Western philosophy: Cogito, ergo sum. “I think, therefore I am.” I had encountered Descartes years ago in college, but this time something struck me that I had…

For years, I assumed that the 144,000 described in Revelation represented the Jewish people who would be saved in the last days. But while studying Romans, I encountered something that caused me to reconsider that assumption. Paul seems to describe something much larger: a future turning of Israel to Jesus Christ. Romans 9–11 addresses a…

Psalms 37, 49, and 73 are often described as wisdom psalms because they wrestle with questions that have troubled believers for thousands of years: Why do people who ignore God sometimes prosper? Why do those who trust Him suffer? What does it mean to live wisely? And, ultimately, what becomes of us when this life…

Life can become overwhelming very quickly. Anxiety, grief, pain, conflict, financial worries, and fear can leave us searching for something solid to hold on to. Scripture Life Savers is designed to make the wisdom and comfort of the Bible easier to reach in those moments.  Each Life Saver begins with a passage from the King…

My mother is ninety years old. She was raised in a poor, fairly dysfunctional, and largely uneducated secular Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. Through intelligence, determination, and hard work, she became one of the first in her family to attend college. After marrying my father, a physician, and raising our family, she earned a…

Acknowledging the Question That Started It All Before presenting this study, I would like to acknowledge the person whose careful reading of Scripture inspired it: my wife, Jinmei Xu. This exploration did not begin with a theological debate or a desire to challenge established doctrine. It began with a simple question raised by a thoughtful…

The Book of Job is anonymous, which means biblical scholars have spent centuries doing what biblical scholars do best: confidently disagreeing with one another. Yet Job’s theological depth, poetic brilliance, and relentless emphasis on wisdom have led many readers to wonder whether it emerged from the same literary and theological world associated with King Solomon.…

If God already had a system—Law, failure, repentance, remnant, repeat—why introduce the dramatic plot twist of the Incarnation? It’s a fair question, and one that thoughtful readers of Scripture eventually run into. The Old Testament rhythm seems clear enough: God gives the Law (Exodus 20), Israel fails (reliably), judgment follows (also reliably), and a remnant…

Many Christians wrestle with a central question when reading the Sermon on the Mount: what was Jesus really trying to accomplish? On one hand, Jesus calls His listeners to radical inner righteousness—equating anger with murder and lust with adultery. On the other hand, believers still fall short no matter how sincerely they try. Was Jesus…

Easter is often wrapped in celebration, light, and victory, yet for many of us, it arrives with quieter emotions. There are seasons when prayers seem to go unanswered, when God feels distant, and when faith becomes something we hold rather than something we feel. Psalm 22 speaks directly into that tension. It begins with one…

For me, this time of year has become something I didn’t expect. What used to feel simple now feels layered. Growing up, Passover was filled with joy, family, and a deep sense of identity. It was a celebration of freedom, of God’s faithfulness to His people. But now, through my belief in Jesus Christ, this…

While reading the book of Deuteronomy recently, I was struck by how clearly God lays out the covenant with His people. Blessings follow obedience. Consequences follow rebellion. Again and again God speaks of testing the people of Israel, not because He needs information, but because faith must be revealed in the choices people make. That…