The Daily Memo

The morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness. -Luke 1:78–79 “We’re going to give God all the glory right now.” The organ plays, the choir begins to sway, and the congregation starts to sing. But this is no church service, and the speaker is no preacher. Instead, it’s a rap artist at Britain’s Glastonbury music festival. That night he leads the one-hundred-thousand-strong crowd to sing…

A rugged, cast-iron ring stood strong against the harsh Minnesota winter as it hung on the doorframe of my great uncle’s old farmhouse. More than a hundred feet away was another ring, firmly fixed to the dairy barn. When there was a blizzard, my uncle would attach a line between both rings so he could find the path between the house and the barn. Keeping a firm grip on the line kept him from losing his way in the blinding snow. My uncle’s use of a safety line in…

Giving up has always been a struggle for frail humanity. But when Jesus urges us to ask for strength to escape, he has something particular in mind, something he sees coming: “At that time many will turn away from the faith” (Matthew 24:10). Saint Paul was deeply troubled by this as he wrote his friends living in Thessalonica: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day [the day Christ returns] will not come unless the falling away comes first;…

We all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the cold-hearted miser who hoarded wealth and refused to share with people in need. He’s an extreme case, but let’s be honest—aren’t we all tempted to be a little like him at times? Feeling overextended, tired, or worried about our circumstances, we want to keep our time and resources for ourselves—even though we know we’re called to give generously (Matt. 5:42; 2 Cor. 9:6). Despite realizing…

The Ephesians passage warns about spiritual strongholds created in our lives when we let “the sun go down” on something. Note that in this case that something isn’t necessarily sin. Paul says, “in your anger do not sin,” so anger does not equal sin. Anger can be a very appropriate reaction to life’s injustices. Nonetheless, failure to deal with that anger (letting the sun go down on it) clearly gives our enemy an opportunity to create…

Doing things for God is not the same thing as loving God. Jesus loves the poor—so, movements have arisen that make service to the poor the main thing. Even though Jesus never said that being poor was more noble or even spiritual. The latest craze is justice—so we rush off to the corners of the globe to fight for justice and leave Jesus behind. We actually come to think that service for Jesus is friendship with him. That’s like a friend who washes your car…

What we call “Christianity” is an invasion. The Kingdom of God is advancing into the kingdom of darkness, a campaign to ransom people and the earth God intended us to rule. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost. All that was lost. If Christianity seems to you to be having rather less than a remarkable impact on the earth, it is because too many Christians have this idea that we are in a waiting game, that we are basically killing time until…

We all long to have good, reliable friends who love us, but how do we go about making these relationships? The biblical account of David and Jonathan helps us learn how to foster genuine, close friendships (1 Sam. 18:1-30, 1 Sam. 19:1-241 Sam. 20:1-42). Their story demonstrates that true companionship is built upon a foundation of mutual respect, love, and authentic commitment. Jonathan was the prince of Israel, while David started out as a lowly shepherd boy. Social status didn&rsquo…

As a young man, Philip was kidnapped and held hostage in Greece. There he remained for several years. During this time he received a military education. Then he returned to his homeland, which had conceded many defeats and had lost much land. Within five years he had become king. Philip II of Macedon desperately needed his army to stand firm. He is remembered for two major innovations. First is the *sarissa*, a very long spear. Second is the re-development of a rectangular…