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Nov 15, 2024 | 
crossway.org | Michael J. Glodo |Nancy Guthrie |William Osborne |Stephen Witmer
This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series. All commentary notes adapted from the ESV Study Bible. 1. Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Read MoreBlessed be. The blessing that opens Paul’s prayer is similar to those that began first-century Jewish prayers that were commonly recited throughout the day (cf. 2 Cor. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3). in Christ.
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Mar 20, 2024 | 
crossway.org | Michael J. Glodo |Chris Castaldo |William Osborne
A Benediction of ShalomThe ultimate climax or aim can be seen, first of all, from the stair steps of the blessing itself. “The Lord bless you and keep you.” That is the Lord’s protection, his preserving power. “The Lord make his face to shine up on you and be gracious to you.” God’s grace. And then the third line is, “The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” And so shalom is that big idea of God reigning for the good of his people and their happiness and his glory.
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Dec 2, 2023 | 
crossway.org | Kristen Wetherell |Melissa Kruger |Trillia Newbell |William Osborne
A Season of CelebrationChristmas is a joyous season in which we remember the birth of Christ while looking forward to his second coming. We celebrate in many different ways and develop our own cherished traditions within our families that foster love and goodwill with loved ones and that help unify us in the worship of Jesus in a special way during this season. We asked the authors of a number of Crossway kids’ books to describe their favorite Christmas traditions that they keep each year.
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Nov 2, 2023 | 
crossway.org | William Osborne
This article is part of the Answering Kids' Hardest Questions series. God Is Always GoodWill God always keep me safe? This is a question that impacts kids as well as adults. I was recently in a church service where there was a report about a mission trip that was being communicated. It was a trip to a difficult area, and the statement was made, “We just trusted God, and we knew that everything was going to be okay.
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Oct 24, 2023 | 
crossway.org | Chris Castaldo |William Osborne |Nancy Guthrie
Big QuestionsWe often think of God’s blessing as an achievement or an experience, but it actually goes far deeper. I started learning this lesson at age nineteen. I had meningitis. I was in the hospital for five weeks. Something happens to you when you’re staring at the hospital room ceiling for all that time. You begin to ask questions you’ve not asked before: What’s the meaning of life? What will happen to me when I close my eyes in death? Is it possible to live with God’s blessing?
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Sep 29, 2023 | 
crossway.org | Michael J. Glodo |William Osborne
Face and PersonhoodC. S. Lewis’s personal favorite of his own novels, Till We Have Faces, is a theodicy—an accusation against the gods. It is told by an aged, veiled queen named Orual who wore a veil her entire life. She did so at first because her father the king thought her ugly—“curd face,” he called her when he first told her to cover her face. But as time went on, she found the veil to be a source of power. As years passed and there were fewer in the city . . .
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Jul 29, 2023 | 
crossway.org | William Osborne |Erik Raymond |Lydia Brownback
This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series. All commentary notes adapted from the ESV Study Bible. 1. Matthew 5:2–12Blessed. More than a temporary or circumstantial feeling of happiness, this is a state of well-being in relationship to God that belongs to those who respond to Jesus’ ministry. The poor in spirit are those who recognize they are in need of God’s help. theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It belongs to those who confess their spiritual bankruptcy.
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Jul 27, 2023 | 
crossway.org | Chris Castaldo |William Osborne
You Are InvitedWhen we pray for God’s kingdom to come “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), we sometimes imagine the kingdom to be far away. It is, however, closer than we think. In the crucified and risen King, the two realms now overlap—a holy ground that is simultaneously mundane and heavenly, temporal and eternal. Jesus’s Beatitudes are concerned with cultivating this kingdom life, though perhaps not in the way we would expect.
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Jun 29, 2023 | 
crossway.org | William Osborne |Gerald Bray |Jen Wilkin
God With UsThe struggles and complexities of life teach us through the years that we must rely on our heavenly Father. As adults, we have leaned upon the promises of God and found him to be faithful and true to his good words revealed to us in the Scriptures. From battles with disease to major family decisions, God has walked with us, guided us, and sustained us through his word. While this relationship is indeed developed over time, are these promises just for grownups?
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Jun 20, 2023 | 
crossway.org | William Osborne
By William R. Osborne, Illustrated by Brad Woodard ... Show All 20 Psalms and Devotions to Help Children Learn More about Who God Is
The Psalms are full of “You Are” statements—like “You are my rock and fortress” found in Psalm 31. For generations, Christians have used these phrases to praise God for who he is and what he has done for his people.
