An Afternoon Idyll

It made absolutely no sense today but I did it anyway. Midmorning, I suddenly remembered a friend of mine and her two requests recently that we get together to talk about books. She was looking for some helpful Christian materials and wanted to get some suggestions. It was a chilly, cloudy sort of fall day [...]

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Great Hymns Contain Doctrine

There is probably no more rousing and inspiring hymn of praise to the Lord than this one. It is often sung during Communion. The first time I heard it, I knew this was not a hymn to listen to sitting down. The majestic hymn tune that most often accompanies it lifts up the words [...]

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Hail, Gladdening Light!

This weekend I got a chance to listen to a CD that was given to me some time ago. I had never had the chance to listen to it until now. It contained what scholars believe to be the oldest hymn on record (150 A.D.) in the Christian church that has survived complete, “Hail, [...]

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On Pragmatism in Ministry

“One of the great evils of the time is that of deliberating about a plain command of Christ, and asking, ‘What will be the result of it?’  What have you to do with results?  ‘But if I follow Christ in all things, I may lose my position.’ What you have to do with that?  When [...]

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In My Father’s House

This afternoon was one of those brilliant autumn days in Milwaukee where the sky was the deepest blue, and the yellow and red maples were at their most stunning. After church, Tom and I drove to the east side of Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan. We parked and took a walk along Lake [...]

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From God Can Nothing Move Me

I wanted to share this hymn we sang this morning in worship. It was written during the heart of the Reformation, but its message is timeless truth.
From God can nothing move me; He will not step aside
But gently will reprove me And be my constant guide.
He stretches out His hand in evening and in morning,
My [...]

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Jesus, What a Savior!

Behold your divine possession! This redeeming God is our God. The God who redeemed us at a cost so dear and precious to Himself as the gift, the sufferings, and sacrifice of His only-begotten and beloved Son–who charged all our sins to Him, laid all our curse on Him, exacting from Him, as our [...]

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50 Years By Faith

A week ago Sunday, my brother Andy, sister Lisa and I held an Open House at the VCY Studios in honor of our parents’ 50 years of ministry. My dad, Vic Eliason, was ordained in 1957 and has served the Lord full time ever since, first as an associate pastor in Des Moines, Iowa and [...]

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Quote of the Day

“What is forgiveness, but God’s grace remitting our sins? What is justification, but God’s grace accepting us? What is sanctification, but God’s grace purifying our hearts? What is adoption, but God’s grace making us sons? What is our final salvation, but God’s grace keeping us from falling and preserving us into His eternal [...]

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What is Dead Textualism?

A reader read my post below about the issues within conservative churches (Slice Archive Update) and asked what I meant by my references to dead orthodoxy, dead textualism and so forth. I think that the reader thought I had been sipping emergent Kool-Aid. I want to assure them and everyone else that nothing could be [...]

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