Author Archives: jstevenharper

​Nothing could be worse than to have the desire to please God, but be unable to do so.  So, just as the creation gave us the capacity to serve God (via the imago dei), so also the Covenant gives us … Continue reading →

Of course, God includes in the Covenant the expectation that we will obey it.  Every relationship is honored, made real, and strengthened by obedience. Our relationship with God is no different. But in the Covenant (that is rooted in God’s … Continue reading →

One of the first things we learn about Covenant is that it is not strictly speaking a contract.  It has elements that are contractual in nature, but it has one significant difference–it is not null and void if we default. … Continue reading →

​The most important thing to say about Covenant is that it is created by God.  Just as God made the world, God made the Covenant.  The great danger in life is to forget the God-grounded nature of all things.  Covenant … Continue reading →

We could spend more time in the opening chapters of Genesis, but the rest of Scripture awaits us, holding in its revelation pearls of great price with respect to practicing the better.  The next element is summarized in the word … Continue reading →

The preceding posts in this series have largely focused in the first three chapters of Genesis.  We have a lot more Scripture to explore and much more to learn about practicing the better, but from the opening pages of the … Continue reading →

​ Practicing the better is enacting love in the little things of life. That’s good news because we spend most of our time living in the world of small things.  It is what has often been referred to as ordinary … Continue reading →