April 2025 New Horizons

Of Lions, Lambs, and the True Power of God

by Michael J. Seufert

As much as I love C. S. Lewis, and as effective as his Narnia Chronicles are, I suspect he could have done better in his selection of the supreme symbol of our Lord. Aslan is a lion. It is not difficult to understand why. Not only do lions continue to evoke images of power, majesty, and victory, but there is some biblical warrant for the Christ as lion. The association of lions with royalty goes very far back. In fact, it would be fair to say that ancient kings were obsessed with lions. Nowhere is this more clearly on display than in Neo-Assyria. If you look at the palace reliefs of the time of Ashurbanipal, the depictions of lions are stunning (just google “ Ashurbanipal lions ”). There is an intense identification of the king with the lion in several ways. Most interesting are the reliefs of royal lion hunts: The king would hunt lions, sometimes in hand-to-paw combat in which the king killed the lion or captured them for display. The significance is far reaching, but the basic meaning is plain: ... Read more

Christ’s Resurrection as Covenantal Fulfillment

by Harrison Perkins

Without Christ’s resurrection, Christian hope disappears. Among many indispensable articles of our faith, Christ’s resurrection crowns the list. Part of the reason for its critical role is because we worship the risen Christ, who is God the Son in power with all authority in heaven and on earth (Rom. 1:4; Matt. 28:16–20). He is the risen, reigning king, and the truth claims of our religion come to naught if Christ is not the living God who conquered death (1 Cor. 15:17–19). So, Christ’s resurrection is crucial due to its significance as the historical foundation of our faith. Christ’s resurrection is nonnegotiable also because of its theological significance. It is not only the historical foundation in the sense that our beliefs and practices flow downstream from when the apostles saw and proclaimed the risen Christ. It is also the reason that salvation comes to us and that we can trust God with full assurance. As Peter explains, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ... Read more

Wisdom from Above

by John A. Hartley

What do you want to accomplish in your conversations, in your relationships? What do you want to accomplish when there is a disagreement? When the peace is broken? When someone opposes you? When someone outshines you? When someone is not honoring you? When someone is failing you? What do you want to accomplish? There is always an answer to this question. Always. Even if you are not mindful of the answer yourself, the answer is always there, being unveiled in each sentence you speak and each moment of silence you keep. We are always engaging people in order to accomplish something, whether that something is selfish or noble, known or unknown. What we really want is always disclosed.  And be sure of this, says the apostle James, what you want to accomplish is not inconsequential. James argues throughout chapter 3 of his epistle that the tongue can set on fire the entire course of life, or it can bring peace where there had been war. Right there, says James, found in your everyday speech, you can discover ... Read more