For many, the worship wars are long over and entertainment music, center stage with all its obligatory paraphernalia, won. Before complete surrender, however, we would do well to hear practical ways the Reformers employed music in worship. Luther agreed with Calvin about the power of music: “We know by experience that music has a secret... Continue Reading

If we know ourselves to be God’s, and God to be ours, then such knowledge is remarkably stabilizing. It doesn’t mean that we will not walk through measures of pain or defeat, but it does mean that we are assured a final victory. It doesn’t mean we take every battle, but it does mean that... Continue Reading

Understanding “subversive habits” starts with the recognition that we are habitual people. Every day, we engage in habits and practices that either increase or decrease the position of the Scriptural Story in our hearts. Here is the question we must ask: What practices or habits would have the effect of lifting up the Scriptural Story... Continue Reading

Sometimes we dig, meditate, intensify our spiritual disciplines, get help from others, and the Spirit uses these to change us. Sometimes a phrase or a comment arrests us, and we are changed. The other thing that stands out is that change often comes when the Spirit renews old teachings.   My wife and I were... Continue Reading

To be saved means to be rescued. De-theologizing that the word salvation for a moment may help us here to answer the question. We need rescue. We are in dire straights and without rescue, we will be lost. What sort of rescue do we need and what does it mean to be lost?    What... Continue Reading

No one looks forward to body and mind decaying. Nobody wishes for a falsely-ruined reputation. No believer wants to be useless to God. Some have even preferred to take their own lives rather than to submit to what they viewed as a futile existence. All of which raises an important question: is it even possible... Continue Reading

It is no wonder people are empty. Even Christians swimming in these waters are bound to take their eyes off Jesus and put them on the waves from time to time. When we do that, we know what happens; we start to sink. There is so much emptiness to go around that many marketers appeal... Continue Reading

What kind of counselors will we be? Will we only give law and behavior modification in an attempt to uproot bad propensities? Will we send our brothers and sisters in Christ into deep self-examination to dwell on their wretchedness and dig up all their sins on their own? Or will we point our friends to... Continue Reading

Holiness is the hallmark of the Spirit-led believer. This attribute will lead to persecution. Why? The holy believer is in the World, but is not part of it. They do not conform to it in any way. The holy believer’s righteousness confronts the lost with the uncompromising message of the Gospel. It also flies in... Continue Reading

God is going to bless those who bless Abraham, which means He is going to bless those who bless Israel. And this promise was never withdrawn. It must come to pass, which means it is still in force today. But does the Israel of God exist today?   One of the first promises in the... Continue Reading