Frustrated expectations, painful memories, and difficult relations can turn some of us into Scrooges. For Christians, they may validate the objections of some Reformers and Puritans against what they saw as a recycled pagan holiday. But whatever we think of Christmas and the way it is celebrated, we are still called to be a witness... Continue Reading

Those who try to make a case for Jesus not being divine will point us to passages of the Bible that show the humanity of Christ, while neglecting those passages that demonstrate the divinity of Christ. But the accounts make it clear that Jesus is God.   This Advent series explores the identity of the... Continue Reading

Our prayer to God is an inclination of our hearts in trust toward Him. As our hearts look to God, we can know that He is bigger than the biggest trial we face, and therefore we can also praise by faith…before we see any answer to our prayer.   As we live the Christian life,... Continue Reading

Do I uphold the truth or conceal it or give it a certain spin? Do I pursue honesty, truth, and justice at all costs even if the spotlight shines closer than I would like? Has God been honored by my words and underlying attitude or dishonored?   At face value, the 9th commandment could be... Continue Reading

It is not fundamentalist to affirm 1 Timothy 2. It is still God’s holy, inerrant, and infallible Word. It still norms the theology, piety, and practice of Reformed Churches. We still confess the biblical qualifications for the offices of minister, elder, and deacon (see Belgic Confession articles 31 and 31).   John Frame first published... Continue Reading

Do you feel discouraged and faint at blank looks of colleagues and friends for whom you’ve prayed and to whom you’ve witnessed for years? Remember Jesus Christ has an overflowing fountain of sympathy and strength for all such troubled saints. It’s a mark of faithful servants to share to some small degree in Christ’s ministerial... Continue Reading

Our flesh wants to be in control. It bears the burden of the hardship and works to figure out how to handle it. And when it determines that the hardship is beyond its capabilities—when we can’t see a satisfactory solution—anxiety sets in. This posture is at odds with the Spirit who implores us as believers... Continue Reading

To call the Son God but then affirm that he does not share the nature of the Father equivocates on the most basic level. The Son is not both God and not God at the same time. He shares in the Father’s nature fully. That is why he is God. And for no other reason.... Continue Reading

Unlike gratitude, which we will forever owe to the Lord, grief will one day cease to be. Relationships that have been strained for years will know unmitigated love. Wars will cease, heartaches will end. We will know why, but I believe it won’t matter so much in that day, for we’ll have a technicolor view... Continue Reading

There are some out there who have a false notion of predestination and election, namely, that it was the invention of some ancient French madman named John Calvin. No doubt, Calvin would mourn the fact that history has dubbed this doctrine “Calvinism,” as though it somehow belonged more to him than to God.   This... Continue Reading