Let Your Sins Be Strong
We like to talk about sin and forgiveness, but we do not like to admit that we are truly sinners.
We must stop trying to diminish the sin we have committed in order to maintain dignity. We must let them be strong, and look at them in all their wretchedness. We must see our sins as they mock God and refuse to obey Him in all His Holiness. Taking ownership of our sins is the... Continue Reading
David Clarkson and Soul Idolatry, Part 2: The Remedy Applied
When we as Christians value anything above God, it never gives us the comfort, relief, whatever that it promises
In the end, the “choicest worldly enjoyments” are vain, uncertain, dissatisfying, deceitful, and unprofitable. With this in mind, we must recognize that “lawful comforts” can be “the most dangerous snares” as we feel secure in them and pursue them “too eagerly.” Our last post identified the problem of soul idolatry from David Clarkson’s book, Soul... Continue Reading
Don’t Be A Grumbler, Be A Groaner
Do all things without grumbling? Every single thing? That’s the call.
Grumbling doubts God’s goodness and shakes our fist at him. Groaning by the Spirit hates the brokenness of the world—the sin and the suffering—because it’s not how it’s supposed to be, but also holds onto the sure that that one day, things will be exactly how they’re supposed to be forever. Grumbling is Natural... Continue Reading
Fill Your Heavy Heart with Heaven
Counsel for the Downcast
The mercy God offers us in Christ is far greater than the mercy we need, and should dominate over our worries or griefs. Our imaginations will be constrained or distorted by worry and doubt, particularly in the midst of anxiety and depression, but will be enlarged by what God says about himself (Ephesians 3:20). ... Continue Reading
Brothers, shall we weep?
For ourselves, for the sheep, for lost souls?
There is an urgent need for true tears, for hearts which feel the depth and breadth of the need of God’s people to be awakened, for the name of Christ Jesus to be personally and visibly held in highest honour among us, for his greatness and grace to be the obsession of our hearts and... Continue Reading
The Myth of Theological Development
We must not follow the impulse to assume the development and evolution of theology.
We need to see the past not as rungs on a ladder up to the present. But as individual experiences of theologians walking on the path to knowing God in Christ Jesus through worship. This will free us from the self-confidence of our own times that weighs down with a burden that could eventually crush... Continue Reading
New York Presbyterian Church Hosts Pagan Deity
The United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton hosted “the Sviatovid idol” which depicts a ninth-century Slavic deity.
Maybe Sviatovid was invited into the church in the spirit of multiculturalism. Perhaps it was a subtle nod to universalism. False teaching, but a desire for the best for (literally) everyone. To put a false god in the same spot as God’s communion table, regardless of the fact that it was not during a worship... Continue Reading
When the Black Dog Comes Calling
Reflections on life and ministry with depression.
At the darkest moments, the sole reason why I felt I could still do business with God in my bewilderment was what he allowed to be included in the Bible. To be more precise, it was the Psalms. A God who could handle a psalmist praying these things was one that I had no right... Continue Reading
Duty and Honor
The Christian is to reflect the character of God.
James elevates the trustworthiness of a person’s word, the simple statement of yes or no, as a virtue that is “above all.” What James is getting at is that integrity requires a kind of honesty that indicates that when we say we will do something, our word is our bond. We should not require sacred... Continue Reading
Known by His Works
"That ye may know how that I am the Lord."
Our burden should be to leave to our children the Great Story, the perennial Wisdom, the Everlasting Man. What’s more, we should maintain, as the Psalmist does, tremendous hope in unseen fruit, far beyond our lifetime and personal influence. As mentioned in my last post, education means shaping and filling, admonition and nurture, law... Continue Reading
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