Worship shows us both aspects of God’s kingdom, the already and the not yet.  Worship at its biblical best – whatever its style – is a grand party, a celebration, a joy in which God’s people lose themselves amidst a deep focus on God and his glory.  In fact, the bible’s picture of the end... Continue Reading

Pelagianism arose because the early church had failed to define the concept of sin with sufficient precision. Everybody agreed that human beings were sinful and in need of God’s grace for salvation, but there was a difference of opinion about what sin was and where it had come from.   The Pelagian controversy takes its... Continue Reading

Religious services will be cut at bases where those services are readily available in the surrounding community outside the base. To the Rev. Jose Pimentel, a priest who has led services at Naval Base Coronado and North Island Naval Air Station for eight years, it isn’t just  a personal loss—it’s a loss of the First... Continue Reading

While fallen men make images of their gods, the true God made man in his own image—to image himself in the world. We humans are living, breathing, speaking, singing, moving images representing the invisible God to his world, so that others would remember and reverence him.   In the image of God — it may... Continue Reading

Jesus is the greatest prophet that ever lived. But His value is infinitely more than 100 times that of Elisha. For unlike Elisha who could but point people to the Lord, Jesus Christ the prophet is the Lord Himself.   Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of... Continue Reading

Whether praying for God’s intervention in our lives or observing what we deem to be significant prophetic world events, understand that God operates on a different clock than we do. Our calling is to pray in the Spirit according to God’s will and to wait patiently for His perfect timing…   When thinking about measuring... Continue Reading

Abiding is exercised through study of God’s Word and prayer. God’s Word, the Bible, instructs us in the way of God. It shapes our worldview. It nourishes our soul. It directs our steps.   I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for... Continue Reading

It is extraordinary that both Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) lived and worked in the same city at the same time. Both were, in a sense, evangelists contending for the souls of men with their competing visions of humanity.   My next book (after this one) will focus on two men whose graves... Continue Reading

The fear of the Lord is not meant to be a fuzzy or opaque concept in Proverbs. It simply describes the posture of receiving from God. It is a willful choice to turn away from listening to oneself and toward listening to the Lord.   With its intensely practical insight, Proverbs tends to be a... Continue Reading

In monotheism, worshiping the wrong deity is quite significant. Historically, Jews, Muslims, and Christians have all believed that if you do not worship the correct deity, you are cut off from salvation.   What is a deity? Now, that’s a good question. But it’s not one with a simple answer. In fact, there are several... Continue Reading