As you hear more godly believers speaking with grace, gentleness, and courtesy in members’ meetings, you are learning how Christians ought to express themselves. As you watch them interact with others in Bible studies, you see meekness, humility, and wisdom lived out in front of you rather than defined propositionally in a book. By their... Continue Reading

My friend’s intentions were in the right place, but the second service began in forty-five seconds, and we still stood in the foyer. The event was not large enough that anyone else mentioned it to me. Right or wrong, I made the decision not to address the event in the second service. I wrestle with... Continue Reading

“Dear Lord God, Father, do not call us into judgment, for in your presence no one is righteous. Please do not condemn us for being ungrateful for all of your unspeakable goodness—both spiritual and physical—and for our daily blunders and sins—which are more than we know or mark (Psalm 19:12). Furthermore, do not consider how... Continue Reading

Lament cannot exist with self-sufficiency. The gospel of self-sufficiency says that I am enough, that I have within me what I need to endure and to fight back. It promises victory to whomever has the willpower to push through. Lament says the opposite: it boldly proclaims my weakness, my anguish, my inability to rescue myself.... Continue Reading

We get so fixated on the 10% that we fool ourselves into thinking God hasn’t spoken at all. He has, but we often aren’t putting ourselves in a posture to listen. We listen by doing the same old things we’ve always done – we read, we pray, we meditate, then we act on what we... Continue Reading

My dad was raised almost completely unchurched and I think he was getting at the dynamics I’m discussing here. He longed for his children to be raised knowing the word of God. True, we do not know when (or ultimately, if) the wind of the Spirit will blow and produce the miracle of the new... Continue Reading

Mobs often depend on general slogans, unspecified grievances, vague (if any) purposes for uniting, and little to no solutions for change other than destruction. They think with their rage, and many get caught in the tide. Something important seems to be happening — many seem to know why they gathered, so why not join? It... Continue Reading

The Lord has given us new life in Christ, raising our dead souls to life eternal so we give thanks to Him, we bless His name as the highest priority in our life. Before hugging her son, the Shunammite gave thanks to the Lord; how much more ought we give thanks to the Lord in... Continue Reading

The professing Christian who lacks this disciplining by God is illegitimate. They are not genuine believers. God’s discipline seems quite painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, we must not lost heart in our weariness of the trouble seemingly never... Continue Reading

When the Protestant Reformers talked about total depravity, they meant that sin—its power, its influence, its inclination—affects the whole person. Our bodies are fallen, our hearts are fallen, and our minds are fallen—there’s no part of us that escapes the ravages of our sinful human nature. Sin affects our behavior, our thought life, and even... Continue Reading