Turning the Other Cheek
While there is no sin in pursuing justice, not taking advantage of our right to justice can have a redemptive impact.
Joseph’s story illustrates powerfully how God works through His people when they refuse to let bitterness and revenge rule their hearts (Gen. 37–50). Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, falsely accused of rape, and abandoned by people whom he helped in prison. He was later elevated to commander of Egypt under Pharaoh... Continue Reading
Headship Crowned with Thorns
This vision of Jesus Christ, and his Bride, is vital for his honor in our homes, and in our world.
How many of our debates about headship and submission might disappear before a new army of godly men rising from apathy to model the self-giving Christ? Men who do not sacrifice their children for their careers. Men who refuse to apologize for God’s assignment as head in the home and who do not shrink back... Continue Reading
The Christian Virtue of Empathy
What can the Scriptures teach us about empathy? Consider Jesus in his life, ministry, and death.
We’re called to share in the suffering of our brothers and sisters. In Romans 12:15, Paul tells us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” We’re also called to compassion. As 1 Peter 3:8 says, “All of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be... Continue Reading
Stuck in the Mire of Our Love for This World
We should expect and hope for nothing other than trouble in this life, and that we should set our eyes on heaven.
In sum, our entire soul, entangled in the enticements of the flesh, seeks its happiness on earth. In order to resist this wickedness, the Lord teaches his people about the emptiness of this present life through constant lessons in suffering. Thus, so that His people don’t promise themselves lofty and untroubled peace in this life, He... Continue Reading
What Is an Apostle?
The Apostles were commissioned as the eyewitnesses of the ministry of Christ.
The ministry of the Apostles as Christ’s “sent ones” flows out of the deeper reality that Christ Himself is the One “sent” by the Father from heaven to be our incarnate Redeemer (Mark 9:37). In that sense, the author of Hebrews writes, Jesus is “the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Heb. 3:1). Being... Continue Reading
‘Obedience Will Make You Miserable’
The tired lie Satan loves to tell.
In the world of the serpent, the morning stars sing a dirge, the hosts of heaven murmur, and creation only groans beneath the dictatorship of the Almighty Ruler. In such a world, Adam and Eve had only two options. They could, like the prodigal, disobey their God and run from their Father’s garden. Or they could,... Continue Reading
Abundant Pardon
This abundant pardon contains abundant ease of the terms of it. There are no hard conditions of penance or purgatory.
Think now of the sinfulness of the sins which our gracious God has pardoned. Some sins are planned and deliberated on, and each plotting and devising entails sin. Some sins are swarming with many other sins. Some sins are proud, wanton, cruel, blasphemous, and impudent. Some are repeated. Some are aggravated and persisted in. Yet,... Continue Reading
I Need Air
Perhaps the best thing we need to do in times of frenzy is to step outside of our situation for air.
What’s it like when we can’t breathe? We panic. We flail. We make poor decisions out of desperation. We feel alone, woefully inadequate. Certainly, our God meets us at times such as these. He tells not to fear. He assures us He will not abandon us but be present with us. He offers His help, reminding... Continue Reading
Virtues, Virility, and Ministry
It is for pastors today to take up their royal heritage and shepherd the church as David shepherded Israel.
In Christ, the virtuous man is one who has been renewed in Faith, Hope, and Love and can think according to the Wisdom of God, act with the Courage of the Spirit, and Temper his appetites unto the Beauty of Christ. It is no accident that David, the man after God’s own heart, was architect,... Continue Reading
10 Ways God Lovingly Allows You to Suffer for Your Good
God loves you enough, so that one day he’ll let you die—he’ll let you suffer death—so you may be with Christ, which is far better.
God loves you enough to cause you to suffer loss—all different types of loss—in order that you may see that Jesus is truly better than anything in the world. Paul had a lot going for him in his previous life in Judaism. He had a lot of “gain” (“whatever gain I had…”). But at conversion,... Continue Reading