Jumping in the Deep End of Ministry
Ministry can be tough, but it’s also incredibly rewarding.
Ministry at street level can be overwhelming and feel like we are in over our head. But there is something special about having a front row seat to God’s work of bringing transformation into the hurting and broken parts of people’s lives. I sat, listening to women in my discipleship group share personal stories... Continue Reading
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
“The Law of Prayer, the Law of Belief”
This ancient concept recognized the fundamental relationship between acts of worship and belief. Lex credendi is another way to describe religion, the combination of worldview and theology. Lex orandi designates liturgy, the behavioral patterns of both culture and cultus. The relationship between the two, as we have already seen, involves both reflection and formation. What we have seen... Continue Reading
Reprise: You’re Using It Wrong: John 3:16
The best loved verses are often among the most misunderstood ones.
The common interpretation of this passage is that God loved the world so, so, very much that he sent Jesus, and if anyone chooses to believe in Him they will have eternal life. That is often how it is used, and at times it is mistaken even for a full presentation of the gospel (sometimes... Continue Reading
A Plea To Job’s Friends In The Wake Of Evil
Had Job’s fellow Reformed pastors been quoted in the Washington Post, it would have sounded like this: these calamities only come upon those are doing evil.
Job has suffered these terrible calamites. Therefore, Job is at fault for this evil. The syllogism by many “Reformed friends” is the same. This kind of hatred only comes upon people who have been indoctrinated into white nationalism. The shooter attended a Reformed church and yet practiced this hatred against the Jews. Therefore, the blame... Continue Reading
Singing the Lord’s Song in a Foreign Land
This is a psalm of sadness and pain.
The Psalmist is not only weeping, but he reached to hang up his lyre on the branch of a willow tree somewhere along the Tigris or Euphrates River in this cradle that gave birth to the ancient civilization (137:2). The Babylonians, his captors, wanted to hear him sing a song of Zion. But the Psalmist... Continue Reading
Canons Of Dort (27): The Reformed Distinguish Law And Gospel
One of the great underlying issues at the Synod was the very nature of the gospel.
The revisions of the Reformation theology, that salvation is by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide) proposed by the Remonstrants were fatal to the good news. They also rested on a hermeneutical foundation. Hermeneutics is the study of the interpretation of texts. The study of biblical interpretation is, of course, biblical hermeneutics. When we... Continue Reading
The Hidden Hand of God
One of the main lessons the book of Ruth teaches is that, despite appearances often to the contrary, God cares for us and is in control of all things.
The theological word that describes God’s care for all things is “providence.” Providence means that the hidden hand of God is always at work in the ordinary affairs of day-to-day life. Ruth is not a theological treatise reflecting on the doctrine of providence in the form of propositions. Instead, as we read about the lives... Continue Reading
When Christians Hide Their Light
God has set you apart to be His mouthpiece and we do not have the choice to say no to Him.
You take a lamp with oil (which is very expensive to burn), you turn it on, place it in the center of the room in order to light up the whole room, and, instead of allowing it to do its job, you put a basket over it. A foolish waste of money. That’s what Christians look... Continue Reading
6 Reasons Why “Touch Not the Anointed” Verses Are Not for Pastors
A servant of God must humble and submit himself to the Word of God.
Anointing of oil, literally, were attributed only on Jesus (Hebrews 1:9) and the sick (Mark 6: 13, James 5: 14) but not a would be pastor or any other church leaders, much more in a figurative sense. Jesus, the apostles or anyone in the New Testament didn’t make mentioned or practiced it. Neither did they... Continue Reading
Are You Tired?
The only way to sustain ourselves is to view Christ as inherently beautiful.
It is easy to weary in doing good when people are respectful and grateful for your help and support. It is even easier to weary in doing good when people are pushy and demand your support, as though it is their right. It is easier still to grow weary in doing good when people demand... Continue Reading