Anthony Burgess, one of the pastors at the Westminster Assembly, once compared the difference between the knowledge of biblical truth and true saving knowledge of biblical truth, as a man studying a map versus a man walking the streets, meeting a city’s people, and experiencing sites and sounds first hand. The difference between these two... Continue Reading

There are some who very greatly spoil their prayers because they waver as to God’s granting the specific thing which they are seeking at his hands. You know, dear friends, that there is a way of praying in which you ask for nothing, and get it. I have heard that kind of praying even in... Continue Reading

God is faithful to his promises. Abram messed up in Egypt, but his mess ups couldn’t retract the promise of God. As we see at the end of Genesis 12, God miraculously delivered Abram and Sarai out of Egypt. As Abram sat despondent, God was working. So it is in our life as well.  ... Continue Reading

Both Old and New Testament writers describe God’s care for those of His image-bearers who find themselves on the margins of society. In Deuteronomy 10, Moses exhorts Israel to remember not only their privileged status in God’s redemptive plan but also to remember God’s personal concern for the orphans among them (Deut. 10:18–19). Psalm 10... Continue Reading

The Word is not simply an aspect of God, or a characteristic of God, like His mercy or His love. There is distinct personality here. That’s why John goes on to say, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). We are bumping up against the most... Continue Reading

Some of the most memorable questions in the New Testament are answered in relation to the Servant Songs. Whether it is the eunuch asking Phillip if the fourth song is about Isaiah or someone else (Acts 8), or John the Baptist sending his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come,... Continue Reading

Paul didn’t choose joy in Christ because he couldn’t find joy anywhere else. He had tasted and enjoyed the glory of success and popularity — the Hebrew of Hebrews, the Pharisee of Pharisees, the most zealous, the most blameless, the most recognized (Philippians 3:5–6). When he chose to follow Jesus, he surrendered the kind of... Continue Reading

The beautiful “must” of Luke 19 reminds us that Jesus didn’t have any questions about what He was doing on the earth. He knew what He was sent here for, and He was perfectly willing to sully His reputation by hanging out with the likes of you and me and diminutive money-grabbers like Zacchaeus. Jesus... Continue Reading

God’s surprising promises amaze us! You see, by standing on the promises, God’s people live out his purposes. By pointing to the promises given throughout the pages of the Bible, we can help our children to see how people like Noah and Esther bet their lives in hope that God would be true to his... Continue Reading

Jesus suffered in His human body when it was on earth. Because His spiritual body, the Church, is still on earth, its members continue to suffer. This affliction arises partly because these members are unglorified humans in an unglorified world. It also arises partly because the kind of people who hated Jesus and rejected Him... Continue Reading