Responding to Pain and Suffering Well: A Lesson from Job and His Friends
Give Your Presence, Not Your Arguments
When someone is going through unspeakable suffering they often do not need your arguments. They will not benefit from your theological exercise of sense-making. They need your presence so they do not have to bear the burden alone. They need you to hope for them when their hope is lacking. And they need you to... Continue Reading
Bright on the Outside, Dark on the Inside: Why Salvation Is a Matter of the Heart
The goal of God’s revelation is a relational goal, and that goal is centered on the human heart. No amount of mental acuity and intellectual prowess can save a human soul.
It’s easy to find people who are bright on the outside. The Enlightenment has been a go-to source for figures of towering intellect. What’s much harder to find are people who are bright on the inside. These are people who have had heart surgery of the highest order. The brightness they hold on the inside... Continue Reading
Rejoice in Our Sufferings
Discomfort sanctifies the soul and shifts believers’ focus to their heavenly Father rather than worldly pursuits.
Within the Scriptures, Christians can find comfort in their sufferings, knowing Christ is with them. Reformed teachings suggest that believers can view pain and suffering as a blessing. Discomfort sanctifies the soul and shifts believers’ focus to their heavenly Father rather than worldly pursuits. The fear of the unknown in death is a valid... Continue Reading
Maturity Requires Suffering
This is what we call maturity, a growing Christlikeness (2 Corinthians 3) and a growing wisdom (Luke 2) that happens through being broken like bread.
Churches should speak and teach as though this is true. It’s utterly bewildering to so many young Christians I meet that their lives are marked by difficulty. The prolonged feeling of the absence of God in the midst of it is also bamboozling, but so utterly ordinary that almost every older Christian could tell these... Continue Reading
Canonicity and the New Testament
Before being recognized as Scripture, a book must have been received, recognized, circulated, and used within the apostolic churches.
Some writings took longer for the churches to recognize and circulate than others. The anonymous book of Hebrews is an example. James and Jude, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John were others. Questions were also raised about the book of Revelation. In time, however, the churches circulated and used these documents, and they were... Continue Reading
Add a Little Extra Beauty
He adds a little extra beauty to excite our senses and delight our hearts.
If God chooses to add a little extra beauty, shouldn’t I? In those matters God calls me to do, shouldn’t I go beyond merely getting them done and instead add an extra bit of effort? Wouldn’t I be most closely imitating him if I went beyond merely completing the task and chose instead to do... Continue Reading
Of the Danger of Too Many On-Line Sermons
When we listen to sermon after sermon from pastor after pastor and scholar after scholar, we develop in our minds this idyllic picture of what our local pastor should be.
On-line preaching can be tremendously helpful. But it brings with it a few dangers. Watch out for false and novel teaching. Watch out for the temptation to find a teacher, any teacher, any teacher at all, who agrees with you and goes against what others are telling you. Use your resources wisely. But do not... Continue Reading
Three Types of Fools
What could be more foolish than rejecting the God who made you and everything else?
Scripture presents us with many examples of foolishness, including the fool who denies God, the fool who despises God, and the fool who disregards God. These examples are provided not to drive us into despair but to draw us toward wisdom. God provides us with examples of foolishness because He is a loving Father who... Continue Reading
One Thing My Parents Did Right: Family Devotions
Because my parents made the Bible a central aspect of our lives, I could see it was more than just a good book.
They not only told me but showed me what the Bible is worth and how to study it. Through Bible time I learned the value of persevering, both in seeking God and in putting sin to death. Because of my parents’ influence, I value the Bible, and because of their teaching, I continue to seek after... Continue Reading
When God Is the Last Option
Are the prayers of those who ignore God answered?
At best we can conclude that God indeed HEARS all prayers of all people just as he knows all things, but he only ANSWERS prayers according to his own will, and that is mainly the prayers of those who seek to do his will. So what happens when you live your entire life as if God does not... Continue Reading
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