Two Recent Meals and Hungering for Righteousness
When you have a satisfying meal, when a meal is the best and it fills you, you want that meal again.
The One who created us is the One who can satisfy us. Jesus has a monopoly on our satisfaction yet He does not price gouge us. He offers us Himself for free. The Lord says: “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine... Continue Reading
The Reality of Disappointment
Disappointment is a gauge of how a person perceives his life—what he believes about it and wants from it.
Adam lost his spot in an ideal reality by disobeying God, who sent him and his wife out of Eden and into the ultimate disappointment of a world stalked by death and decay (Gen. 3:8–24). A world that was once generous with fruit became hostile with thorns. This is the reality that Adam’s grandchildren have... Continue Reading
Why Do We Suffer So Much?
Five Lessons from Richard Baxter
Affliction will come. Evil is truly evil. Our world is truly broken. Yet God is truly sovereign, wise, and good. And in God’s gracious providence the afflictions of the saints are not a means of death but rather a path to more satisfaction in God alone. Trust the giver of your afflictions to woo you... Continue Reading
Why I Don’t Like Inductive Bible Study
My criticism is for the label. “Inductive” is just not the right term for it.
“Inductive” Bible study often gets billed as the way to allow the details of Scripture to shape our thinking, since we eliminate preconceptions, begin with the details of a passage, and build a belief system from there. The problem is that inductive reasoning does not work this way. The difference between induction and deduction has... Continue Reading
God Created Family to Picture His Truth
If we understand family, we have language and concepts that help us understand certain truths about God.
Family pictures the Trinity, the gospel, and Jesus Christ. It also pictures the church and the relationship between Christians. Spend time around Christians and you’ll soon hear someone speak of “brothers and sisters.” That’s not just a charming little quirk, but a spiritual reality that follows from our adoption into the family of God. ... Continue Reading
Humble Yourselves under the Mighty Hand of God, that He May Exalt You at the Proper Time
This does not mean that we will avoid fiery trials.
Peter’s message to all of us here is that we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt us, casting all our anxieties on him, because he cares for us. Humbling oneself under the mighty hand of God is an Old Testament symbol of the power... Continue Reading
Three Little Words That Change Everything
No, not those three words—although we say them, too!
My rally cry is “God is for me!” He’s for me. That changes everything. God’s not looking down on us ready to write us off when we fail. He’s for us. He’s cheering us on as we live to and for his glory. He’s supplying the strength to resist our enemy and watch him flee. ... Continue Reading
Why I Wish We Hadn’t Lived Together before Marriage
Here are five reasons I wish my husband and I hadn’t moved in together before saying “I do.”
Don’t compare your relationship to buying a car. A car is something you use. Marriage is intended for something more than our own selfish desires—it reflects the relationship of Christ and His bride, the church. Marriage is giving, sacrificing, and choosing to put your spouse’s interests above your own. No test driving and giving it... Continue Reading
Digital Dementia And The Mind Of Christ
We must be both mentally and spiritually equipped to defend against mechanized attempts to subvert the mind of Christ.
We must continue to deflect and destroy the subtle but deadly influence of these digital delusions and submit completely to the guiding revelation of the Bible. Man’s corrupting technology and imagination must be toppled from its lofty height and God’s word must once more take its rightful place in our minds as “frontlets between our... Continue Reading
Your Sin is Not Your Friend
While the lure of sin looks shiny and desirable, the hook sinks deep.
For the Christian, we have a new life and a new identity. We are not who we once were. In Jesus Christ, we died to our old way of life and have been raised to walk in newness of life. When sin crouches at your door, remind yourself that this is not who you are... Continue Reading