Sanctification is a Direction
We must have a vision for a long process (lifelong), with a glorious end (the last day), that is actually going somewhere (today).
Look at church history. Look at denominations. Look at local churches. Look at people groups. Look at families. Look at other people. Look at the people in the Bible. Each has a history and keeps making history because the challenges that sanctification faces do not end. As Martin Luther sang, “In much the best life... Continue Reading
Raising Future Husbands and Wives
As parents of future husbands and future wives, perhaps we should think less about training up gifted standouts and focus more on training up men and women who will be prepared to succeed where Tiger Woods fell short.
There’s a myth out there that is ruining marriages and probably reducing the number of marriages as well. It’s the myth that we can spend our childhood and adolescence putting our personal success before our need of personal character development and the needs of our future families. A selfless habit of mind will not suddenly... Continue Reading
Great Is the Lord, and Highly to Be Praised
We will speak well of our God forever.
Let us exalt, Him who is our God, and King. When we are finally brought into our Lord’s presence in eternity, we will then see and wonder at His magnitude and mercy and then we will bless, His name forever and ever. We will speak well of our God forever. We will praise and worship... Continue Reading
Are We Allowed to Use OT Figures as Moral Examples?
There’s freedom in the way we preach OT stories.
The NT writers use many OT figures precisely as types of Christ, anticipating his great work of redemption. But, here’s the point: it doesn’t have to be one or the other. OT stories/figures can function both as a type of Christ and as moral examples of what true faith can produce in the life of God’s people. ... Continue Reading
Don’t Let the Devil’s Perfection Be the Enemy of Bible-Reading Progress
Let us see reading the Bible as a good, something by which we can know Christ more and better.
The Lord speaks through his Word. And for some folks, structures like daily quiet times and Bible-reading plans can be immensely helpful. If they work for you, have at it. But my plea is to not place more store on those things than the Bible itself does. The Bible calls us to meditate on it... Continue Reading
How to Understand the End-Times Prophecies in Daniel
Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
We visit the ruins of the Roman Empire on vacation, but Christ’s kingdom is still spreading its empire to the ends of the earth. I remember the first time I heard some teaching on Daniel chapter nine and was just struck by the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture because you have all these amazing things prophesied... Continue Reading
The Slow and Steady Pace of Discipleship
The metaphor Paul chose for growing in Christ – it’s an athletic contest, not a magic show.
As much as we might long for something new and different, something more exciting and fresh, God is still vitally concerned that we make the everyday, run of the mill choices of faithfulness because we desire the same thing that He does – to more and more resemble His Son. Many of us, in an effort... Continue Reading
When Shame Keeps You Away
If you feel unlovable, unsure about Jesus and how he’ll respond to you, please hear this: Jesus welcomes you.
The leprous man who came to Jesus couldn’t have physical contact with others, because doing so would make them unclean. Can you imagine the shame he felt? And the leper doesn’t deny his problem. His manner of approaching Jesus communicates great humility and desperate need. Luke tells us, “When he saw Jesus, he fell on his... Continue Reading
Love is Blind: Loving the Unseen Savior
Though you have not seen him, you love him.
Peter’s readers had not been as privileged as Peter, who had been personally discipled by Jesus for three years. And yet their love for Christ was no less real. Love for Christ is not based on the normal reasons we love other people. The reasons we love Jesus have nothing to do with his personality, or... Continue Reading
Judas Exposure
Judas doesn’t believe Jesus is the answer to his sins.
The great tragedy in this story is not so much Judas’s lack of repentance, rather his unbelief. Judas made a choice. He sinned. He knew it and confesses to it. But look where he goes to find reconciliation. He has a choice. He can go to Christ (whom he’s walked with for a few years)... Continue Reading