At the heart of this theme is the idea of God’s messianic kingdom. It is a kingdom that will be ruled by God’s appointed Messiah, who will be not just the Redeemer of His people, but their King. So when John speaks of the radical nearness of this breakthrough, the intrusion of the kingdom of... Continue Reading

I’ve pondered this simple, yet profound thought over the past few weeks because it brings me back to a foundational Christian truth – the hope of redemption. A cursory reading of the Apostle Paul’s writings will show us that Paul constantly meditated on and lived in light of this truth. As sinners who have been... Continue Reading

Christians are “under construction.” But God never stops working on us until the project reaches completion. That starts in this life and continues slowly, but is always completed on deadline.   Second Timothy is Paul’s swan song. He was writing to his protégé from prison. He was about to be decapitated and yet he doesn’t... Continue Reading

The work of the Holy Spirit is a gradual one in the Christian life. He sharpens our conscience, so that sins that we were committing unwittingly before become conscious later on. This process can have the incidental effect of tempting us to think that we are worse sinners later in the Christian life, when what... Continue Reading

Whitfield’s life was anything but simple; constantly preaching, constantly traveling, constantly raising money for the poor, constantly embroiled in conflict. Have I been simple?  What does Whitfield mean by this question?  Well, it seems that he is longing for an undivided and undistracted heart toward God and people. We know that just a few pages... Continue Reading

Paul says that whatever we do, including giving, we should do for God’s glory. Sometimes we can give to the church out of habit, or because we feel like we “have to” or we “should,” because God’s word commands it. But what if we prayed before the basket passed in front of us, “Lord, I... Continue Reading

“I had my surgery Friday, and though there was a 40% chance that I had more cancer than the original precancerous cells they found before surgery, tests during the surgery showed I did not. We are still waiting the final official word, but it seems I am cancer free in this area at least. I... Continue Reading

“It’s not to the government, nor to any king or pope or any other ruler, but rather to the church — to this ragtag bunch of argumentative, self-centered, struggling-for-holiness but gloriously forgiven sinners — that the keys of the kingdom of God are given.”   The Kingdom of God Is Manifested in This Present Age... Continue Reading

I love the desire that many people have to worship in a more trinitarian sense—meaning preaching, singing, and praying that demonstrates our belief in a God who is “one in essence and three in person.” We must remember though, that just because a song is popular does not mean that it is Biblical. We must... Continue Reading

As early as the age of nineteen Edwards recognized that if he lost a sense of the greatness and generosity of the divine love, there would be no resources of grace to motivate the life of holiness to which he committed himself in his resolutions. Therein lay wisdom far beyond his years.   When Sereno E.... Continue Reading