What Happens When You Pray
Jesus lives to make our weak, stumbling prayers effective
“The word intercede means literally, to move or pass between. It is to stand in the gap between two parties. This is what Jesus Christ is doing now! He stands in the gap between us and the Father, bringing us to the Father and holding us in relationship with him. He lives for this purpose!... Continue Reading
Is it ‘Unspiritual’ to be Discouraged?
We may experience discouragement; but we will not be defeated by it.
This teaching certainly seems logical: if the gospel saves us, it must save us from discouragement! It also appears to be wonderfully spiritual. After all, are we not ‘more than conquerors through him who loved us’ (Rom. 8:37)? But this is not biblical logic, nor is it true spirituality. From time to time over the... Continue Reading
5 Common Causes of Conflict in Marriage
There are many surface causes of conflict in marriage, but we can boil them down to five common root issues.
One or more of these five causes is usually at the heart of ongoing conflict within marriage. Often they seem small (what’s a little selfishness in an otherwise okay relationship?), but if these unhealthy roots are allowed to remain without being addressed, the relationship will weaken over time. Our first fight as a married... Continue Reading
Your Body Is A Temple Of The Holy Spirit, So Cigars Are In And Prostitutes Are Out
The Holy Spirit has made my body a temple for his presence.
The Holy Spirit has made my body a temple for his presence. How dare I commit adultery or watch porn or engage in ANY sin within the temple? How dare I pollute God’s glorious, holy presence with something so repulsive to him? When scripture says our bodies are temples, it’s not forbidding activities that may... Continue Reading
Just Stop it, Part 2: How To Repent Of Lying
What is the right path to repentance for lying?
You can’t do this without Jesus. Only the Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us to stop, to change our thinking, and then realign our ways with God’s ways. You need to be right with God by putting your faith in the salvation bought by Jesus on the cross and then, with the Spirit’s... Continue Reading
The Devil Is Not in the Details: Fighting Temptation with Specific Truth
The devil can’t make us sin; he can only appeal to our propensity to desire sinful things.
In saying that temptation’s power lies in the impression it makes on us, I’m referring to the very moment of temptation, when we recognize and feel its luring appeal. But deceitful impressions only have a luring appeal to the degree that we already have a vulnerable disposition to a sinful desire. The power of... Continue Reading
Did Jesus Demand We Kill His Enemies?
It’s the king in the story, not Jesus, who issues the order to kill his enemies.
The concern is that Jesus seems to be identifying Himself as the nobleman (or the king) in the story. Does that mean He was ordering His followers to round up those who refused to be under His rule and have them executed? No, for at least two reasons. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus... Continue Reading
The USA Is Not Old Testament Israel (3)
There is another way, however, of misconstruing the degree and kind of continuity that exists between the Mosaic theocracy as it existed from Moses until the crucifixion of Christ and the post-canonical civil magistrate.
Christendom was the default in the West and East for a very long time. Since the ascension of our Lord there were roughly 300 years in which Christianity was not a state religion before Christendom and the American experiment is only 242 years old this summer. The period of time in which Christianity was the... Continue Reading
What Is My Calling? (And Is That Even a Good Question?)
I think the language of “calling” is vastly overdone in Christian circles.
We have an upward call in Christ to be with Jesus and to be like Jesus (Phil. 3:14). We have been called to freedom, not bondage (Gal. 5:13). God has saved us and called us to a holy calling (2 Tim. 1:9). He has called us to his own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3).... Continue Reading
Guilt Leading to Joy
Guilt is determined not by how we feel but by what we do.
There is a difference between guilt and guilt feelings. Guilt is objective. Real guilt is incurred any time we violate or transgress the law of God. However, our feelings are not always in touch with reality. There are people in the criminal-justice system who are described as sociopaths or psychopaths because they can commit heinous... Continue Reading