The glory of the gospel is this—when we as believers sin, whether it be racism, adultery, lying, or stealing, and when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, when He enables us to have true, heartfelt contrition, then we will bring forth fruits of repentance, namely a change in behavior. God then promises to bring... Continue Reading

Why were the disciples surprised? They were surprised because they had a veil over their eyes that was suddenly and unpleasantly ripped away. Matthew 26 is not telling us that the Old Testament is inherently Christless. It is telling us that the disciples did not understand.   There is no doubt that the disciples were... Continue Reading

You feel a sense of hopelessness overtaking you and, like a tire with a slow leak, you get a little lower every day. Whatever you might call it, you sense that you’re losing hope; the world is grey, you have a hard time enjoying life, you just can’t seem to get motivated.   We’ve been... Continue Reading

We’ve told ourselves that if Jesus needed to pray then certainly we need to pray. Paul’s letters overflow with prayer. We’ve read them and are convicted to pray. When we have devoted ourselves to pray we have emerged from the time energized. But it doesn’t stick. We return to our routine of dabbling in prayer.... Continue Reading

Under the Old Covenant (Moses), God instituted the “Feast of Weeks” (Ex 34:22; Nu 28:26).2 It was one of three times when all Jewish males were to appear in Jerusalem. It is called “Pentecost” (Greek, πεντηκοστή) because it occurs 50 days after Passover. As Israelites gathered in Jerusalem, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, the... Continue Reading

You remember that you do not have what it takes to run this race, yet somehow, you do not despair because you know the one who can lives within you, and greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. The Spirit reminds you that the wrath you deserve for... Continue Reading

Sin is a swindler. It covers its deceit with kindness and sweet promises. We sin because we believe the lies. We gossip because the gossip whispers to us that we’re in the know and that people will appreciate us. We envy because we believe that if we only had what others have, we’d be content.... Continue Reading

To tolerate someone today means not only to bear with him with patience and respect, but to affirm, accept, and even celebrate values and choices that may be irreconcilable with one’s own. The result of this disfigurement of meaning is that a lot of Christians today are wary of any talk of tolerance.    There was... Continue Reading

Today our culture is increasingly setting boundaries that determine what is or is not an acceptable belief. These boundaries are established through messages from news and entertainment media, popular opinion as well as politics. In some areas we even see the government beginning to legislate standards for acceptable religious practice. To express or defend beliefs... Continue Reading

The basic story of Dunkirk is well-know, but I picked up a few things I hadn’t know in the coverage, especially concerning the wider war-time role of Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay, who masterminded the operation.   Last week marked the 80th Anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. Operation Dynamo saw the evacuation of 380,000 British and allied... Continue Reading