When the Black Dog Comes Calling
Reflections on life and ministry with depression.
At the darkest moments, the sole reason why I felt I could still do business with God in my bewilderment was what he allowed to be included in the Bible. To be more precise, it was the Psalms. A God who could handle a psalmist praying these things was one that I had no right... Continue Reading
Duty and Honor
The Christian is to reflect the character of God.
James elevates the trustworthiness of a person’s word, the simple statement of yes or no, as a virtue that is “above all.” What James is getting at is that integrity requires a kind of honesty that indicates that when we say we will do something, our word is our bond. We should not require sacred... Continue Reading
Known by His Works
"That ye may know how that I am the Lord."
Our burden should be to leave to our children the Great Story, the perennial Wisdom, the Everlasting Man. What’s more, we should maintain, as the Psalmist does, tremendous hope in unseen fruit, far beyond our lifetime and personal influence. As mentioned in my last post, education means shaping and filling, admonition and nurture, law... Continue Reading
Common Does Not Mean OK!
One of the many dangers with sin that has become common, is our sinful hearts begin to justify our own sin by comparison.
In this sinful, fallen world, porn is common. It is common outside the church; it is common inside the church. It is common among men; it is common among women. But it is never ok. Let’s talk in a way that’s truly biblical and calls sin what it is. Then, let’s help both men and... Continue Reading
Putting the Discipline in Discipleship
Following Christ on our own terms is not the way of a disciple.
Jesus describes discipleship in terms of denying self in the loving deference and compliance to Him. Disciples are those who must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow the Lord to whom they have bowed the knee. The faith we walk by is to be repentant faith, turning from our own glory and righteousness... Continue Reading
The Logic of Double Procession
How the Spirit relates to the Father and the Son.
It is worthwhile to consider the logic of double procession since few discuss the relative (pun-intended) benefits of the doctrine today. The basic argument is that double procession ensures that each person in God has one relational difference from the other. The point is to ensure that we can distinguish the Father, Son, and Spirit. ... Continue Reading
David Clarkson and Soul Idolatry, Part 1: The Problem Identified
The habitual idolater gives himself over to the idol and loses heaven as a result.
Clarkson defines idolatry as giving “honor and worship to the creature which is due only to God (Rom 1:25).” So, when such worship is given “to other things, whatever they are, we hereby make them idols and commit idolatry.” Worship “due to God” alone “is not only given by heathens to their false gods; and... Continue Reading
When Your Best Isn’t Good Enough
Making Sense of Ministry Failure
Dust and tears. That seems to be the biblical response to disappointing ministry experiences. While you are in the midst of such turbulent disappointments, you can begin to wonder what it all means. What does it mean about God? What does it mean about you? What does it mean about the future? How should... Continue Reading
Little Greek Gems: To Bind or Beg?
This story illustrates the great weight and importance of a Word centered ministry.
If you read the first twenty verses of this story in Mark 5 of the New American Standard Bible you would get the impression that the demoniac (v. 7), the demons (v. 12), the townspeople (v. 17) and the healed demoniac (v. 18) were all imploring Jesus for something. However, the Greek word used in verses... Continue Reading
Is Salvation Conditional?
The Scriptures are clear that there are only two possible ways of salvation—one by works and one by grace, one by law-keeping and one by faith.
Because of man’s natural condition since the fall, we need a sinless descendant of Adam to keep the demands of the law for us. Jesus Christ, the last Adam, the God-man, does this by living a sinless life—keeping all the precepts of the law of God perfectly for us. Jesus kept the legal conditions of the covenant... Continue Reading