Gazing On The Gospel
The lens of the gospel directs our gaze out, not in.
Gazing itself isn’t necessarily wrong, as long as we evaluate the object of our gaze. When we see something we like—when we see something we love; something that resonates deep within us—we don’t just look, we fix it with our stare, observe and contemplate it. This is the thing that, if jeopardized, we will defend... Continue Reading
Praying for the Dead
It should strike us as strange for professing Evangelicals to say "Praying that God will have mercy on him or her" or "May God grant that he or she may rest in peace" about an individual who has recently died.
It could be that such sentiments are merely tongue in cheek. However, we ought not consider this to be an insignificant matter. The Scriptures lack the slightest hint of support for any notion of intercession on the part of one believer for another postmortem. This is also a matter upon which the church has spoken... Continue Reading
Aunty Ethel’s Elbow
Prayer was supposed to be powerful and effective, wasn’t it?
I was missing, of course, the connection between the Bible study and the prayer. I was missing an understanding of how people in the Bible prayed, what they talked to God about and what they asked him for. As Alistair Begg points out in his recent book Pray Big, none of the prayers in the Bible... Continue Reading
The Shocking Case of the Hungarian Galley Slaves
A 17th-century Tale of Religious Persecution
Pastors were charged with rebellion, treason, and defamation of the Roman Catholic Church. They were sentenced to death, and told they could forego punishment by converting to Roman Catholicism. About two-thirds of them took this way of escape, even if only on paper, and fled to other countries. One of the worst examples of... Continue Reading
History’s Most Misunderstood Tree
Why Nothing on Earth Will Satisfy
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil inspires awe. What makes it special is the divine prohibition against its fruit: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Genesis 2:16–17). Alone among the trees of the first orchard, it presents humans with an option: either they can... Continue Reading
Same-Sex Relationships: Responding To The Rainbow—Pride Should Remind Us That This Is Still The Day Of Salvation & Motivate Us In Evangelism
The gay-rights movement has appropriated what ought to be one of the most cherished Christian symbols.
Every time we see the rainbow it ought to remind us that this is the day of salvation, and to motivate us to urgency in evangelism. Our task is to urge men and women to be reconciled to God while there is still time, because we know that this era of grace will not last... Continue Reading
Pastor, Keep Preaching the Gospel!
Keep planting and watering by faithfully preaching the gospel of Jesus.
Too often, pastors evaluate success by applause, size, and immediate outward results. After all, these are the measures often thrust upon pastors by their congregants. There is a frequent accusation in a pastor’s conscience that preaching the gospel is not enough. As I was busy rushing from one place to another, I noticed a... Continue Reading
Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?
What prayer most often changes is the wickedness and the hardness of our own hearts.
The very reason we pray is because of God’s sovereignty, because we believe that God has it within His power to order things according to His purpose. That is what sovereignty is all about—ordering things according to God’s purpose. So then, does prayer change God’s mind? No. Does prayer change things? Yes, of course. ... Continue Reading
Hampering Shepherds from Shepherding (with the Best of Intentions)
It is as simple as distracting them from their providentially ordained callings.
Pastoral care and discipleship are time consuming and by all appearances, inefficient—so use that to your advantage. Given all the other duties pastors are expected to fulfill, making them feel harried and overwhelmed is hardly difficult. My Dear Twaddle-Tweeze: Good intentions! I’ll never cease to remind you that the road to Perdition lined with... Continue Reading
Why Not Fitting in at Your Church Might be a Good Thing
Maybe we need to embrace the discomfort of church.
Where we go to a church and see difference, in age, in economic status, in race, the Bible sees a mosaic of beauty. This is why Paul commends diversity in 1 Corinthians 12 and other passages. Each of us contributes to the mission of God by bringing our full package of strengths and weaknesses, talents... Continue Reading