God’s love for us, and our reciprocal love for Him, should produce humble confidence in our lives. True humility produces security and courage, not insecurity and fearfulness. The preoccupation of self-love is a problem, not a solution. The solution is to humbly focus on loving God and neighbor, knowing you can do so because God... Continue Reading

Deism is built into the implicit framework that people assume and use when thinking about science. They interpret the process of causation as self-sufficient, ignoring the presence of God working all things according to his will (Eph. 1:11). They assume self-sufficiency rather than demonstrate it. By contrast, the person who genuinely believes that God is... Continue Reading

With whom do we fellowship here? Is it all professing believers? No, it is those who are born of the same spirit as us. We can discern the apostasy and the disingenuousness in those who refuse to repent when they are confronted. No, that is not who John is talking about. We are to love... Continue Reading

For a Christian to say, “I once loved the law, but now I love Christ and ignore the law,” is simply not to love Christ, because Christ loved the law. His meat and His drink, the Scriptures tell us, was to do the will of the Father (John 4:34). Jesus viewed His entire life as... Continue Reading

Jonathan Edwards was impacted by the life and ministry of this young man who had only been a believer for eight years prior to his death. He took Brainerd’s diary and other personal writings and added his own commentary that he gleaned from his friendship with Brainerd. An Account of the life of the late... Continue Reading

What could you want more than God’s grace? Our Christian lives begin with grace and we are saved by grace, but we are also sanctified by grace and will be glorified by grace. We need grace today, every bit as much as the first day we came to faith in Christ. “He gives grace to... Continue Reading

If they haven’t already, one day your children will ask you: “Daddy/Mommy, where did I come from?” And you will have to decide if that day is the day you tell them about “the birds and the bees.” But my guess is that, at minimum, you will say: “You came from Mommy and Daddy.” And... Continue Reading

Macrina is a tradent of the faith, communicating God’s Word and sharing communion in it. To her brothers she is “the teacher,” while Gregory makes her contribution visible to the church, revealing the story behind the story with her voice.   One of the fruits produced by the Trinity Debate of 2016 is renewed focus... Continue Reading

Ministry at street level can be overwhelming and feel like we are in over our head. But there is something special about having a front row seat to God’s work of bringing transformation into the hurting and broken parts of people’s lives.   I sat, listening to women in my discipleship group share personal stories... Continue Reading

This ancient concept recognized the fundamental relationship between acts of worship and belief. Lex credendi is another way to describe religion, the combination of worldview and theology. Lex orandi designates liturgy, the behavioral patterns of both culture and cultus. The relationship between the two, as we have already seen, involves both reflection and formation.   What we have seen... Continue Reading