We Will Out-Sing the Enemy
Sometimes we fear the voice of our accuser will win the day.
The sound of our oppression, of our bondage and of our shame, threatens to drown us out. It is overwhelming. The voice of the accuser, our enemy the devil, rings so loudly in our ears as it to shake our very souls. We begin to cry out ourselves to our Savior. One of my... Continue Reading
How to Live a Simple and Wasted Life
Thoreau didn’t want to discover too late that he had missed life’s essential preciousness.
Did Thoreau “rout out all that was not life”? Did he find out what life essentially is? No, he didn’t. Like the long line of life-lookers before and after him, Thoreau identified vanity parasites that suck so much time and energy and resources out of people’s lives, but did not discover the essential essence or... Continue Reading
Can Our Sins Derail God’s Plans for Us?
Sometimes it can seem like we have derailed God’s design for our lives and now he has had to opt for plan B. But that is simply not true.
God is so infinitely awesome, powerful and wise, that he can take even our sins and failures and use them to accomplish his purposes. When Jacob duped his father and swindled his big brother Esau, God used it to fulfill his prophecy that the older would serve the younger. When Joseph unwisely boasted of his... Continue Reading
Excluding Our Righteousness (Buchanan)
An ungodly sinner is not justified by his own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Another that is given by grace alone and received by faith alone.
“…This righteousness is called ‘the righteousness of One,’ and ‘the obedience of One’—expressions which serve at once to connect it with the work of Christ, and to exclude from it the personal obedience of the many who are justified. It is called ‘the free gift unto justification of life,’ and ‘the gift of righteousness,’ to show... Continue Reading
What Is the Mark of the Beast? (Revelation 13)
Those who bow before the beast reveal they do not belong to the one true God.
The number 777 represents perfection, but John says 666 is the number of a man. The number 666, then, represents what is anti-god and antichrist, all that is in opposition to the one true God. If 777 represents holiness and perfect goodness, then 666 signifies the enormity and totality of evil. Hence, John does not... Continue Reading
The Church Is One
Jesus desired that the unity of the people of God—the unity of the church—would reflect and mirror the unity that exists between the Father and the Son.
We know that the prayers of Christ, our High Priest, are efficacious and powerful. We know that the early church experienced remarkable unity (Acts 2:42–47; 4:32). Yet the church today, in its visible manifestation, is probably more fragmented and fractured than at any time in church history. There are thousands of denominations in the United States... Continue Reading
Praying Through the Scriptures: Genesis 1
As I continue to learn how to pray I have shared a few prayers with my family and friends for their use or adaptation.
Our great and glorious God, creator of the heavens and the earth: We come before you this morning, for you are the beginner of all good things. All creation sings your praises. From morning light to evening shade, from the expanse of the sky to the breadth of the sea, all that you have made... Continue Reading
Relearning the Discipline of Self-Control in a Society of Instant Gratification, Part 2
Our thoughts, emotions, and body need to be under control.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” God tells us that we must continually be renewed in our minds. This renewing of our mind happens when... Continue Reading
Taking God’s Name in Vain is so Much More than Cursing
To take God’s name in vain is to fail to acknowledge God for who he is.
“We are not to blaspheme or to abuse the Name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor to share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In short, we must use the holy Name of God only with fear and reverence, so that we may rightly confess Him, call upon Him, and... Continue Reading
Why God’s Love Is Better than ‘Unconditional’
“People currently employ a somewhat vague, abstract word—unconditional—when the Bible gives us more vivid and specific words, metaphors, and stories.”
God does not accept me just as I am; He loves me despite how I am; He loves me just as Jesus is; He loves me enough to devote my life to renewing me in the image of Jesus. This love is much, much, much better than unconditional! Perhaps we could call it “contraconditional” love. Contrary to the conditions... Continue Reading