Has delight in God soured into mere duty? Has praise become nothing more than habit, words without heat? These are not small lapses; they are breaches of the First Commandment—moments when grief, fatigue, or doubt ascend the throne and usurp Christ’s rightful place. Yet even here, hope breaks through. The Jesus who climbed the steps... Continue Reading

We know that God is a God who is faithful. We’ve seen him over and over keep his promises throughout the Old Testament, culminating with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. We know that he will always be faithful to continue to keep them.   Israel’s Cry for Deliverance... Continue Reading

Reformed Christians in particular believe that the work of the Holy Spirit is discerned especially in regeneration, when He gives us hearts to believe the gospel (John 3:1–8), and in sanctification, when He enables us to more and more die unto sin and live unto holiness (Rom. 8). We also believe that God, by His... Continue Reading

If holiness is family resemblance, then we pursue it not to earn God’s love but because we already have it. We do not pursue to prove ourselves. It is also not an elusive goal. Think about it: a son or daughter does not try to become part of the family, they already are.    When... Continue Reading

The beauty of Erika Kirk forgiving that young man is not because she’s so noble, so smart, so above everyone else. I am certain she’d say she’s not any of those things. I am sure she’d express her need for Jesus along with everyone else. The beauty of this act of forgiveness is because it... Continue Reading

We are not helpless before the enemy. We can resist Satan by being “strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph. 6:10)…Moreover, we do not stand alone…We have a brotherhood. Our union with Christ also unites us to His people. The roaring lion preys on the isolated, but the flock that stays... Continue Reading

We acknowledge the Father’s love and Jesus’ work in justifying us by grace alone by faith alone, but secretly believe we need to pursue sanctification largely by our own efforts. Or we see the call of the gospel, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11), and... Continue Reading

When we use our words to destroy people, we are not giving of ourselves, we are taking from others. Sometimes we think that, by taking from others, we are building ourselves up. But what we take from others with word-chomps won’t become a part of us. What we take with harsh or violent words is... Continue Reading

You’re not running from God. You just feel ashamed. You lost your temper. You said the quiet bitterness out loud. And now the weight is back. The guilt. The grime. You think, “How can I keep coming back to Him after this?”   Hebrews 10:1-18 He showed up every year. Same cloak. Same trembling hands.... Continue Reading

Puritan sermons are rife with application because Puritan preachers believed the word of God needs to be brought home to the mind, heart, and will of its hearers. Building on biblical precepts and following biblical patterns, the Puritans applied Scripture to their hearers with simplicity, thoroughness, and force as they trusted the Holy Spirit to... Continue Reading