What is Real Repentance?
Repentance, then, is the posture that leads us to pray with the tax-collector, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”
Godly repentance does not lead to a life stricken with guilt and regret, but instead it moves us towards the great love of God and his salvation in Christ. A repentant sinner is ready to receive the grace of God offered in the free gift of the gospel (Lk. 24:47; Acts 20:21). God does not... Continue Reading
Sin and the Prophets
Sin, biblically defined is not exclusively, or even primarily a horizontal offense. It is primarily an offense against God.
It is for this reason that most moderns seem to be uncomfortable with the biblical prophets. They spoke much about sin, but not in our terms. They were concerned with the horizontal affects of sin. But they were far more concerned with the vertical effects of sin. They were profoundly aware of the depth of... Continue Reading
Why You Can’t Measure the Value of Homemaking
As we consider our work and the work of those around us, remember that the size of the paycheck does not equal a job’s value to God.
No matter what the price tag would have been for outsourcing childrearing and house cleaning, contracting this work out would not have produced the lasting satisfaction of doing the work of parenting myself. In fact, there is no paycheck size that will ever produce this kind of contentment. Rather, the inherent value of my work was where the... Continue Reading
Jesus Did Not Say Lust is the Same as Adultery – Response to Jerry Fallwell Jr.
These sins are similar, but Jesus did not say they are the same.
Flattening sins and making them all the same does not encourage us to treat sins appropriately. The way we should respond to the sin of lust in the heart is far different than the way we should respond to adultery. If you don’t believe me, just ask any spouse who has known the pain of adultery’s intimate betrayal. ... Continue Reading
A Gospel Prescription in Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression can’t separate you from the love of God
Hope in God and his purposes, not the subsiding of symptoms. Perhaps your days have been filled with pleas like the Psalmist in Psalm 13:1, crying “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” But as you wait for God to part the waters of... Continue Reading
Things That Matter Rarely Happen Fast
Faith in the Son of God is not about fast changes.
It’s easy to get discouraged when the changes we desire don’t happen when we want them to. But hold fast to Jesus. Make Him your supreme desire. Trust Him today with all of its worries and all of tomorrow’s unknowns. Don’t bank on feelings and emotions. They will come and go like chaff in the... Continue Reading
Pleading With Sinners to Be Reconciled to God
Being reconciled to God means dying to our old selves, our old lives, and our old interests
Reconciliation to God isn’t a little bump in the road of life—it’s a radical transformation and reorientation of your entire being. We become new creatures entirely. Paul had just made that very point in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things... Continue Reading
The Comfort and Security of Knowing that God is in Control
The sovereign Christ rules over all, including you.
“As you look at pictures of Atlas, he is shrugging. He appears almost to be buckling under the weight of the world, barely able to maintain his grip and keep things in place. But not Jesus Christ. By his omnipotent power and infinite wisdom he easily upholds all things in place and is guiding this... Continue Reading
Hope for Waiting Hearts
When the trials come and you are called to wait and be patient, wait well by anchoring your hope in the One whose promises are sure and whose character never fails
“Waiting, by definition, has something hoped for at the end of the wait. We are waiting / hoping for the right job. My friends are waiting/hoping for a good report, relief, and a baby. But what if those things aren’t given?” I had a horse named Carson who was practically perfect in every way—as... Continue Reading
What Do We Do with the King James Version? (Book Review)
Ward begins with an excellent overview of what we stand to lose as the church stops using the KJV
Which Bible translation is best? Well, it turns out that’s the wrong question and, in fact, the source of many of our issues. The tribalism that keeps us fixed on one translation over all others is unhealthy. “All Bible-loving-and-reading Christians need to learn to see the value in all good Bible translations.” It’s indisputable:... Continue Reading