Start Planning Your Own Funeral
Daily obit reader, artist Maira Kalman, muses, “[When I read obituaries,] I’m trying to figure out two very simple things: how to live, and how to die.”
People who have lived long lives are worth learning from, if for no other reason than they have simply experienced more than we have. In Moses’ case, his faithful example and leadership make him even more interesting to study, which is why we should take seriously his prayer for wisdom recorded in Psalm 90 (we should... Continue Reading
Disabled by Design
My Abundant Life Without Arms
The beautiful reality is that God has given humans value by creating them in his own image (Genesis 1:27). In this one action, we see the Trinity establishing intrinsic value in each person. No external factors alter the value of a human being. Every person, from every race, across every nationality, is the precious workmanship... Continue Reading
Trials, Our Blessed Chauffeurs
Like a spiritual uber driver, trials chauffeur us to God’s blessings.
This is how we know it is faith at work; amid the trial and temptation it does not look within but without. Faith never looks within but always looks away. Faith has eyes to look for God; it has hands to cling to God, it has feet to run to God; faith latches onto her... Continue Reading
The Hard Job of Interpreting Job
Despite the enormous challenges the reader faces when working through the book of Job, it is full of divinely inspired spiritual instruction for believers.
The book of Job teaches us, in an unparalleled way, about God’s sovereignty over all things, the reality of spiritual warfare, the hope of the consummation, the rationale for the suffering of the godly, the mysterious wisdom of God in creation and providence, the need to be careful about how we counsel friends who are... Continue Reading
No Little Sins?
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their sin was a "small sin" when viewed from a humanistic lens.
It is correct to say that not all sins are equally heinous; however, it is also appropriate to state that when a person clings to any sin, this person is making an exchange. In clinging to a “little sin”, a person is making a subtle statement that this sin is greater to him than all... Continue Reading
Trust
We have a natural tendency to attempt to add our own works to our salvation.
How can you trust in the Lord if the Lord Himself is against you? And here is the problem with all schemes that seek to put even one little work back into the plan of salvation. If I have to prove to God that my faith is genuine, if I have to add one little... Continue Reading
The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down
This is a revolution only God can bring … and He will.
This is why Christian’s pray the Lord’s Prayer. This is the very prayer that Jesus taught his own disciples to pray. So Christians pray this prayer as a way of learning how to pray and what to pray – as Jesus teaches us to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that turns the world upside down. Are you... Continue Reading
Why This Reformed Christian Will Not Be Charismatic In 2018
If Scripture is the final authority, then we need no ongoing, special revelation alongside Scripture.
Brothers and sisters, Scripture is enough. The Spirit is working marvelously through it to bring dead sinners to new life. Through it he is granting them true faith and through it union with Christ. Through baptism he is marking out his visible church and putting his seal on his elect, which he will sovereignly bring... Continue Reading
R. C. Sproul’s Warning Concerning Prayer
It’s nice to know that God hears and answers our prayers. However, we shouldn’t conclude that prayer is something like a magic wand.
That is not what living in Christian faith is all about. My tomorrow and your tomorrows are in the hands of God. We make our requests before Him and we trust our tomorrows to His sovereignty. I’m delighted that my future is not in the hands of the stars or the soothsayers. Rather, my future... Continue Reading
How Old Must A Child Be To Come To The Lord’s Table?
How old must a child be to come to the Lord’s Table?
Why would we involve young children, too young to know themselves or to understand what it means to “eat the body and blood of Christ” in such a sacred ritual? Why would we expose them (and the congregation) to potential jeopardy? On reflection most parents and elders would almost certainly see the wisdom of postponing... Continue Reading