Resisting the Spirit of the Age
We resist the spirit of the age by refusing to worship the idols of the age.
We resist the spirit of the age by refusing to worship the idols of the age. And we do this by trusting, obeying, and worshiping the one true God of this and every age, who has called us to know Him forever through His Son and by His Spirit. We live in an age... Continue Reading
Baptists and Federal Visionists Together?
Both Baptists and Federal Visionists collapse the divine decree into the outward administration of the covenant of grace, though for different reasons.
Baptists do not confess nor do they ordinarily teach that baptism necessarily confers what it signifies. They baptize professing believers because, it is believed, that person professing faith already has what baptism signifies. Nevertheless, the Federal Visionists and the Baptists agree that the visible church is composed of those who have what baptism signifies. Both... Continue Reading
The Life and Death of Jesus: A Theophany
Christ’s life brings to fulfillment the entire spectrum of theophanies and appearances of God in the Old Testament.
Entering the cloud in Luke 9:34 is similar to Moses entering the cloud in Exodus 24:18. But, unlike at Mount Sinai, the heavenly voice at the transfiguration does not continue to speak, and does not deliver an extended message, parallel to the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Instead, the voice directs the disciples’ attention to... Continue Reading
Loss and Grief
Some days, I am in the valley of the shadow of death, and I forget to remember that God is with me. But he doesn’t forget.
Grief. Sometimes loss is just a bit overwhelming. Sometimes I wish I could just experience what they call the “ugly cry” but I don’t think I’m able to. Too unseemly. I have too much of my father in me I guess. But I still grieve. I am grieving for lost youth. I wasn’t ready for... Continue Reading
Cultivating Praise in Marriage
Prayer with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6) is the most powerful path to growth in valuing, enjoying, and encouraging your spouse.
As you grow in this, it will do more than strengthen your marriage. When we praise one another, we are, in a sense, practicing for glory. Paul writes, “you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus” (2 Cor 1:14b). Praise and affirmation are surely... Continue Reading
God Is Holding On to You
Even if we might try to break free of his grip and let go of him, he is holding on to us tightly and keeping us safe.
Our Father is perfectly wise and good and he knows how to uphold his children so that we persevere. That illness, that disappointment, that conflict, that setback, that failure—in God’s hands don’t we see these things bringing us to a new sense of our helplessness apart from the Lord, a new lease of life in... Continue Reading
The Persuasion of the Gospel
"God speaks to us not primarily to inform us, but to encounter us in judgment and grace"
And yet the Christian longs for relief, for a remedy, for rescue, for the comfort of the gospel. To effectively reach and help the hearer the preacher must teach not only truth but use godly persuasion to convince of that truth those weak in faith, those struggling with the guilt of sin, and those harboring doubts of... Continue Reading
3 Things to Know About Union with Christ
Through the Holy Spirit who gives us faith, we are united to Christ like branches to a vine.
Dead branches are now being grafted in to a new, living vine. Being united to the first Adam who fell, we were dead in trespasses and sin. But now, we have been granted new life because of the work of Jesus, who is called the second Adam (Rom. 5). Knowing the following three aspects of... Continue Reading
Are You a Contender?
Like brave mothers who snatch their children from a cougar’s jaws, our fight to defend is compelled by love.
We fight, first, because we love the truth, and second, because we love people and want to save them from certain death. We fight to “save others by snatching them out of the fire” of God’s judgment against unbelief and apostasy. We defend the truth as an act of mercy toward “those who doubt” (Jude 22-23). ... Continue Reading
A Better Country For Mom
One day mom won’t laugh with me here. But she won’t weep there, in that better country.
Canada is a better country than Ghana, but mom couldn’t imagine she would suffer so much in a better country. But there is a country better than Canada. There is a country better than every country in this world. There, mom won’t suffer anymore. I don’t want to think about mom not being here. But... Continue Reading