God in the Pit
Longing is the Ground of Joy
We think God’s job is to make our lives nice and easy and straightforward and most of all comfortable. It’s not, and that’s not the path of joy. There is no joy to be found there, only disappointment multiplied. God instead wants to give us himself, nothing more (as if there were more!) and nothing... Continue Reading
What the Garden of Eden has to do with Your Calendar
In His love, He has given us limitations.
God still loves His children and knows what is best for them. In His love, He has given us limitations. Limitations like our need for sleep. Or like the fact that the sun comes up and goes down in a regular cycle signaling the time for rest. Or that He explicitly set aside one day... Continue Reading
A Tale of Two Fishermen: Peter, Jesus, and the Meaning of 153 Fish
When a biblical author uses symbolism to portray his message, the true words of God can be enlarged, exaggerated, or embellished over time.
Fear of allegory has also plagued the church. Due to the faulty ways allegory has been employed in church history, many have refused to see any symbolism in Scripture. Confusing allegory with typology, they have thrown out the good fish with the bad. And as a result, when they come across a number like 153,... Continue Reading
Suffering – A More Complex, but More Biblical, Picture (Job pt2)
The Bible gives us at least 5 categories of suffering.
The Bibles view of suffering is complex, it takes humility, time, wisdom and prayer to discern what’s happening not simplistic off the shelf applications based on a limited grasp of the Bible’s teaching. In Job we see how complex suffering is, how harmful misapplying theology is and how dangerous a graceless view of God can be. ... Continue Reading
The 2 Sets of Circumstances that Make Us Pray Desperately
The Lord stands ready in both sets of circumstances.
He is ready to help us when we are feeling too small or when we are feeling too big. But let’s also recognize this: The help He offers is not to get us out of either situation. It’s not necessarily to fix our troubling circumstances, nor is it to elevate us out of our current... Continue Reading
No Country for Old Men
When there is genuine cause for joy, it is a very bad thing to be so weighed down by comparisons with the past that you can’t join the celebration.
When you are disappointed in ministry, don’t look with longing to the past. Set your hope on heaven, where Jesus reigns and actively intercedes for us, every day and constantly until he returns to judge the world. Be confident that his Mediatorial reign is perfect and wise. He has his purposes in the new mysteries... Continue Reading
Is the “Seed of the Woman” Individual or Collective? Yes
Several New Testament passages allude to Genesis 3:15 and demonstrate a collective and individual application of its outworking. Here are seven examples.
Jesus clearly represents the seed of the woman who’s crushing the Serpent, and his children are clearly set in opposition to the children of the Serpent. If John is describing the outworking of Genesis 3:15, then he appears to understand the seed of the woman in that verse in both an individual and a collective... Continue Reading
Helping Children with Anxiety
While children deal with their own fears and worries, they’re also watching you, taking cues on how they should respond.
Feeling anxious is part of living in a broken world, and God weaves those feelings into his providential plan for our spiritual growth. As we mature, our feelings of anxiety may abate, or they may swell. What runs constant is God’s call to trust him and act in the context of our feelings. Simply listening to our... Continue Reading
In These Last Days
God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past God spoke to the fathers by the prophets but now in these last days has spoken to us by His Son.
There is something altogether different about the time past and the last days. In time past the gospel was preached through mortal prophets, signs, sacrifices, the passover, etc… none of which were salvation for the people, nor were they intended to be salvation. They were all intended to point the people to the salvation that... Continue Reading
The Doctrine of Scripture: Defining Our Terms
Key terms that relate to the doctrine of Scripture as the study of God's Word written.
Special Revelation- The things that God makes known about Himself apart from nature and conscience (general revelation; cf. Rom. 1:19–21). These things, having to do with Christ and the plan of salvation, are found only in the Bible. The doctrine of Scripture is foundational to the Christain faith. But there is more to say about... Continue Reading
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