Jesus said that “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:3). And we know that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” (Jeremiah 17:9). Evil speech, either spoken or devoured, corrupts the soul.   “Evil speech corrupts us…Our wicked speech can burn down our own lives and... Continue Reading

Nehemiah remembered the Lord and then picked up tools. Boniface trusted Christ and lifted an ax. Carey preached the gospel and labored for reform. Let us pray that God would raise up high agency missionaries in our generation—and let us seek to be such men and women ourselves.   In the book of Nehemiah, when... Continue Reading

We are called to a life of discipline and labor for our Lord Jesus and His Kingdom. We are not called to seek an easy or comfortable life…If you let comfort replace discipline in your life, there will be unhealthy physical and spiritual consequences.   Searching Google for “the silent killer” reveals that high blood... Continue Reading

When we repent, we will not meet a God who is putting us on spiritual probation.…We will not encounter a God who demands some kind of repayment for all we have squandered. Nothing like that. Only kindness. Grace. Love. Acceptance.   Martin Luther once wrote, ““When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’, he... Continue Reading

What loss would not merely wound us, but unmake us? The children? The approval? The health? The life we have so carefully constructed? Good gifts, all of them. Terrible gods. Everything else will give way. He will not.   12 Minutes to the Bottom The Atlantic in November is not a place that offers second... Continue Reading

In God’s hands, fire and force can be used for a number of “drosses,” “impurities,” and “excesses”….But His purpose is always the same: separation for purification.   Last week, we explored the rich and ancient nuances behind Jesus’ renowned metaphor: “You are the salt of the earth”—7 to be exact. In biblical times, salt carried... Continue Reading

The Church does not need more people trained to scan for wolves. She needs shepherds who feed sheep, guard the fold, and correct error without turning the flock into spectators of accusation.   Discernment is biblical; the way we’ve professionalized it is not. When correction detaches from shepherding, exposure replaces formation, and platforms become rival... Continue Reading

If justification occurs at a moment in time, as Scripture clearly teaches, our self-righteousness and fear of condemnation are eliminated simultaneously as God, at the first moment of faith, declares us righteous apart from our works.   It has been said that justification is the article by which the church is standing or falling. This... Continue Reading

The righteous run to the name of the Lord. They run to who He is, not just what He does. They anchor themselves in His character….His name is strong. His name is holy. His name is enough.   The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is... Continue Reading

God loves the person He created you to be, and He hates what sin has done to you. His compassion toward you is matched by His relentless opposition to the disease that enslaves you.   The refrain has been repeated often enough over the past 50 years that it now passes for common sense: The... Continue Reading