We all have our levels of discomfort we seem willing to bear and our levels of discomfort, what we even find uncomfortable, differs from person to person and all of us, at some level, will allow that lure of an easy life to overtake. When Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow... Continue Reading

Martha (of Bethany) and several other women who followed Jesus were hospitable—welcoming the Lord and his disciples into their homes and caring for them. These women served others with their hands and energy (Luke 8:1-3). Yet, they were not immune to pain and suffering. Martha, her sister Mary, and her brother Lazarus were close friends... Continue Reading

We are entirely dependent on the vine to bear fruit. Apart from Christ we can’t worship, pray, understand the Word, obey His commands, speak words that edify, love one another, show kindness as He has shown to us, forgive one another, discern truth from error, bring people to a knowledge of Christ, or build up... Continue Reading

Remember, after His resurrection, when He came out of the grave, when His disciples were gathered together in a room for fear of the Jews, He came in there among them, and said, “Peace be unto you” (John 20:21). Remember that in the beginning of that chapter there was some word of His resurrection. Some... Continue Reading

Doug began his pastoral ministry in Trenton, NJ at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) from 1971-1975 before becoming the pastor of New Life in Christ Church (NLICC) in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1975, where he served faithfully until his death in 2024. Doug started NLICC as an unaffiliated church but steadily led the church into the... Continue Reading

True biblical meditation is not about emptying our minds or each of our thoughts. Instead, biblical meditation is about filling our minds with God’s thoughts as we seek to draw nearer and nearer to Him and then we process those thoughts. We reflect and ruminate upon those thoughts. We chew on those thoughts the way... Continue Reading

Can the church, therefore, (whom God has so graciously called out of that sinful world for the express purpose of succeeding where the world had initially failed) really also fail to esteem and exalt its precious Lord so miserably – and yet expect great blessing? It is necessary for the point to be made, making... Continue Reading

Life, Isaiah says, is not found in vain self-exaltation. It isn’t found through subjecting the world to our arbitrary whims. It isn’t found by blotting out every remembrance of our fallenness or seeking to indulge every craven lust. Rather, life is found through acknowledging the crushing weight of our rebellion against God and turning to... Continue Reading

In most crucial areas of life, neutrality is a myth. It either does not exist, or seeking to remain neutral will just cause harm and hurt. We all must get involved, take a stand, and take sides. That certainly is the case with our eternal destiny. But it also matters in things like the culture... Continue Reading

Both the calendar and the development of mechanical clocks are rooted in the Church’s recognition of the need to see the world as sacred. Like the Sabbath and the feast of ancient Israel, time and seasons remind us that our lives are not ultimately our own and are instead part of the larger story of... Continue Reading