Westminster Shorter Catechism Question #1: Grammatical Error Or Theological Truth?
The more you enjoy God the more you will glorify Him and the more you glorify God the more you will enjoy Him.
In other words, we exist “to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever” and we “enjoy God BY glorifying Him forever.” To be more precise, they are saying when we are embracing our created, redeemed, and sustained ‘responsibility’ “to glorify God” we will “enjoy God” and when we “enjoy God” we will instinctively and increasingly “glorify... Continue Reading
How I Changed My Mind about Infant Baptism
I could not understand why, given the Old Testament emphasis of God's working through families, the New Testament did not signal a change in that policy
It is my joy to baptize the children of believers and to see those children treated, not as little strangers until they make their profession of faith, but as members of the family of God. As such they are instructed in the full width of Bible truth and in the catechism of the church. It is the most... Continue Reading
How the War on Poverty Was Lost
Fifteen percent of Americans still live in poverty, according to the official census poverty report for 2012, unchanged since the mid-1960s.
Do higher living standards for the poor mean that the war on poverty has succeeded? No. To judge the effort, consider LBJ’s original aim. He sought to give poor Americans “opportunity not doles,” planning to shrink welfare dependence not expand it. In his vision, the war on poverty would strengthen poor Americans’ capacity to support... Continue Reading
High-Flying CEO Quits After Daughter Writes List Of 22 Milestones He Missed
The head of a $2 trillion investment fund quit his job after his 10-year-old daughter wrote him a note listing 22 special moments in her life he had missed
“It was a list that she had compiled of her important events and activities that I had missed due to work commitments,” he wrote. “The list contained 22 items, from her first day at school and first soccer match of the season to a parent-teacher meeting and a Halloween parade. The head of a... Continue Reading
“Losing Our Religion”: A Review of Peter Enns’ “The Bible Tells Me So”
Summary: The Bible isn’t history–in the modern sense of the word–it’s a book of stories written by ordinary people trying to make sense of God and the world
Enns wrote The Bible Tells Me So for potential Jesus-followers who have been taught to read the Bible as a how-to instruction manual and can’t seem to make it work. Young people are powerfully attracted to the non-violent kingdom Jesus talked about, but wonder how Jesus fits with the stuff in the rest of the Bible which... Continue Reading
Incest a ‘Fundamental Right’, German Committee Says
Anti-incest laws in Germany could be scrapped after a government-backed group said relationships between brothers and sisters should be legal
“The abolition of the offense of incest between siblings would be the wrong signal,” said Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, legal policy spokeswoman for the party’s group in parliament. “Eliminating the threat of punishment against incestuous acts within families would run counter to the protection of undisturbed development for children.” Laws banning incest between brothers and sisters... Continue Reading
California School Bans All Christian Books
Staff at the library were told to remove all books with a Christian message, authored by Christians or published by a Christian company.
The schools Superintendent Kathleen Hermsmeyer, responded to the PJI in a letter writing: “We do not purchase sectarian educational materials and do not allow sectarian materials on our state-authorized lending shelves”. Corrie ten Boom’s ‘The Hiding Place’, a true story of courage and compassion by Christians in Nazi Germany, is one of many titles deemed... Continue Reading
Ordinary Isn’t Mediocre
How can we be content with our callings in ordinary life but still strive for excellence?
Whether we are talking about doctrine, athletics, music, parenting, or practicing law, it’s often by faithfully exercising the foundations that we reach the freedom to be good at what we do. It’s usually the everyday commitment to our pursuit, not the novel, and not the quest for superiority itself, that leads to true excellence. And... Continue Reading
Five Questions With a Former Muslim Who Converted to Christianity
As long as there are Muslims, there will be Christians who need to be equipped to share the Gospel with them in compelling compassion.
The Gospel is this: that God saw our sin and suffering, and instead of standing removed from the world, watching and judging, He entered into the world and suffered alongside us, taking our burden from us, paying our penalty for us. He secured our eternity for us because we cannot earn our own salvation, and... Continue Reading
God Is Faithful to Preserve His Own
God will bring our journey to completion and us to perfection, so that arrayed in perfect holiness we will live forever in His love.
Paul says that God, having begun His work in our lives, “will bring it” to completion. This indicates that God not only guarantees the completion of our salvation, but is actively involved in the believer’s life to bring this to pass. God works in our lives in the way a craftsman works to finish a... Continue Reading