If your understanding of God remains intact in the wilderness, the wilderness will not define you. It will refine you. And when you emerge, it will not be because you mastered the process, but because you entrusted yourself to the One whose nature does not change, even when His ways stretch you beyond what you... Continue Reading

Pastor Martin preached as if he was dying to have you either converted or sanctified. And supporting his preaching was the scrupulous consistency of a man determined to keep a clear conscience before God and men. By God’s grace he was enabled to finish his race well and keep that clear conscience to the end.... Continue Reading

Find a godly man or woman that you can build a life and family with on the same solid foundation of Christ. Good looks will fade with time, gravity takes its toll on fleeting beauty, but faith and godly character can grow deeper as two people commit their lives to the Lord and one another.... Continue Reading

Knowing that we will spend eternity alongside all of Christ’s people should encourage us to pursue greater unity now. So, as you gather with your church this Lord’s Day, remember your shared story, your shared purpose, and your shared future. Remember and rejoice, for all of this is yours in Christ.   Abstract Brad Wetherell... Continue Reading

We must remember that clarity is not cruelty, and faithfulness is not hatred. The church does not have the authority to redefine what God has already spoken. We are stewards, not editors, of divine truth. And history is increasingly showing us that accommodation does not achieve the peace it promises.    Believe it or not,... Continue Reading

The power belongs to Scripture. We play a part, but it’s not really about us. After we step down from the pulpit, the word keeps working. We do nothing; the word does everything.   It’s the Tuesday after Easter. If you’re a preacher, it’s time for some proverbial Wittenberg beer. In March 1522, Martin Luther... Continue Reading

Jesus will not stay where you put him, because he has not left you where you are. The one who would not stay in the tomb will not leave you in yours. Your fear, your sin, and your death are no longer prisons. The risen and living Jesus is a wonderfully inconvenient truth, because he... Continue Reading

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth (Psalm 145:18). Not only does his death and resurrection take care of our biggest problem, sin, but he is also alive and well to answer our prayers when we call on him.   Christian, do not let... Continue Reading

Spiritual abuse is a hot topic these days. Typically, though, the conversation is geared toward exposing abusive leaders, but the same principles could be applied to this conversation where the abuse is aimed at the pastor. Quite frankly, pastors do experience spiritual abuse by congregations. The abuse can come from the leadership and formal power... Continue Reading

[Antisemitism: What Everyone Needs to Know by David Harris]. Those not familiar with the age-old diabolical curse of antisemitism need to be educated here. And a book like this is just the place to start.   Yesterday I examined the brand-new volume by Hussain Abdul-Hussain: The Arab Case for Israel: And Other Essays from a... Continue Reading