Before Jesus healed Lazarus, He lifted his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:41-42). Jesus had absolute confidence that God the Father... Continue Reading

Shallow work may end up being in meetings that require your presence because it’s part of your job, but as to production on a scale of 1 to 10, it seems like a 2.     Having discussed the importance of deep work ​yesterday​, what shall we say of shallow work? If deep work is... Continue Reading

Instead of asking, “Where will I live?” we should ask, “Who will be my community?” Believers are given a community in the spiritual brothers and sisters found in their local church. To be connected to that community in a healthy way, it needs to be local.     I recently had to make a decision—a... Continue Reading

I’ll never tire of saying it: productivity doesn’t mean doing more things; it means completing them. Busyness is doing things. Productivity is getting things done. Jesus said a healthy tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 7:17). Lots of leaves, no fruit? That’s a problem. When we don’t discipline ourselves to see things through, we... Continue Reading

We are the Church; we are not a business. Our unity is found in Christ and under the authority of His Word. We seek the wisdom of the church of all times and ages. Various pastors and ministries are able to assist in that, but no one pastor will be able to do that in... Continue Reading

We should not hesitate to resist left-wing lies. But we should also be wary of spiritual deception that creeps into conservative communities, dressed up with friendly right-wing clothing. Satan is fine leading someone to hell as a Republican.   Almost every week, I have someone in my group of friends who laments the way in... Continue Reading

Scripture shows that all kinds of music—singing solo or choral, instrumental, congregational, and professional performance—can and should have its place in worship. We need to move beyond our disagreements about our stylistic preferences and look for good quality music and words that properly recognize God’s glory and greatness and incorporate these regularly into our spiritual... Continue Reading

Every great city—every flourishing society, every lasting culture—begins the same way it always has: With leaders who have learned how to cultivate gardens again. For in the end, the future does not belong to those who build the biggest towers, but to those who remember how to grow gardens.   We are living through a... Continue Reading

To bring sinners to salvation, the triune God must extend to them a special, inward, irresistible call in addition to the outward call contained in the gospel message.   1 The doctrine of irresistible grace says that the Holy Spirit never fails to bring His own to faith. A clear grasp of this doctrine is... Continue Reading

It would be wrong to say that the Bible was ultimately created by the Church, or that the Church somehow stands in authority alongside or over the Bible in determining its canon. The canon is God’s canon. He is its ultimate cause, having set the boundaries of the Bible no less than He has set... Continue Reading