Providence and Empire
An Augustinian Case: The Fact of Empire
So why does God give Rome its empire? As I mentioned earlier, Augustine thinks part of the answer is that Rome was the best option on offer. But he goes further. He argues that Roman leaders and society had a love for their city and empire that was noble if flawed. As opposed to rulers... Continue Reading
How to Recover from a Toxic Church and Bounce Back Even Better
The gospel heals. And the gospel is worth the effort to get better.
Prioritize healing, but don’t use recovery as an excuse to become apathetic. Seek the help you need and do not walk alone. No one should navigate a difficult season solo. Make phone calls to your mentor, counselor, and close friends. Be grateful for those who respond positively. When the church causes hurt, it pollutes God’s... Continue Reading
How to Have Deeper Conversations Today
If we persevere in both being better listeners and better sharers, we are likely to find relationships where deeper conversations can flourish.
Friendship isn’t formed only on these surface-level conversations but instead on the weightier ones of life, hardship, anger, battles, confessions, and questions. We’ll never be able to minister to one another in our fights with sin and suffering if we never answer truthfully, “How are you today?” It’s impossible to bear one another’s burdens without... Continue Reading
The Bombadil Option
Tom Bombadil is a strange character in The Fellowship of the Ring, often left out of adaptations due to his seeming departure from the serious nature of the story. He speaks in rhyming song.
We could do with being a lot more like him: not naïve, not living on the clouds, or ignorant of the deep scarring pains of existence on the face of the earth; rather embracing joy such that temptation does not touch us. It will be harder for us to be led astray by the strange... Continue Reading
Of the Danger of Too Many On-Line Sermons
When we listen to sermon after sermon from pastor after pastor and scholar after scholar, we develop in our minds this idyllic picture of what our local pastor should be.
On-line preaching can be tremendously helpful. But it brings with it a few dangers. Watch out for false and novel teaching. Watch out for the temptation to find a teacher, any teacher, any teacher at all, who agrees with you and goes against what others are telling you. Use your resources wisely. But do not... Continue Reading
One Thing My Parents Did Right: Family Devotions
Because my parents made the Bible a central aspect of our lives, I could see it was more than just a good book.
They not only told me but showed me what the Bible is worth and how to study it. Through Bible time I learned the value of persevering, both in seeking God and in putting sin to death. Because of my parents’ influence, I value the Bible, and because of their teaching, I continue to seek after... Continue Reading
My Take on the Hamas Attack on Israel
When Israel was attacked the default setting is “the end must be near.” Jesus must be coming back soon. Not necessarily.
UN Resolution 181 (1947) divided Palestine into a Jewish State (Israel) and an Arab state (Jordan). Then began a series of wars: Israel’s War for Independence (1948–49), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six-Day War (1967), the Yom Kippur War of 1973 (the Hamas attack on Israel was carried out 50 years plus one day of... Continue Reading
Critical Grace Theory
As debates over critical race theory rage on, one important point seems to have been missed: Many of the most important biblical writers were among the sharpest critical theorists of their day.
Biblical critical theory takes a very different approach. Read Isaiah and Paul and you immediately see that the purpose of their critiques is the restoration of God’s creation and its fulfillment in God’s covenant. Natural law and similar concepts can give us a substantive picture of the moral structure of creation. The Book of Proverbs... Continue Reading
In Contemplation of the Roman Empire
Lloyd-Jones was forcibly struck by the tragic similarities of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and the collapse of Christian influence in the West.
“All human systems fail because the trouble is within the people themselves, and external rules and laws and regulations cannot change them. It is not that we need better laws, but that we need better natures; not better instruction, but better spirits and better desires. And so all this human history comes to nothing. And... Continue Reading
John Newton: Parent with Intention, Grace, and Confidence in God
Six intentional principles Newton taught Christian parents preparing to launch their children.
Some good people have wearied their children by expecting conduct from them as if they were experienced Christians, and have thereby given them a disgust and distaste for religion, and made them look upon it as a burden.” Parents should instead use a light touch: “A little advice now and then, always in the spirit... Continue Reading
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