I Choose to Live for Jesus Christ First.–Maxim # 57
Not just the love I have for Him, but the love He has for me.
“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15). This... Continue Reading
Eight Barriers to Unity
Each side is ready to think that the other should and will concede to them and will not risk division on so little a thing.
Christians, separated as they are from one another across a variety of denominations and splinter groups, nevertheless generally agree that more unity would be a good thing. While we value the spiritual oneness we have in Christ irrespective of different labels and groupings, Scripture is clear that this spiritual oneness should be reflected in visible... Continue Reading
Better Than a Utopia
In the midst of our pain, in the darkness, we don’t need freedom from that season or pain…instead we need God.
Wouldn’t it be nice if God at least let us Christians off the hook? I mean, we’re adopted into the family of God, so wouldn’t it be nice if, as His family members, He’d be like, “it’s ok, you don’t need to face the atrocities of this world”? I mean, if I had all the... Continue Reading
Prayer: Finding Peace
Why can you have peace? You can have peace because of the trustworthy God you are addressing!
In a crisis, even unbelievers quickly pray. Why is that? Even they seem to know God is their only hope. When, as a believer, my world seems to be collapsing—slowly or suddenly—prayer should be my first, fast, and reflexive action. Whether it’s during the immediate impact, as my personal “earth” is still quaking, or in... Continue Reading
Time Outside of Our Hands
There's a season for everything, even what we want to avoid.
Man has the limitation of time and death, but God experiences no such limits. (This makes the incarnation of Jesus that much more glorious and breathtaking.) What God does endures forever (Eccl 3:14). This is in stark contrast to the works of man which will pass away, be forgotten, or both. God has designed this... Continue Reading
From Where Does My Help Come?
He guards your feet. He works day and night. He keeps your going out and your coming in.
Jesus, the true temple, the One who has fulfilled the purpose of the feasts, has come to us. He is our help. In the midst of suffering He is with us. When we’re tempted to sin He is ready to give more grace. No matter the time of day or the location, He is always... Continue Reading
God’s Promises Stand, Even When All Seems Lost
God sees you. He hears you. God hasn’t failed you. And in Christ he never will. So hold fast. Even here. Even now. The promise still stands.
So what do we do when life feels like it’s falling apart? When prayers seem unanswered, when loss is real, when the weight of suffering presses in? Two things must anchor us. Have you ever gone on a treasure hunt? A friend of mine once sent a girl he liked on a birthday... Continue Reading
Godly Disobedience
Such obedience to God often carries painful consequences because sinful authorities possess the power to inflict suffering upon those who resist them.
We know that all earthly authorities—civil magistrates, church officers, husbands, parents, employers, and others—are sinful, and yet God knowingly requires us to submit to them in the Lord. However, He does not permit those authorities to require sinful conduct from those under their care. Not only may a human authority not command someone to sin,... Continue Reading
PRIDE And the New Babel
Pride is not a sexual revolution. It is a theological revolution.
The answer to Babel has therefore never been self-expression. The answer is repentance. The answer is not the creation of a new self but submission to the One who made us. The answer is not constructing an identity from our desires but receiving an identity from our Creator. One of the greatest mistakes modern... Continue Reading
A Father’s Work: No Idols
A father is to keep a watchful eye on his children, even in his weakness.
The sin of idolatry is a rejection of the only True God. A father must protect his family from that sin. He does so by his own example and by requiring his children to walk in obedience to the commandments of God. Since a father cannot change the heart, it will begin as external conformity.... Continue Reading
The Phone is No One’s Enemy
They are part of the fulfillment of the mandate God gave to Adam and Eve in Eden.
Part of “subduing” and “ruling” (Genesis 1:26-28) is fulfilled in phones, computers, and other technology. Yes, these things can be and are abused. But the problem is in the person who operates it, or, in the case of children harmed, the parents who allow its use. But the phone is not the problem. We... Continue Reading
The God on the Ballot
What happens to a people who hand a prince the trust that belongs to God alone?
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (Psalm 146:3). The Psalmist is not telling you to abandon the public square. He is telling you where salvation does not live, so that you will stop demanding it from an address that cannot supply it. “It is... Continue Reading
Why the Whole Counsel is So Important
“For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
Living out Acts 20:27 means that all our thoughts and actions are constantly to be corrected or revised according to divine, transcultural norms. Averse which has been at the center of my life for over a half century has been on my mind a lot lately. Several of us have begun strategizing and working... Continue Reading
What Is the Fruit of Joy?
The perception of Christianity is that it’s all rule-keeping and no fun.
The fruit of joy blossoms from the heart of God’s gracious work. His very indwelling by His Spirit gives joy because He Himself is joyful. This is far more than a superficial cheeriness or a passing happiness dependent on circumstance. Joy overflows from a heart wholly satisfied in Christ and daily takes delight in Him.... Continue Reading
On Trans Lunacy
It is time to call out the trans revolutionaries.
In his latest book Pandemic of Lunacy, philosopher J. Budziszewski dismantles the delusion that manhood and womanhood can be whatever we wish, exposing the lack of scientific basis for transgender ideology and the real harms of “transitioning.” There are plenty of lunacies out there. The latest book by J. Budziszewski lists 30 of them.... Continue Reading
United in One Spirit
On the Communion of Saints (WCF 26.1–26.3)
The communion of saints is a beautiful, demanding reality. It means that when you suffer, you do not suffer alone, for the Body suffers with you. It means that when you lack, the Body provides for you. And it means that your time, your spiritual gifts, and your bank account are no longer exclusively your... Continue Reading
What Happens When the Church Gathers for Worship?
When Heaven and Earth Overlap
When the church gathers in Christ’s name, heaven and earth overlap in a mysterious and glorious way. The risen Christ walks among his churches, ministers to his people, and prepares them for the everlasting assembly to come (Revelation 1-3). From a biblical perspective, the gathering of God’s people is not merely a spiritual add-on... Continue Reading
Are You the Reason People Are Believing in Jesus?
When your life crosses theirs, does it make a difference?
What can a dead man do? We were completely impotent. For those of us who have been spiritually raised from utter death to live and walk with Christ, this too is all of God. Our part now is to walk with Him and testify of the One who raised us from hell to heaven and... Continue Reading
The Cozy, Comfy, Warm Blanket Sin of Complaint
Considering the idolatrous nature of grumbling.
It is difficult to complain against God when you are bringing Him your heart. Your grumbling begins to transform into prayer. Your complaints turn into petitions. You stop dethroning God and start running to Him instead. I want you to consider with me the sin of “complaining.” That might register as a small-scale sin... Continue Reading
The Quiet Theology of “All Creatures Great and Small”
Compassionate and attentive to His creation. Human dominion was meant to mirror that same care.
The quiet goodness portrayed in All Creatures Great and Small resonates so deeply. It echoes something true about the world God is restoring. And what the show captures in glimpses, Christ is bringing to fullness: a life where ordinary faithfulness, shared burdens, and steadfast love are not small things at all, but signs of His... Continue Reading
The Courage to Raise Godly Children
It is the duty of all Christians to cherish and nurture our children.
We need much wisdom as we approach parenting and raising our children, and until Christ’s return Christians have the privilege and duty to raise their children in the love of God, obedience to his commands, and true hope in Christ our Savior. A while back I read a series of articles by author Alex... Continue Reading
God’s Mercy in Withholding Wealth
Learning to thank God for a circumstance we often despise.
When Christ is our greatest treasure, our hearts rest content in Him. By loving Christ above all, our other loves become appropriately ordered. Wealth becomes a mere tool in service to His will. One time early in our marriage, I, exasperated by yet another unexpected bill, voiced the following sentiment to my wife: “Wouldn’t... Continue Reading
Dept. of War Removes Wicca and About 180 Other Belief Systems as Recognized Religions
The religions that remain are various denominations of Christianity, Buddhism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism and the Baha'i faith.
The directive ultimately came from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who pledged last year to overhaul the military’s Chaplain Corps by refocusing it on religious ministry and eliminating what he called secular influences. U.S. Army soldiers pray on September 11, 2011 during a protestant service at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. Ten years after the... Continue Reading
Why Is the Church Ignoring the Growing Sports Gambling Crisis?
The consequences are catching up—bankruptcy, loss of savings, depleted college funds, and unchecked addiction.
Finding the practice [gambling] morally wrong and actively fighting the addiction in the pews are two different things.…a few churches and ministries are working to sound the alarm and address the issue. Calvin Ridley, star receiver for the Atlanta Falcons, was suspended for an entire season in 2022 for gambling on NFL games. The... Continue Reading
Suggestions to Members of the Mississippi Valley Presbytery for the 222nd Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church regarding Erskine College
To strengthen our shared witness, protect our people and resources, and help Erskine more fully fulfill its historic calling.
Theologically, Erskine exists as an instrument of the church for the church’s purposes. Its primary calling—the formation of ministers and the Christian education of our covenant community—is not a business function or an administrative one. It is a spiritual one. Brothers and Fathers in the Lord, I am not writing in an official capacity... Continue Reading
The Fear of Man
The fear of man is a trap, but the fear of God is safety from every snare.
The remedy for the fear of man is to have a greater fear. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). To fear God is to kill the fear of man. I don’t care... Continue Reading
The PCA Committee Report on Christian Nationalism: The Problem in the Middle
The Religious polytheism endorsed by the Committee is a prescription for the death of a nation.
Note that the position of the Committee is that the free exercise of “all religions” in our nation is entirely consistent with the PCA’s constitutional standards. In this context “all religions” does not mean all Christian denominations as it did during the time of the writing of our founding documents. It means all religions including... Continue Reading
Be Satan’s Worst Nightmare
Satan is no match for Jesus, and our Good Shepherd protects us and fights for us.
The born again saints of the church drive the devil to distraction when we stand up to him and refuse to allow him to “bully” us. One of the privileges of the true (regenerate) saints of the church, is that we get to frustrate the devil’s designs against us—and hence, make his existence even more miserable... Continue Reading
Covenant Theology and Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy rejects the Reformed understanding of both sola Scriptura and justification by faith alone.
Eastern Orthodoxy, by grounding authority in Holy Tradition and righteousness in synergistic theosis, builds religious hope upon sand—unstable and contingent—whereas confessional Reformed theology builds religious hope upon the rock—the firm foundation of the covenant of grace, as the self-evidencing Scriptures authoritatively reveal a finished work and an imputed righteousness, received by faith alone. Both... Continue Reading
The Root of Anxiety and How to Fight It
We fight anxieties by fighting against unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace.
The way you fight this “good fight” is by meditating on God’s assurances of future grace and by asking for the help of his Spirit.…The battle to be freed from sin is “by the Spirit” (Romans 15:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2) and by “the truth” (John 17:17, 19): the work of the Spirit... Continue Reading