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Devotionals

That Uncomfortable Feeling

That Uncomfortable Feeling

I recently read an article based on the stated premise that “the Bible should be read for one’s enjoyment.” With that objective, it was no surprise that the rest of the piece consisted of the author aggressively...
Hard Work

Hard Work

The Bible has a lot to say about working hard, being disciplined, and fighting all slothful tendencies. The Christian work ethic we derive from the teaching of both the Old and New Testament leaves no room for leisurely lives...
Privileged Access

Privileged Access

The priests of the Old Testament held a special and privileged position among their contemporaries. They lived as those who were granted an exceptional depth of access to God’s presence and God’s blessings. As such, they were held to a higher standard as compared...
Body Parts

Body Parts

“The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,” the New Testament repeatedly tells us (cf. 1Cor.12:22). Of course, “the parts” God is trying to get us to appreciate are those people within the “body” of the church who are...
Antinomianism

Antinomianism

From time to time we speak of the error of “antinomianism” – the belief that for Christians the rules of the Bible don’t apply. “Anti,” of course, means “against,” and “nomos” is the Greek word for “law.” “Antinomians” are opposed to the rules – they do not see...
Shrewd Evangelism

Shrewd Evangelism

One of the most important and timely observations concerning the record of Paul’s evangelism in first century Athens, is to take note of the distinctive way the gospel was presented. Unlike previous scenes in...
Hope Misplaced: Zealots

Hope Misplaced: Zealots

In our world there is a growing distrust and dissatisfaction with the government. But this is nothing new in history. Throughout the centuries kingdoms have risen and fallen on the backs...
Love Like Jesus

Love Like Jesus

Having spent years walking through Israel with Jesus, having listened to him teach, and having seen him heal the sick and even raise the dead, the Apostle John distilled Christ’s love into this intriguing statement: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16a). Without reference to any warm feelings or emotions, John elevates the painful sacrifice
Rejoice

Rejoice

In Philippians 4:4 we are commanded to “Rejoice in the Lord always!” That is quite a remarkable command given that we had already been warned by Christ that life won’t always feel good (cf. Jn.16:33). But the directive is given and our response is expected...
Christian Life

Christian Life

Some have tried to avoid the concept of “Christ’s life for me and my life for Christ” depicted in the gospel exchange (cf. 2Cor.5:15; Mt.13:44-46; Lk.14:28-33; Mt.10:37-39; et al.) by imagining a dichotomy in the Christian life. They suggest that there are...
Rebellious Decisions

Rebellious Decisions

Recently the Supreme Court summarized another decision to move our country and its laws further from biblical principles by stating that their ruling epitomized “the progress of a maturing society.” As we often see throughout biblical history in general, and the book of Judges in...
Righteous Anger

Righteous Anger

While most Christians are chasing a modern fantasy of an irenic and affable day-to-day Christian experience, may we recognize the truth that we cannot be godly without regularly feeling and periodically expressing righteous anger...
Weakness

Weakness

As sinful and fallen people we hate the feeling of weakness. On the other hand, we love feelings of strength, dominance, control, power and independence. But the reality is, that as creatures of the One who “gives all men life, breath and everything else” (Acts 17:25) all of our perceived...
Holiness

Holiness

The concern for most Christians isn’t “How far from sin can I get?” but rather, “How close is okay?” Anyone who is thoughtful about obedience and wants to distance himself from temptation and sinful behavior is sure to incite the charge of being “a misguided legalist” – as if the accuser knows what biblical legalism is. He usually doesn’t. But it sounds like a good
Payoff of Holiness

Payoff of Holiness

With so much in the Bible about our call as Christians to live holy lives, I find that we often focus on the challenge and the obligation, but forget to ponder the payoff. Even when we hear the word “payoff” our minds tend to...
Excuse Making

Excuse Making

We live in a culture of excuses. Our generation is skilled at making them because excuses have become increasingly accepted as a means to evade blame and avoid responsibility. Excuse-making is nothing new. Adam and Eve are described as making...
Relativism

Relativism

After recently preaching on the problem of relativism, I am reminded of just how pervasive, yet inconsistent, this way of thinking actually is. Many loudly insist that it doesn’t matter what you believe regarding religion, because, after all, “God is loving” and he wouldn’t conclude that anyone’s views about him are wrong. It doesn’t matter, they insist, if your beliefs don’t
Christ with Us

Christ with Us

God has promised his kids that he would never leave them and never forsake them (Heb.13:5b). Before Jesus physically left his followers after the resurrection he allowed these final words…


Words

Words

When reading through Proverbs one can’t help but perceive a handful of predominant and recurring themes. One of the most persistent sets of exhortations relates to our chronic tendency to say too much. Over one hundred seventy inspired proverbs seek to impress on our hearts that fools are “babblers” and the wicked are “rash” with their words, but the wise “restrain their tongues”. We are warned in dozens of ways that “When words are many, transgression is not lacking” (Proverbs 10:19).
Christ’s Return

Christ’s Return

The Bible warns that many will ridicule us for our confidence in the second coming of Christ. “Where is he?” they will scoff, “It seems to be taking him a long time” (cf. 2 Peter 3:3-4). While we may respond defensively...
Mindful of God

Mindful of God

The Christian life is a life that is lived mindful of God. The crux and catalyst for sin is frequently described in the Bible as thoughtlessness or forgetfulness of God (Judges 8:34; 1 Samuel 12:9; Jeremiah 2:32; et al.). Godly living, on the other hand, is prompted and motivated by a chronic remembrance of the presence of God (Deuteronomy 8:18; Proverbs 5:21; Hebrews 4:13; 1 Peter 2:19; et al.). For us as Christians
Creator Credit

Creator Credit

Like Nebuchadnezzar strutting on the walls of Babylon (Dan.4), or Herod taking his bows in his royal robes (Ac.12), or the nine lepers thoughtlessly strolling on their merry way (Lk.17), when moderns carelessly deny God the credit for...
Trinity

Trinity

he Bible presents us with a mathematical dilemma when we study the nature of God. From the beginning we are told that there is only one God. That revelation became the doctrinal rally point of ancient Israel – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). And yet, also from the beginning, there has been a kind of uncontainable “plurality” to that one God. Not only do we find
Why Me?

Why Me?

“Why me?” That’s a question we usually mutter in bad times, but it’s actually a great question to ask when things go well. Of course the theological answer is easy and concise – namely, God’s grace. But beyond that, asking “why me?” when you are blessed may have practical and more specific answers that are worth discovering. In the Old Testament the question was asked
Contentment

Contentment

Recently, after seeing a “Christian” book entitled How to Get Everything You Want, I was reminded of God’s call to contentment. The Apostle testified to living out God’s expectation for his creatures. He wrote, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances...
Revenge and Faith

Revenge and Faith

Trusting God may sound relatively easy when it is framed theoretically, but when there are real life pains and injustices that provoke our hearts to personal revenge and retaliation, then reliance on God gets tough. Our faith is always tested in the...
Respect the Elderly

Respect the Elderly

There is a little verse tucked away in the book of Leviticus that reveals an oft-neglected value among those making a claim to godliness. We often miss these seemingly obscure biblical insights because we read much of the Old Testament as wholly obsolete for our new covenant Christian lives. While it is true...
Your Conscience

Your Conscience

As we seek to proclaim the gospel and uphold, defend and establish the truth of God’s word, it is helpful to remember that God has implanted a witness to the truth within each person’s heart. While those who don’t want to hear our message may protest, the reality is that...
Distracted Prayer

Distracted Prayer

We live in a “noisy” world. It seems that every waking hour is filled with an onslaught of clamoring sights and sounds that relentlessly bombard our eyes and ears. Around the clock, something is always vying for our attention. New Testament times weren’t as different as you might think, particularly for Jesus. Luke records that he had to...
Know Your God

Know Your God

According to God’s word there is nothing more rewarding or more satisfying than using your mind to focus on your Creator. The Psalmist declares, “Blessed are they who seek him with all of their heart” (Ps.119:2). Jesus affirmed that the greatest directive...
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