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Devotionals

I’m for Christ

In his parable of differing “soils” Jesus specifies some of the reasons certain people initially embrace Christianity, often with a great deal of enthusiasm and fervor, but then after a while bail out never to establish a root system which bears genuine and lasting fruit. Those identified as the first to leave do so because of

What’s Required?

Many have sought to discover the minimal Christianity required of them to “still be Christian”. “How much of the world can I love, or how much of my agenda can I pursue and still be okay with God?” they ask. Or, “Just how sinful, casual, or lukewarm are we allowed to be and still be saved?” Of course the Bible isn’t much help in answering these questions. The whole tenor of Scripture disallows...

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...

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

Time for Prayer

Few would disagree that life is busy and cluttered with activity. Even so, it is imperative that we follow the pattern set for us by Christ, regularly shutting out everything to quietly spend time in communion and fellowship with God. This was the habit...

Biblical Tension

It has been rightly said that we should never use biblical truths in unbiblical ways. We make this costly error at times without knowing it. We may be hailing some aspect of God’s word with a resolute focus while unwittingly beginning to utilize that affirmation to deny some other forthright teaching of Scripture. Take for instance our confidence in the sovereignty of God, which is of course a...

ATAPAT

There is a bizarre little acronym starting to catch on at our church and with our listeners. And for that I am glad. It is, if you haven’t heard, my abbreviated and colloquial way of referring to what Jesus was getting at when he addressed his would-be disciples. It is my attempt of...

All In

Life really does necessitate that we decide who or what we are going to serve. The words of Joshua are perpetually relevant as he turned to the people and said, “choose for yourselves this day who you will serve… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh.24:15). Without a resolute decision...

Christ Honoring Words

While impossible to master this side of heaven, God calls us to give special attention to replacing our errant and superfluous words with Christ-honoring words that make a good and godly difference (Ephesians 4:29). While this requires restraint and thoughtfulness, the primary focus of this command

Outlook and Attitude

It doesn’t take long to discover that the Christian life is certainly not a continuous experience of fun and laughter. And yet, we ought to be careful to acknowledge a…