Do Everything Without Grumbling
Every decision to grumble is a decision not to pray, not to pour out our hearts before God.
Like all temptations common to man, the temptation to grumble always comes with “the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). But how? How can we confront our own tendencies to murmur and, amazingly, begin to “do all things without grumbling” (Philippians 2:14)? “Do all things without... Continue Reading
Confronting Entitlement as a Young Minister
Deny the impulse to seek recognition. Refuse to pander to your own selfish ambition.
When we live with an entitlement for recognition, we give our effort exalting ourselves over others so we will appear great. Jesus’ medicine for this tendency is brotherhood. He told his disciples, “You all are brothers,” undercutting their hierarchy, games and socio-political competitions. If we are all brothers and sisters, I don’t need to focus my... Continue Reading
No One Can Come to Me Unless the Father Who Sent Me Draws Him
Even the most mature Christians are in great need of reflecting on the cross.
Not only has God provided the way to eternal life through the Son, He also draws His people to Him in such a way that they believe and repent in total surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Those who were God’s enemies who considered the cross as “Nonsense” and Christianity as, at best, a pie... Continue Reading
Why Did God Command Hosea to Marry an Immoral Woman?
Hosea’s marriage as a prophetic sign-act reveals the length to which God is willing to go to wake us from our sinful stupor.
The prophet is called by God to enter into a marriage that functions, most scandalously, as an enacted parable, graphically—even shockingly—illustrating Israel’s infidelity to her husband, Yahweh. The punch this passage packs is that Yahweh God, in redeeming lost sinners, became a cuckold straight away, taking to himself an unfaithful wife. Strikingly, provocatively, and scandalously, he... Continue Reading
Marriage and the 7th Commandment
Simply put, marriage between a husband and wife is a picture of the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and His church .
Why does God take marriage so seriously? Any number of things could be said in answer to that question. One could point to the many societal ills and the damage that is done by sexual immorality and divorce. The breakdown of the family has taken a truly staggering toll on our society. But there is also... Continue Reading
Tried with Fire: Death and Its Brood
If Adam had not eaten the fruit, then none of these bad things would have happened. Creation would not have been spoiled.
A couple of conclusions can be drawn from Genesis 3. First, the death penalty that God pronounced upon Adam worked at more than one level. The sentence clearly involved more than the death of the body. The judgment of Genesis 3 weaves several concepts together. These include alienation from God, alienation between humans, the corruption... Continue Reading
The Day I Quit Family Devotions
God led me to repent of the idol I had created of a perfect family devotional time.
“I’m just not a good ‘Christian dad’,” I thought. “My kids just don’t like the Bible.” “I’m a disappointment to my wife.” “I guess they can just get it from Sunday school, Christian school, Youth group, or Awana.” Then God did something amazingly ordinary. He opened my eyes to see that all of the frustration I had... Continue Reading
Seven Letters Seven Dangers: The Doctrinaire Church
Remember your first love in the Lord Jesus. Return to him.
Let me ask you this, beloved church of God, when you speak the truth do people know that you love them? I do not mean do you say you love them. No, I mean do they sense your love? Can they feel your love? Can they feel a tenderness, a gentleness, a compassion in your... Continue Reading
A Brief Review of the Missouri Presbytery Committee Report on Revoice and “Gay Christians”
The Committee to Investigate Memorial Presbyterian Church for Hosting the Revoice 18 Conference only found errors in poor judgment; they found nothing erroneous that “strikes at the vitals of religion.”
All sins are heinous, but some sins are more heinous than others. Homosexual desire is no less forgivable, but it is more pernicious. If there is no resignation of ordained PCA officers who claim to be gay homosexuals who practice celibacy, then there will be no hope of peace and unity in the PCA. ... Continue Reading
An Open Letter to the PCA Missouri Presbytery
Neither I nor the other signatories sinned in the manner we handled and expressed our concerns.
Thank you for your concern over my spiritual well-being. I say this because I was one of the signatories of a letter addressed to the Memorial PCA Session, along with 32 other PCA Ruling and Teaching Elders, from a number of presbyteries, that expressed their concerns about the significant role the Memorial Session played in... Continue Reading
