The God of All Comfort
Our heavenly Father is tender-hearted, not hard-hearted.
The good news is that God comforts His own (Isa. 40:1–5). Jesus fulfills these promises (61:1–4), as He declared in His sermon in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:16–21). God’s comfort is complete in Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10:1–21). How well do you suffer? I am God’s adopted child, but I’m not good... Continue Reading
Obey God Rather Than Man
If the world is going to hate us, let them hate us for our gospel message.
Going along with the crowd is a natural temptation when we face hard situations. We do not want to be ugly. We do not desire to stir up trouble. It is just easier to quietly submit. Giving in to our desires to avoid a problem is not what we are called to do. We are... Continue Reading
Missing Elements in Our Discussions about Apostasy
We have to expect that while many will endure, there will be some who fall away.
We are all people of trajectories who wittingly or unwittingly, deliberately or carelessly, point ourselves along the narrow way that leads to salvation or the broad way that leads to destruction. This demonstrates the importance of having people in our lives who will confront and redirect us not just when we’ve gone past the point... Continue Reading
Cycling and Sanctification in the Christian Life
Cycling has been a great joy to me for many reasons.
Last week on a long ride along the coast, my tire went flat. I had all the replacement things I needed, but my thumb and wrist were injured, preventing me from getting the tire back on. My buddy was able to repair the tire, and we began our ride back home. Without his help I... Continue Reading
My Boring Testimony
I don't remember a time not knowing I was a sinner. Seriously, I've always understood that Christ died for me.
They are great stories of God who goes and saves His people out of their bondage. But sometimes, God is a God to us and to our children. Sometimes, He is just keeping His covenant promises. He doesn’t need a Damascus road but, rather puts us in families where, like Timothy, we’ve always known the... Continue Reading
Three Ways to Teach Teens to Think Theologically
While knowledge does not equal love, it should cultivate an increasing devotion to God and gentleness toward others.
The more your teenager knows God, the better she should know how to love and obey him. The more she understands herself, the more she should appreciate God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice for her sin. Because God is good and kind, merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, the study of this good... Continue Reading
Leaving the Faith: Reflections of a Prodigal
I lived as one who did not believe, doing what was right in my own eyes,
After a few years from my “conversion,” I walked away from the faith in 1986. While I never denounced Christianity or indicated I was no longer a Christian, my line of thinking definitely echoed what I hear Harris and Sampson utter–there was a deconstruction, if you will. But really, it was flat out rebellion. ... Continue Reading
Overcoming the Fear of Evangelism
When we speak the pure gospel, we can be sure that we are glorifying God.
What?! Someone like Jesus is not ashamed to associate with people like us? Why professional athletes want to associate with other profession athletes makes sense. Why kings wish to associate with other kings is easy to understand. What is unfathomable beyond all things unfathomable is why the Sovereign King of kings would want to associate... Continue Reading
1 John 4:8
The Bible beautifully brings together the varied attributes of God as all belonging to His glory.
Theologians have considered the essential unity of all God’s attributes under the heading of His simplicity, though the idea here might seem to be anything but simple. The point is not that this idea is easy to communicate or comprehend (after all, it is God we are talking about), but that God’s attributes do not... Continue Reading
You Don’t Feed Sheep like Your Llama
Expository preaching is far more than just standing before people and saying, “this is what the text says, come eat.”
We under-shepherds are not infallible in our discernment of our sheep but nevertheless we need to truly know them in order to properly feed them. I’m happy about the resurgence of biblical theology and sharing how each passage of Scripture fits into the grand narrative. I’m even more ecstatic that a growing segment of pastors are... Continue Reading
