How Christians Prepare for Suffering
If we treasure Jesus, then every aspect of suffering in our lives is losing something we have already declared as loss
If when you become a Christian you write a big red “LOSS” across all the things in the world except Christ, then when Christ calls you to forfeit some of those things, it is not strange or unexpected. The pain and the sorrow may be great. The tears may be many, as they were for... Continue Reading
What’s Wrong With “Biblical Patriarchy”?
It is a dangerous distortion of the truth. It destroys families and can tear apart churches.
While it may seem like Biblical Patriarchy and Complementarianism are very similar, or even the same thing, there are very important distinctions between the two. One of the best examples of the differences between Biblical Patriarchy and Complementarianism has to do with women working or holding leadership positions outside the home, in the workforce, or... Continue Reading
Sex in the Sermon
God's Word is not prudish about sexuality. It is careful to illustrate the pitfalls and the trappings, as well as the beauty and the blessing.
Could it be that we face so much sexual confusion in the church because we fail to preach faithfully through all of Scripture? Society shames sex by speaking of it too often in the wrong context, with smirks and innuendos. Conversely, we in the church often shame sex by failing to speak of it all,... Continue Reading
Depression: When the black dog howls
Advice on what to say and what not to say to someone struggling with depression
All-in-all I see depression a result of the fall, not a part of God’s creation. As such Jesus died so that we might have ultimate deliverance from it. That may or may not happen in this life for me, but it gives me yet another reason to long for That Day. The term “black... Continue Reading
Why Are We Afraid?
Our Fears Reveal the Failures of our Faith
If we truly feared the Lord and held the Holy One in such honor and reverence that we trusted ourselves completely to His hands, then none of this nonsense would really matter to us. But our fears reveal our failings of faith. I fear what people think of me and are saying about me behind... Continue Reading
I Believe in Motherhood and Apple Pie, Maybe Not Revival
The Revivals elevated experiences of the heart over the practices of a life.
Revivals, like all things that emphasize and rely on experiences, are not sustainable. Experiences are about feelings, godly or otherwise. Feelings by nature and necessity fade and fluctuate. When one relies on experiences he is setting himself up for disappointment and disillusionment. Experiences are like romantic love. You can’t build a lifetime marriage relationship on... Continue Reading
Hotter Than All the Fifty Shades in the World
How God's design for marital romance provides the "tension" for sustained passion
For other couples, sadly, differences become the font of conflict. Each spouse’s strengths become weapons. Each weakness is an opportunity for blame. The very tension that should ignite love instead ignites a civil war. But romance can be fueled by an honest acknowledgement of that potential to fail. My marriage of nine years, one mortgage,... Continue Reading
You Know You Are Losing The Battle of Faith If…
Ways in which we demonstrate our lack of faith
You regularly find yourself plotting our your future instead of trusting in the Lord with all your heart. You run different scenarios through your mind, working out all the “if-then’s”, planning for every contingency, creating plan ‘A’, plan ‘B’, and plan ‘C’. Your assurance and peace comes from your ability to “figure things out” rather... Continue Reading
The Day of Atonement was a Copy of Christ’s Atonement
Only the blood of the divine image incarnate could cleanse our sin
This ritual was an acted parable, a copy of what Christ was to do on the great day when He made atonement. The blood of animals is both inappropriate and inadequate to provide the cleansing necessary to approach God. Animal sacrifice could not atone for human sin. Neither could any finite individual atone for sin... Continue Reading
The Christian Creed in One Short Psalm
In Psalm 110, we find the Christian confession of faith
Hopefully after reading a bit about these confessions contained in David’s creed, you will see why Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. If you have ever struggled to articulate your faith, this may be a good place for you to begin. It would be quite beneficial to memorize the 7... Continue Reading
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