Archives

Devotional

29JUL 2012

They bring absolutes

       There are eight or nine authors (though dead) who still speak today. Their names are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James and Jude. Who wrote Hebrews is uncertain. Their words, with the exception of the Old Testament writers, were inspired by God in ways that no others were, 2 Peter 1:21;……..[Read More]

20JUL 2012

Levels of certainty

       Beloved, in our culture today we are a people who feel totally sure of ourselves and uncertain of what we believe. I think it’s supposed to be the other way around. In Scripture, there are varying levels or degrees of certainty we can have when it comes to divine truth. For my……..[Read More]

15JUL 2012

The ministry of Jesus

       The profundity and far reaching implications of the words and miracles of Jesus are completely mind boggling. No one that God has given the Scriptures to will ever stop marveling at their perfection and symmetry. Through the study of Scripture, I’ve recently realized my own complete underestimation of the power of Jesus’……..[Read More]

09JUL 2012

How many sins does it take to make God the one to blame?

       There’s a collective effort or excuse of conscience at work in our culture today. I’ve heard its influence in the opinions of those I meet many times and in many ways. It could be summarized along the lines of the old adage that says that, “There’s safety in numbers.” I’ve heard a……..[Read More]

02JUL 2012

The everlasting temple

       The temple of King Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians in the sixth century B.C. It was literally razed to the ground, and the people of Judah were taken captive into Babylon. This was a promised judgment of God against the people for their sin. Before it took place, God promised Israel through……..[Read More]

24JUN 2012

Spiritual warfare

         Spiritual warfare does NOT deal with super-Christians running around telling devils what to do. Such antics gain you attention in word of faith cults, but have no place in the church. I’ll never forget wandering into a chapel one night in Bagram, Afghanistan on my way home on leave, and listening……..[Read More]

12JUN 2012

The desires of our hearts

       Psalm 37:4 reads, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” You know, when I was first brought to faith I thought I knew what I wanted from the Lord. I came with a list of things in my heart like a child’s Christmas wish list. I’m……..[Read More]

05JUN 2012

A question about communion

          On 4 Jun, Clint H. asked:           “I have a question regarding the Sacraments/Communion…My two roommates and I hold a Bible study and fellowship night every Friday at our house. [Someone] stated that we should hold communion at our home. Both myself and my roommates hold……..[Read More]

03JUN 2012

What is imputation?

            “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Corinthians 5:21.             The doctrine of imputation is a theological term explaining how a Christian actually receives forgiveness for sin. It is……..[Read More]

30MAY 2012

Thank God for Regeneration

             Regeneration is another word for the new birth. I believe that regeneration is best described in John 3:8 when Jesus says that it’s like the wind. “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where……..[Read More]

20MAY 2012

Truth and love

       Love is the driving force and guiding light in the Christian religion. Without it, every doctrine, every effort and every conviction becomes absurd. There are many among us, either by action or omission, who pervert love by declaring it free to accept everything the world wishes, but this isn’t love. We love……..[Read More]

12MAY 2012

A question about dominionism

           On 8 May Stacey W. asked:        “Sitting up researching the other night I came across a blog talking about "dominionism". The claim made by the blogger is that the new Calvinism and the emergent movement is really "dominionism." He specifically named John Piper as being part of……..[Read More]

07MAY 2012

The greater and the lesser lights

       Truth is necessary for salvation. A man can no more believe in a Jesus in whom he has not heard (Romans 10:14) than he can be saved by a false one, Matthew 24:5. Truth is found in all saved people. It is propositional truth that serves as the baseline for the right……..[Read More]

28APR 2012

Unity

       Jesus prayed for His church. He came to redeem for Himself a church from this world. In what we call His high priestly prayer He prayed: “…Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are,” John 17:11b. With the state of many……..[Read More]

21APR 2012

The rock of salvation

         Just before his execution, the Athenian philosopher Socrates (~470-399 B.C.) said, “All of the wisdom of this world is but a tiny raft upon which we must set sail when we leave this earth. If only there was a firmer foundation upon which to sail, perhaps some divine word.” What will……..[Read More]

14APR 2012

The source of the source

                        In response to the question, “God is perfect; explain?” Ravi Zacharias once answered: “God is the only being in existence whose reason for existence is within Himself.” I love this!          There’s a droll tension in my profession where each……..[Read More]

06APR 2012

A question about the Orthodox Church and orthodoxy

On 3 Apr 12, Stacey W. asked:             “Is using the term orthodox a correct way to describe reformed soteriology? I recently had a person who is not a professing Christian refer to herself as orthodox. I have only heard of the eastern orthodox churches, and upon looking up the term orthodox came across the……..[Read More]

31MAR 2012

The rustling of the leaves

           Since my conversion, there has not been one single day where God was not the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last before I slept. My mind is consumed with thoughts on Him literally through every waking hour, Psalm 44:8. My life is barely punctuated with……..[Read More]

24MAR 2012

Some lessons cannot be learned in a day

     The power of Jesus’ sacrifice for sin is amazing. When you think of all the blood sacrifices offered under the first covenant, it’s truly staggering. Just think of the endless flow of blood that proceeded from the altar from the time of Moses (1450 B.C.) to Jesus (A.D. 28)! In all of it,……..[Read More]

17MAR 2012

A question about Mr. Reinhard Bonnke

On March 16, Pierre J. asked:    “I read your account of your experiences with the WF movement. Have you ever read 'a Different gospel' by DR Mcconnell? I read that years ago and found it very useful indeed. Since 1980, I have opposed the diabolical doctrines of glorifying self. I know Reinhardt Bonke has……..[Read More]

10MAR 2012

The wise master builder

            Surely there are things, at times, too great for us to learn, and so God is wise not to reveal them. We may hear them in the word, yes, but it is not always “the time” for us to learn some lessons in life. There were times in my……..[Read More]

09MAR 2012

The frittering, or glittering, end

            One of my favorite hymns is called My Jesus, I Love Thee. It was written in 1864 by a young man named William Ralph Featherston who died at the age of 27. He wrote this magnificent hymn when he was only 16 years old. Each stanza ends with the……..[Read More]

03MAR 2012

Life

     Jesus Christ came to give eternal life to as many as the Lord would call, Mark 10:45. If a person is truly a Christian, it’s not because they’ve got it all together. It’s not because they had the right apologetic discourse presented to them in the perfect order- and so they believed. They……..[Read More]

27FEB 2012

God never made a dead religion

     Judaism in Jesus’ day was in bad shape because of many of its leaders. To anyone God can say, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?” like in Matthew 23:33, chances are that things are not only bad, but as bad as they can be in that person’s faith!……..[Read More]