Series introduction: Where would you go today in the Old Testament to argue that Jesus is the Christ? There’s so much to this that cannot be dismissed. We’re given in many ways what the Messiah would be like, what his character would be, how he’d be received (even by different people), what he’d do, how……..[Read More]

If you’re a disciple of Jesus, you’ve just got to love the Apostle Peter. I firmly believe that when Paul says God gave “…some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” to equip and perpetuate the church, that for me today it means I have the inspired letters of numerous Apostles. Their……..[Read More]

You and I have three main foes if we’re children of God. We have three enemies- the world, the devil, and the flesh. 1) There is the world. It’s fallen. Its influences on us are not inherently upward. They’re downward. Might be the gentle slope of mere over-indulgence or selfish laziness. Might be the grossest……..[Read More]

I’m a modern American Christian thinking about the church today as a middle-aged man who was raised in a nominal Christian home and who’s now, by God’s grace, a believer, husband, dad, friend, and servant to all I can. These are some scattered thoughts on the state of the church in my country today from……..[Read More]

I just watched a video of a young man saying that he is OK with murdering children up to three months after they’re born. Watch the video if the Facebook link works. Even if it doesn’t, you’ve already met this guy many times in your life already. You work with him, you go to school……..[Read More]

“It is written” is a phrase that should mean as much to us today as it did to Jesus before his death. We can and should learn to believe this and even quote it in our lives as things arise. Jesus held a view of inspiration that you and I should learn to hold. Jesus……..[Read More]

A flat character in theater is a character that lacks complexity or depth. We’re not given much detail on them. You might have heard the term “supporting actor.” Some supporting actors have a huge impact on a story, while others may have very little. We hear of the man Simeon only once in the word,……..[Read More]

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4. The word translated “end” here is the Greek word “Telos” (τέλος). The word does not have a massive semantic domain, meaning it isn’t translated in too many ways, but it does have a few ways it can be translated in English. One way it’s used……..[Read More]

Michaelangelo was an incredible sculptor. He did many things, but his sculpting by far most captures my awe. Anyone who’s seen his work is amazed by the skill and patience it must have taken to create it. He’s recorded to have said of one of his works: “I saw the angel in the marble and……..[Read More]

Where’s the weight? In my heart, how can I bear to tell another man or woman they’re going to be condemned before God and not weep for them? Even if my eyes never actually get wet, where’s the weight on my heart? Jeremiah was not known as the “aloof prophet.” We call him the “weeping……..[Read More]

It is the cherishing of God himself from the heart that makes all the difference. It’s the very fact that a person has been kept near to God by God himself that will preserve him in life over the long run and assure his heart before God. But God does this through various means. I……..[Read More]

Romans 3 ends with a question asked and answered: “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.” Romans 3:31. This is the end of a chapters-long build up to an extended apologetic of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for which Abram becomes Paul’s model in chapter four.……..[Read More]

There have been a lot of ups and downs in my life. We all have them I know. I have wept in overflows of emotion a solid handful of times out of the overflow of my love toward God and his covenant with me pulling off the side of the road in tears that my……..[Read More]

Is it true that as Christians we’re not to judge anyone? We hear it all the time, right? “Judge not” people say. Everyone, no matter how worldly, seems to have studied this passage carefully. They’re like Jack Van Impe with it (some of you will get that). Are Christians called to judge anyone? Do only……..[Read More]

A set of ten-year-old fellas helped me see the Gospel a hundred times clearer this week. I wanted to share some initially processed thoughts as a result. As I began to share with them how Jesus’ Cross is a ransom for sinners, a boy named Andrew said, “I don’t think anyone should be able to……..[Read More]

God’s salvation does not depend on seeing a thing. Life itself is an invisible force. No one can invent even a grain of sand from nothing. It’s all just here by divine fiat. Not a single human eye saw the heavens and the earth materialize, yet it’s all present. Think of just how few people……..[Read More]

When a runner begins a race, he or she has something on their mind. If possible, it’s victory in the race. Perhaps they’ve won a race before. Perhaps they’ve only seen victory in their mind’s eye before. But they start with the finish in mind. Presuming that you did, reader, why did you begin with……..[Read More]

No one believes because they’ve seen. All who soundly know God and God’s ways know that nothing converts except conversion. This life, between the Fall and the Second Coming, has a design all its own. We don’t see God face to face in this life. Matthew 5:8 contains the great promise of one day seeing……..[Read More]

Reflections on the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 23 Aug 14 began a perhaps unbroken, orderly, and personal journey through my favorite written confession of faith. These are my personal reflections on this beloved historic Particular Baptist confession of the Christian Faith. NEXT (AND LAST)- Chapter 32: Of the Last Judgment. Paragraph 3: “As Christ……..[Read More]

Reflections on the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 23 Aug 14 began a perhaps unbroken, orderly, and personal journey through my favorite written confession of faith. These are my personal reflections on this beloved historic Particular Baptist confession of the Christian Faith. NEXT- Chapter 32: Of the Last Judgment. Paragraph 2: “The end of God’s……..[Read More]

Reflections on the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 23 Aug 14 began a perhaps unbroken, orderly, and personal journey through my favorite written confession of faith. These are my personal reflections on this beloved historic Particular Baptist confession of the Christian Faith. NEXT- Chapter 32: Of the Last Judgment. Paragraph 1: “God hath appointed a……..[Read More]

Reflections on the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 23 Aug 14 began a perhaps unbroken, orderly, and personal journey through my favorite written confession of faith. These are my personal reflections on this beloved historic Particular Baptist confession of the Christian Faith. NEXT- Chapter 31. Of the State of Man after Death and of the……..[Read More]

Today, I end a 26-year worldwide journey. I’ll spare you the details. As I ease out of my now empty office in Texas, I’m reminded of so many things in this bittersweet hour. There’s one thought I’m grateful to share with you, readers. I look around me and I’m surrounded by modern blessings. Wonderful things!……..[Read More]

I’ve noticed that people never seek proof for what they love. Faith is always something already at work in us. A great tactic of the enemies in our day is to *pretend* to reverse this in the minds of secularists (various loves already afoot) to claim to only want “proof” of what opposes their faith……..[Read More]

Reflections on the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 23 Aug 14 began a perhaps unbroken, orderly, and personal journey through my favorite written confession of faith. These are my personal reflections on this beloved historic Particular Baptist confession of the Christian Faith. NEXT- Chapter 31. Of the State of Man after Death and of the……..[Read More]