Posts from October 2026
Anathema: 1 Corinthians 16:22
“Let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed.” (1 Cor 16:22, NET) This verse seems to dangle there with no immediately apparent connection to what precedes it or follows. Paul placed this thought in the very last handful of sentences in the first letter to the Corinthians. He’s given the readers some final punctuated reminders to end up his long epistle. It has a strength there, even if all alone. But maybe it’s not totally alone. It’s…
The Son Sent
Jesus came from the Father, not sent from God like John the Baptist, or like Jesus sent the disciples, or like Paul sent Timothy, but uniquely sent from the Father himself having for eternity past enjoyed the glory of heaven, the glory of unbroken communion with the Father, and the glory of his own existence. “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. “I have manifested your…
God Doesn’t Need You
“He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17 Paul on Mars Hill in Athens proclaimed the entire self-sufficiency of God. We are his body, it is true, which is the fullness or completion of the Head. He uses us. But he needs nothing from us. Let that sink in. We do not add to him in any way, but rather, he gives…
The Surpassing Worth of KNOWING Christ
Most do not understand the implications and ramifications of KNOWING Christ. It has a comparative value. Notice what one like Paul will forfeit to know Christ. I’m quoting only part of the long sentence, but it conveys what I want you to see: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered…
An Outline for Understanding Issues of Conscience and Legalism
Most of us have seen the movie “Chariots of Fire” and have been greatly encouraged by the example of Eric Liddell who refused to compete in races on Sunday. But if a Christian held a different position regarding what is allowed on Sunday, could that believer be just as dedicated to Christ with his differing opinion? Convictions of personal conscience are those areas where a strict absolute is not laid down for us in the Bible. Having such personal convictions…
FORGETTING LABELS
I hope it’s a sign of becoming more heavenly-minded to find myself uninterested in labels among true believers any more. When we’re the next world, what possible difference could they make? What good are they now, except to create division, end conversation, and promote loyalties that may diffuse our true loyalty to Christ alone? I don’t mean Bible TRUTHS are unimportant, or that they shouldn’t be talked out passionately—just that it seems more consistent to be Bible Christians than system…
Nine Characteristics of Biblical Prayer
True prayer is not merely a matter of saying the right words. Biblical prayer is characterized and motivated by the right attitude-right thinking about the greatness of God, the beauty of Christ, and our own unworthiness and weakness. Ask yourself if your prayers are characterized by: An Understanding of Your Own Insignificance and Sinfulness When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought…
My Friend’s in Hell
John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, said that is “better to be born a toad than to die unconverted.” Why? Because toads don’t go to hell and humans do. The subject of hell is so solemn that our natural instinct is to either ignore it or reject it. Yet, like the cancer patient before his doctor, it is better to hear the whole truth. Once a woman told me, with an nervous giggle, that she “guessed it would be…
What is a Missionary?
What is a missionary? He is not only an evangelist because there is a such person as an evangelist that God has gifted and given to the churches. But he must at least be sincerely, consistently and powerfully evangelistic, because it is out of new converts that he will begin churches. He isn’t only a teacher, because there is such a person as a teacher that God has given to the churches. But he is no less than a very…