All Posts (Page 11)
The Rural Church Dilemma
Some time ago I drove to several small towns in rural Arkansas with my 89 year old father and my siblings, tracking the steps of the ministry of both my dad and his father. The experience was memorable. We visited small towns that even Arkansans might not recognize today: Cotter, Caledonia, Hagersville, Greenwood, LaVaca—twelve in all. These were the places where my father, and his father, labored for Christ eighty and ninety years ago. Much has changed in the landscape…
Five Resolves for Personal Revival
Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 (NAS) Do you wish to be an instrument in the hands of God? Do you want to see God’s power at work through you? Do you long for your…
Giving Our Books Away: Your Letter From Jim
Since I wrote you last, we’ve made a big decision as a ministry. We’ve decided that we will give our books and other materials away gratis. Below is an explanation we have posted online. I hope you will not only read it, but will also order those items you wish to read and to use strategically for the expanse and maturing of Christ’s kingdom. In this way, we share in your lives and ministry to others, and you in ours. Together…
To Obtain the Inheritance
The inheritance for the Christian begins with eternal life, a transformed body, new heavens and a new earth, and extends literally to all there is. We are co-heirs with Christ, meaning all that Christ has received in his ascension, we have received. The realization of all that will not come until later, yet it is ours. We will reign under him over all the universe! Jesus told his disciples to not be afraid of provisional lack because “God has chosen…
As It Is In All the World: Gospel Effects
“ . . . The gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing,even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf . . .” Colossians 1:5-7 This describes how the gospel came…
Packing for Eternity
I travel a lot for our ministry, Christian Communicators Worldwide. I love meeting new people and facing the challenges of leading them into new dimensions of Bible understanding. Years ago a veteran traveler and Christian statesman, J. Oswald Sanders, told me at about 90 years of age that it wasn’t the ministry he had all around the world that was so difficult, but rather, it was “getting there” that was the most tedious part. This author and former head of…
Give Me Justice!
Jesus was telling the people why they should always pray and not lose heart. A woman, in his story, cried out to the impatient, unrighteous judge for justice from her opponent. She kept asking until he relented and acted in her favor. He tired of listening to her incessant pleas. “Now,” Jesus said, “will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and yet He is very patient with them”. In other words,…
The Abiding Life is the True Christian Life
The abiding life is the true Christian life. Jesus said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:6) John 15 gives us the pattern for spiritual growth and effectiveness as believers. In the passage, we are called branches, Christ is the vine, and the Father is the vinedresser. What are the characteristics of authentic branches?…
Christianity and a Word from Moby Dick: Your Letter from Jim
My oldest son, Benjamin, and I just finished simultaneously reading the classic, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. We read individually, slowly, in spare moments, and sometimes in strange places, but with sustained interest. It was R. C. Sproul’s favorite book (see here). Behind his desk was an oil painting of Moby Dick, the indomitable white whale, himself. I often read single paragraphs in the book containing several words I did not know, but were inviting to learn. Among them were numerous terms…
Our CCW Books Are Now Free. Why?
We have given tens of thousands of our books and ministry tools away over the years. In the beginning of our ministry we gave everything away, but we were mostly giving away pamphlets and booklets. As we began to publish more books, and were upgrading to better quality printing and binding, we decided that we needed to work with a price structure that would allow booksellers to sell our books also, to help us disseminate our works better. So, for…
This Mystery is Profound: Why Are You Married?
Perhaps you have never thought of marriage as a mystery, even though you might sometimes make humorous (or not so humorous) jabs about not being able to understand your spouse. “I’ll never understand you!” is not an uncommon phrase in most homes. But marriage itself is not a mystery, even if you think your spouse is. The institution itself is as common as a potato. After all, since time on earth began, people have been “marrying and giving in marriage.” Even…
The Unforgivable Sin: What Could It Possibly Mean?
There is much that is difficult to understand about the unforgiveable sin. In one place (perhaps only one application), Jesus is instructing his disciples about their future ministry. He says, “And everyone who speaks a word against [blasphemes] the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him” (Lk 12:10). Since Jesus came to live as a perfectly responsive human (though He was God, Phil 2:11), the…