All Posts (Page 34)
Anti-depressants and Spiritual Conviction
Taking the Edge Off My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low. This passage is from Psalm 38, which is subtitled, “Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.” Ladies, have you ever felt as David did when he wrote these words? Have you ever had a burden of guilt too heavy to bear? Remember now a time when you…
Recent Travels to Africa, 2007
Benjamin hunkered Vietnamese-like at the Dulles Airport gate, sick at his stomach. It did not seem to matter that people were passing on either side of him to get into the transport which would take us to our plane. The flu passed to each of us over the next few days. This is the way Jim, Benjamin and Bryan Elliff began our latest trip to Africa. It was not an auspicious start. We were greeted by my friend, Martin Holdt,…
Seeking Miraculous Healings: Musings and Cautions
“While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man [Christ] was true” (John 10:41). Could anyone doubt that God was powerfully at work through the life of John the Baptist? Jesus said there was none like him (Matt. 11:11) and assigned him a strategic place of importance in the unfolding history of redemption. Like many great saints to follow, he did not do any miracles. Should we consider the miraculous essential to our Christianity? Yes, of course,…
Vacation Bible School and the Doctrine of Hell
Vacation Bible School (VBS) was nearly upon us, and the children’s ministry workers had gathered for a final preparatory meeting. Anticipation filled the room as we eagerly awaited the opportunity to minister to the precious little souls that the Lord would send our way. Thankfully, we would be using curriculum that faithfully proclaimed the Gospel. The meeting was progressing well until a “pillar” in the church suggested that we “avoid speaking about hell and judgment and those types of things…
What You Can Do When Your Church is Failing
You’re stuck. The church you once loved is now sliding downhill. Some are disgruntled, leadership is faltering, attendance is low, fellowship is almost non-existent, and interest in improvement is weak. Even the building reflects the neglect of dispassionate saints. What should you do? I realize the problem is systemic, but there are some things that may yet be done to revitalize the church. I’m not going to give you the main things (restoring regenerate membership, establishing church discipline, promoting forgiveness,…
Gregory Boyd’s Escaping the Matrix — A Critical Review
Boyd, Gregory A. and Larson, Al, Escaping the Matrix, Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2005. Spiritual Formation; 211 pages. I must admit that I was a bit intimidated when someone suggested that I read and review this book. Escaping the Matrix is directed to Christians, but it is also related to clinical counseling, and I am not professionally trained in that field. I am a former police officer, a pastor, and an editorial assistant for another Christian ministry. Greg Boyd, on…
Here’s the Skinny on Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday is another name for Mardis Gras, the raucous annual parade and party held in the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana. The tradition is many centuries old and was originally known as Carnival. It is held in various places around the world under different names. Mardis Gras (or Fat Tuesday) is the American version. Carnival comes from a combination of Latin words meaning “farewell to the flesh.” There is a great deal of irony in that name because Fat…
How Should We Get a Crowd for the Gospel?
The title expresses one of the two main questions concerning evangelism that are before us at this time in our history. The other question is, “What is the gospel?” That question has been discussed in relation to the Lordship controversy some years earlier, the current New Perspective issue, and the ongoing Calvinism/Arminianism debate. A lot hangs in the balance on these various viewpoints, and evangelistic practice is governed by which side you are on even if you are not aware…
Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus – A Critical Review
Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. $24.95, 242 pp. ISBN 0-06-073817-0 Contrary to what the title might suggest, Bart Ehrman’s book Misquoting Jesus is not primarily about sayings of Jesus that have been “misquoted.” Ehrman’s preferred title was “Lost in Transmission,” reflecting his personal opinion that much of the original wording of the New Testament has been “lost” through the inaccuracies of the early scribes who hand-copied the…
The Negotiables
I am a lover of the local church in any form I find it, provided we mean the same thing by “church.” I’ve had forty years of ministry in all kinds of churches, internationally and here in the States. I have seen some great ones and some very sad, sickly ones—and that has little to do with size. If it is a true church, however, I’m for it and wish to see it flourish. I’ve not lost my enthusiasm for…
Reading Our Children: Is There Somebody Alive in There?
I have tried to say with as much clarity as possible, and often, that the assurance a person has that he or she is actually a Christian does not have to do with praying a prescribed prayer, being affirmed by a Christian leader, walking an aisle, signing a card or raising a hand, but whether that person has life from God. An unregenerate person does not have this life, even if he is religious. A child who is unregenerate, for…
What Do You Do With Immorality?
When the apostle Paul heard that there was immorality in the Corinthian church, he was shocked. The brand of immorality was of such a kind that the sensibilities of the pagan world would even be offended—”a man has his father’s wife”. But his amazement was mostly because the church tolerated it as a badge of honor. The church had so distorted the meaning of love that it was proud of its acceptance of such persons. “And you are arrogant. Ought…
Understanding the Death of Christ (Part 2) – "Basic Truth" series, #8 (cont.)
A Finished Work As we learned in the last issue of Basic Truth, Jesus did not come to merely make men savable. He came to “save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). As Jesus said of Himself, “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10, cf. Ezek. 34:11-15). It is necessary here to distinguish between secured salvation and applied salvation. On the cross, Jesus secured the salvation that is applied…
Thinking and Speaking Biblically about The Providence of God, Part 2
Part 2: Speaking Biblically “God had nothing to do with September 11th.” Those words were reportedly spoken by a pastor in the days following the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. Whether they were actually spoken as reported or not, I do not know. I certainly disagree with them. But they raise a good question: If it is biblical to understand, as I tried to affirm in Part 1 of this article, that God in His providence is the “Author”…
Thinking and Speaking Biblically about The Providence of God, Part 1
Part 1: Thinking Biblically “Providence” is a theological term describing God’s preserving, sustaining, ordering, ruling, and governing of His creation. Many have used the word “meticulous” to describe the extent of God’s providence. “Meticulous” providence depicts God as ordering and directing everything—every detail in the universe. According to this understanding, every event in nature and every human action and decision is according to God’s decree and purpose. There are a number of biblical texts which affirm this view. For example,…
Thinking and Speaking Biblically About The Love of God for Man, Part 2
Part 2: Speaking Biblically1 On a Christian radio station, a speaker recently declared: “God loves you so much that if He had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.” Messages like this are not hard to find these days. People are inundated with images of God’s love that picture Him in heaven, longingly looking down at the human race and wringing His hands, hoping every single person will realize just how much He loves them and how desperately He…