Articles

Articles

Seriousness In Children and Teens

It is increasingly obvious that children and young people in many evangelical churches are anything but serious about Christ. There are notable exceptions, but in many churches a cursory look at the behavioral signals put out by the young people reveal a profound disinterest. On the one hand there is a sort of giddiness and silliness by some who believe that church is there only to provide them a place for enjoying friends and impressing the opposite sex. On the…

We Need the Spirit

We Need the Spirit The Holy Spirit “came upon” individual disciples in the New Testament, giving them great power most notably in the effectiveness of their speech. The Spirit also “filled” believers multiple times with the same effect. This is especially seen in the repeated experience of Peter in Acts. These are two ways of saying the same thing. We should think of “filled” as being overcome or dominated by the Spirit. Paul instructed the Ephesians like this: “Do not…

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…

Imagine This: God’s Astonishing Thoughts About You

Imagine God planning the universe, intending to make the field of his great interest the world he would make. He envisioned establishing a kingdom for His Son, and in his own mind he populated that kingdom with people of his own choice to become his adopted children through the Son for the praise of his glorious grace. You are among those he chose to bless in Christ who would redeem you, forgiving every sin you would ever commit, making you…

An Encouraging Tale About Trepidatiously Reading Scripture Publicly

Jackson was a newly married young man who had been converted as a teenager and had eagerly participated in his local church ever since. One Saturday evening, as he and his wife were finishing a documentary, he got a call from one of his pastors. “Hi Jackson, this is Matt. How are you, brother?” “I’m great, Pastor Matt. What’s going on?” “Well, Lucas was going to read Scripture tomorrow in our meeting, but he has a fever and won’t make…

Check Your Guns at the Door: Responding Like Christians to Social Media, Blogs and Web Forums

Those of us who have a ministry of writing are usually pretty tough folks. Many of us have been in the combat zone for quite a while and can take almost anything that is said by readers of our articles. This short is more about my embarrassment for all of us who are web-interactive Christians than it is for my own hide. In short, I’m appealing for etiquette characteristic of believers in reader’s responses to articles, blog entries, and social…

An Appeal to Churches to Use Bibles

I’ll never forget my shock the first time I attended a Bible-less church. My kind of church was a Bible-teaching one and Bibles were standard operating equipment. The last word I heard as I got in the car to drive to church was, “Jimmy, do you have your Bible?” A child might forget his belt or socks, but never his Bible. Just as dutifully, the church children found their mothers after the church meeting to load her up with their…

THE CONVERSION OF DAVID BRAINERD: INSTRUCTIVE TO THOSE EXPERIENCING THE RECENT COLLEGE/SEMINARY REVIVALS

As an illustration of the revelaton of the glory of God being instrumental in conversion and subsequent exuberant ministry, read David Brainerd’s story below. Our view of revival is the same as our view of conversion. God can break in to reveal himself any time he wishes in order to glorify himself, the only one deserving glory. This is what I hope is happening now in some lives related to the current stirring work in the colleges and seminaries and…

Appearances of Jesus to Paul

Paul saw Christ. There, on the road to Damascus in Syria the future apostle met up with a vision of Christ that shaped his entire future, the future of the Christian world, and of the world in general. Later, in his defense to King Agrippa, he recalled what Christ said to him on that day: “But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have APPEARED to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not…

The “I Pray That” Prayer

What are we saying when we pray like this — “I pray that you will make yourself known to us in this meeting”? We intend to ask the Lord for something, but we are actually telling the Lord what we are asking. Perhaps it is hard even to catch this problem because it so ingrained in our methodology. It would be wise to correct this. There is a difference between prayer which is direct from believers’ hearts to the Father…

Memories of Apartheid

Memories of Apartied Years ago in what was then called a “Colored Township” in Capetown, South Africa, I wondered at the hatred that caused that circular black burn mark on the street close to the front door of the gentle believers who had opened their hearts and home to me. What causes a person to “necklace” another with a flaming tire? In those days of both Apartheid and tribal strife, nerves were strained. Many mornings in that enchanting country we…

7 Ways to Develop Younger Believers

At the end of his life, Paul wrote these warm words to Timothy: “As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy” (Second Timothy 1:4). When Timothy first joined Paul’s team (cf. Acts 16:1f), Paul was about 50 and Timothy was perhaps 20. By the time Paul wrote these words of longing to see Timothy, they had served together for over a decade, and Paul was close to death. Have you ever…

Christians and No Work Sundays

Believers haven’t always had Sundays free from work. Though our culture is changing in this regard, it still is largely expected that most of our members will be exempt from Sunday work to give attention to our worship. The earliest Christians did not have such a privilege. Though surely some believed that it should be so prior to this, it appears that “work free Sundays” were imposed upon the Roman society through an A.D. 321 decree of the Roman Emperor…

A Common but Misguided Perception: Our Worthiness

It is misguided and a dangerous misconception to base God’s acceptance of you on your worthiness, or attempt to comfort others with the concept that, “underneath it all, you are actually beautiful in character, and therefore truly deserving of God’s love.” Why? 1. You aren’t, and the Bible makes that very clear. Though all people are created in the image of God, all of us are sinful, abusing our status, both by nature and behavior and are therefore deserving of…

Spiritual Adultery and the Grace to be Restored

Are you sinning often but professing to love the Lord? Though the fruit of constant sin against God can indicate a lost condition, true believers can also sin in awful ways. James has a helpful word for us in James 4:4-10. On the one hand the solution is difficult but on the other hopeful. Here it is: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” Let’s look closer at what James is teaching here. It’s too important to…