Articles
“I Forgive Him”: The Potency of Forgivness
The wife of Charlie Kirk, Erika, said with much emotion that she forgives her husband’s assassin. “I forgive him” were words which powerfully impacted the thousands in the arena and millions streaming during the memorial service for her husband. She meant, of course, that she would not personally avenge herself of her husband’s blood. That would be God’s business. Surely the following passage of Scripture was in her mind: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.…
The Story of a Boy Who Couldn’t Learn and then Died for His Friends
Don McClure was a missionary in Eastern Africa from 1928 until 1977, when he was shot and killed by militants in eastern Ethiopia. While living in a particular village, he and his wife, Lyda, provided schooling and housing for boys. One year, they were expecting 80, but 150 appeared. They somehow managed to take in 120. Among those who stayed was a boy named Orop, known for his completely flat head on top. Though eager, Orop was unable to learn.…
The Last Act
Violence is the inevitable dénouement to pervading (especially sexual) corruption in society—the last act. God showed us that he hates it and that he will remove it justly when he comes again. Until then, seek to be like Noah. Live by faith in Christ our Savior, preach the gospel that cleanses from sin’s pollution and subdues its power, and wait patiently for his coming. “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And…
Could God Bring Awakening Among Progressive Churches?
“I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 I do sincerely understand that form of compassion and optimism of those who believe the opposite of what Jesus said about himself. They wish to put the circle of God’s acceptance around all of mankind. Everyone is in. They believe this is truer to the God they want to follow, less embarrassing before the world, properly removes the awful stigma…
Your Favorite Famous Bible Teacher
Renowned Bible teachers are immediately accessible online. Thousands of their sermons are available at no charge. Some of these men speak at multiple conferences throughout the year and might even influence thousands daily. Do you have a favorite famous Bible teacher? Have you ever considered what place he should have in your life? Consider these three guiding principles: 1. Keep learning from him. God uses certain men in extraordinary ways for the growth of His kingdom. The Spirit is empowering…
The Painful Course of Inclusivism Without Repentance
Though one can in some ways understand the desire to be inclusive (without repentance) in the name of love as espoused in most mainline churches, it is a sad pattern that has emerged by that conviction —- the more inclusive they have become, the more they disintegrate. This pattern has been almost painful to watch, as literally millions have left these churches while they press on to disregard the true exclusivity of the gospel, that is, the good news that…
The Word Was In the World: Doing What?
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” Jn 1:10 We know that the “Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (v 14), and that He “explained” the Father (v 18), but what was the Son doing before all this? I believe, properly understood, that John 1 teaches that He was in the world. He was, in fact, God (“the Word was God,” v 1), so He was…
What It Means to Praise the Lord: a Brief Primer
If I say, “I just want to praise you, Lord,” I’m saying something good about my motives. If I say, “I praise you, Lord,” I’m describing my good actions. If I say, “Thank you Lord for answering my prayer,” I have not praised him, but thanked him. If I say, “Praise the Lord!” I’ve asked others to say something to honor him. If I say, “Lord, you alone know the future and will accomplish all your plan,” I have praised…
Three Tragic Consequences of Falling Back in Love With This Present Age
One man often comes to my mind when I think about people I’ve seen fall away from the Lord. He was so zealous for Jesus when I baptized him. His fervor lasted for several years. But then he started hanging out with the wrong people and became enslaved to alcohol. As a school teacher, he would even show up for class “buzzed” from the night before. I crossed paths with this man once and pled with him to repent. I’m…
Two Kingdoms: How Christians View Their Citizenship
The greater reality as believers is that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God and of His Christ (Anointed King) and are therefore aliens in the world. This first reality competes with a second one: we are temporary citizens of a country in this world and are not yet physically in the Kingdom of God as it will be when our King returns and sets it in order. We should not be unconcerned for our temporary country where God…
The Lord’s Prayer: Something is Missing
It turns out that the Lord’s Prayer does not model every aspect of prayer. Thanksgiving and intercession, two aspects of prayer which characterize both Christ’s and Paul’s prayers, are strangely missing. A key may be in Mt. 6:8 just before the model prayer: “FOR THE LORD KNOWS WHAT YOU HAVE NEED OF BEFORE YOU ASK HIM.” It appears that the model prayer demonstrates sincerity and brevity related to our prayers about our NEEDS. ——- “And when you pray, you must…
Audacious Prayer
Christians must be people who pray with audacity, not because we deserve an answer, but because God will give it. When one of Jesus’ followers requested of Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples,” Jesus’ response was two-fold. He first gave an example of how we ought to pray, and then he told a story about a man who desired bread from a friend. “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to…
Hard Work: The Spurgeon Way
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the renowned preacher of London in the 1800s, was not only a gifted leader, but was a hard worker. By the time most pastors write a few emails, wrestle with the dates for VBS and read the junk mail, Spurgeon would have completed a mountain of tasks. For instance, each week he preached several times (often 10), trained pastors in the pastor’s college, wrote several hundred letters (“I’m immersed to my chin in letters.”), led an elders’…
Watch the Wine: Being “Christ’s Nazarites”
Samson was a Nazirite. His hair was to be uncut and he was to drink no wine (even grape juice) or liquor. For him, the vow of the Nazirite was to last all his life. He didn’t carry out his vow, a commitment entered into by his parents prior to his birth, but he is perhaps the most colorful illustration of it. John the Baptist was made a Nazirite from his mother’s womb. Luke tells us: “For he will be…
How Much Suffering Can You Take?
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:3-4) You have suffered — some — if you are among the godly followers of Jesus. The suffering that is described in the passage above is not the kind that comes with cancer or car wrecks, but that which is associated with adverse…
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…