It is a faithful saint who goes to the Lord privately in prayer on behalf of another. That is splendid. Having said that, if that’s all we do, I do believe that there is more joy to be had if one additional step is taken, which I have already alluded to. As beautiful as it is to come before the sovereign Lord to speak to Him, it comes full circle when we let the person that we’ve prayed for know of this reality......
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Scriptures are clear that the Lord desires for you to have assurance concerning your salvation. Put differently, if you belong to Him, He wants you to be confident in that reality. We know this from 1 John 5:13, where John says concerning what he wrote in his letter, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” John wants the church to be confident in the eternal life that they possess. If that’s John’s desire, which is God’s desire per 2 Pet 1:19–21, then how is his purpose statement accomplished? How can believers be confident in their eternal life? That’s what we’re going to speak about in this article. ...
I believe that Jesus’ placement in the garden is an intentional, providential, God-inspired, connection back to the garden of Eden (cf. 2 Tim 3:16–17. Jesus rises from the dead as the greater Adam who succeeded where Adam failed, and He will reign forevermore over His Edenic kingdom on earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords....
If you want to survive… if you want to thrive spiritually in the midst of Vanity Fair, amid this world, Bunyan, building upon the logic of Scripture, gives you seven lessons of faithfulness that show you how to successfully navigate the world. All of which revolve around obeying our Lord. ...
Repentance as seen in the gospel is ______. How would you finish that statement?...
The words good and evil appear in 55 verses in the Bible. Some notable examples include Prov 15:3, “The eyes of Yahweh are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.” Is 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Amos 5:15, “Hate evil, love good…,” Matt 5:44–45, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good…,” you get the idea. Those words appear in frequency nearly once per book of the Bible, together in a verse. Yet, there is an expression that exists far less frequently in the Bible that I want to give a view towards in this article. It’s the expression of “good and evil” in that particular order. That line only occurs seven times in the Bible and is linguistically distinct from other usages. I think we would all do well to see the progression on display and the God-intended connections that should be made back to the Garden of Eden. ...
Right now, my wife and I have a three-year-old in the home. I do not think of the word “no” as a precious word all that often, though I hear it quite often. It’s also not a word that I think of as a promise all that much within the context of my daily life, given that it’s infrequently used in that way. At first glance, you might have thought we’d be speaking about the precious promise of yes. We will begin there, but the purpose of this article is to speak about a glorious, divine no....
Over the past few decades, there has been a tremendous emphasis placed upon exposition in the church. The benefits of this are too many to count. A revival has taken place where a number of churches have moved away from a surface level study of God’s word (like skipping a rock on the ocean), to an in-depth comprehensive study of the text––exposition (like dropping an anchor down to the ocean floor)....
They say that April showers bring May flowers. While there are a number of flowers that have popped up over the last couple of months, as many of you know in central Texas, it’s usually May showers that bring June flowers. There’s quite a bit more rainfall in May than in April or March. It’s always beautiful seeing the Indian paintbrushes, Indian blankets, and pink evening primroses rise up and cover the fields. The scenery from our God far surpasses even the most alluring Bob Ross paintings, as the landscape is dotted with radiant colors that seem to dance with the wind. But as you know with flowers, as beautiful as the bright reds, the vibrant oranges, and the glowing pinks are… they do not last for long. That is especially true in the middle of a Texas summer. The rains have usually gone, and the heat scorches the once blooming and thriving floral landscapes. The colorful vista becomes light brown, with a dull green intermingled. Something similar can occur within us, it’s something we are prone to in our fallenness. When the heat of trials are turned up and the fires are stoked, a certain flower that is designed to remain constant in the Christian life, begins to wither in us all at particular moments in time. The flower that I am speaking of is that of Christian contentment. Yet, it is a flower that does not have to fade or droop over from exasperation. ...
While the world around us celebrates bunny rabbits, colorful plastic eggs, chocolate bars, and large family meals… we celebrate sorrow and love that flow mingled down; we celebrate the precious flow that makes us white as snow; we celebrate that on the cross Jesus paid it all, and all to Him we owe, and that while sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow....
It is a faithful saint who goes to the Lord privately in prayer on behalf of another. That is splendid. Having said that, if that’s all we do, I do believe that there is more joy to be had if one additional step is taken, which I have already alluded to. As beautiful as it is to come before the sovereign Lord to speak to Him, it comes full circle when we let the person t...
Keep Reading If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Scriptures are clear that the Lord desires for you to have assurance concerning your salvation. Put differently, if you belong to Him, He wants you to be confident in that reality. We know this from 1 John 5:13, where John says concerning what he wrote in his letter, “These things I have written to you who believe in th...
Keep Reading I believe that Jesus’ placement in the garden is an intentional, providential, God-inspired, connection back to the garden of Eden (cf. 2 Tim 3:16–17. Jesus rises from the dead as the greater Adam who succeeded where Adam failed, and He will reign forevermore over His Edenic kingdom on earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords....
Keep Reading If you want to survive… if you want to thrive spiritually in the midst of Vanity Fair, amid this world, Bunyan, building upon the logic of Scripture, gives you seven lessons of faithfulness that show you how to successfully navigate the world. All of which revolve around obeying our Lord. ...
Keep Reading The words good and evil appear in 55 verses in the Bible. Some notable examples include Prov 15:3, “The eyes of Yahweh are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.” Is 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Amos 5:15, “Hate evil, ...
Keep Reading Right now, my wife and I have a three-year-old in the home. I do not think of the word “no” as a precious word all that often, though I hear it quite often. It’s also not a word that I think of as a promise all that much within the context of my daily life, given that it’s infrequently used in that way. At first glance, you might have thought we’d be speaking ...
Keep Reading Over the past few decades, there has been a tremendous emphasis placed upon exposition in the church. The benefits of this are too many to count. A revival has taken place where a number of churches have moved away from a surface level study of God’s word (like skipping a rock on the ocean), to an in-depth comprehensive study of the text––exposition (like dropping an...
Keep Reading They say that April showers bring May flowers. While there are a number of flowers that have popped up over the last couple of months, as many of you know in central Texas, it’s usually May showers that bring June flowers. There’s quite a bit more rainfall in May than in April or March. It’s always beautiful seeing the Indian paintbrushes, Indian blankets, and pink e...
Keep Reading While the world around us celebrates bunny rabbits, colorful plastic eggs, chocolate bars, and large family meals… we celebrate sorrow and love that flow mingled down; we celebrate the precious flow that makes us white as snow; we celebrate that on the cross Jesus paid it all, and all to Him we owe, and that while sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow....
Keep Reading
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