Losing a pet is heartbreaking. It’s a reminder of the effects of the fall––in death and mourning. Several people in the church family have lost pets within the past six months, and I didn’t know that we would be added to that number. There’s been a lot of sadness attended with the loss of these pets, and additional ministry, in seeking to care for those going through such a trial. While pets aren’t people, they do live with you and add life to your family. When they aren’t around anymore, there is a void. Even a full home can feel empty for a season. ...
In a day and age where history books are being rewritten on a mass scale, and where all too many advocate that your truth, my truth, it’s anybody's truth, it is unsurprising that through new legislation there is a direct attack on the Bible. While H. R. 6090, The Antisemitism Awareness Act, is not a law at present, it has passed in the House without much opposition (320 votes to 91) and will almost certainly pass through the Senate and to President Biden to become a new law. ...
If you lived 2000 years ago and were in the city of Corinth, you didn’t have 800 churches around you to choose from like you do today in Austin, Texas. Now, I am not trying to say that all 800 are true churches or that all churches are the same, in fact, that’s one of the reasons I thought it might be helpful to write here. While some people are saved in a local church and then continue serving there until they are called to glory, most Christians have been on a church search before for one of three reasons: doctrine, ethical matters, or preferences. ...
Have you ever wondered when people began to call Good Friday “good”? There are many adjectives to choose from, so how did we land there? It could have, theoretically been called, “Tragic Friday,” “Suffering Friday,” “Dark Friday,” or even as a program my daughters were watching a couple days back referred to it as, “the Long, Sad Friday.” But it isn’t ordinarily called any of those. When did Good Friday become Good Friday and why? ...
what do the Scriptures teach about the topic of women teaching others theology? Are there particular restrictions and should the practice happen at all? It does seem that in an effort to move away from women teaching men, the pendulum has swung all the way to the other side of the spectrum where women shouldn’t teach women about the Scriptures at all (at least in some people’s minds). So, what does God say? ...
There are twin dangers that we face as believers. The first danger is in viewing sin too highly. The second danger is in seeing sin too lowly. I have seen both errors within Christ’s church… and I have seen them both within myself. There is a fine line that we walk in this life, and it’s easy to fall on one side or the other. ...
On the day of Jesus’ betrayal… a question arises. What is Jesus worth? It’s such a simple, yet profound question. What is Jesus worth? Make no mistake about it, it’s one that you have already answered in your mind and you display it with your life. In a moment of honest reflection, what is your answer? Here’s one of the proposed answers in the Bible… thirty pieces of silver (cf. Zech 11:12–13; Matt 26:15; 27:9). ...
There is no higher calling in this world than to live for Christ. When you wake up tomorrow morning, using this verse or others, actively seek to dawn this mentality. Live for Jesus, display Jesus to others, tell others about Jesus, being reminded that this life is a vapor that is here and then vanishes. Make the most of the time God has granted us on earth. As CT Studd once said, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be, If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”...
...I wanted to make a few comments from Acts 13 that I think will help give us some additional perspective not only on the Asbury revival but on others like it. ...
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....
With all of the media attention and information surrounding the coronavirus, we may sometimes be led to believe that we as Christians are pioneering a new frontier. The church certainly is not in a position of normalcy. You might have thought to yourself before, has the church ever been in a situation quite like this? What would the apostle Paul, Martin Luther, or John C...
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