Why is Good Friday... "Good"?
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? ...
Should Women Teach Theology to Women?
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? ...
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
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. ...
The Price of Unrighteousness
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). ...
Life and Death
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.”...
A Picture of Revival
...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. ...
A Prayer to Remember
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......
Blessed Assurance
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. ...
Glory in the Garden
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....
From Vanity Fair to "Well Done"
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. ...
Good and Evil
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 ReadingThe Precious Promise of No
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 ReadingExpository Singing
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 ReadingReflections Concerning a Flower of the Soul
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 ReadingIt's the Most Glorious Time of the Year
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 ReadingThe Plagues of Church History
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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