Tag: Christian
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In the last two posts, we’ve been discussing the heart of fallen man and the New Covenant as the solution. When we look at the promises of the New Covenant against the needs of fallen humanity, we see that God has given the believer everything he or she needs to live in Christ (2 Peter…
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And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say…
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If you have watched the news recently, you likely have seen the stories of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan after twenty years of conflict. The images that came from the airport at Kabul were as shocking as those from the Vietnam era–and even more so. Desperate people clung to airplanes as they sought to…
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In the last post (“Christian or American,” 1/12/20), we asked some hard questions about the church and believers. We suggested that many parts of the American church are losing their biblical identity. We further suggested that this is because many churches have bought into the world’s ways of thinking, and that they have tied themselves…
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Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.You rebuke the insolent,…
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From the title of this post, you “might” conclude that you’re going to read about an encouragement to give to missions. Well, giving to missions is of course needed! “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never…
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[Note: This is part 4 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary That You May Know: The First Letter of John. During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
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Last week’s post (On Faith: Part 1) drew a broad outline of what faith means. This week we are going to begin looking at biblical faith. What does the Bible say about faith? In our discussions in this and other posts, we want to be careful not to go beyond what is written. Defining true…
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[Note: This is part 2 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary as.That You May Know: The First Letter of John During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
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There is a lot of talk about faith these days, both inside and outside the church. We speak of, “having faith,” “having enough faith,” “faith-based [instruction, care, etc.],” and others. It seems that much of the general population believes that faith is an okay word to talk about. It also seems that working definition of…
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[Note: This is part 1 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary That You May Know: The First Letter of John. During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
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If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.…
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Several years ago, I took part in an Easter Outreach with a local church. For several hours, we drove through local neighborhoods delivering a potted plant and asking people if we could pray for them. No donation, no “hey, come to my church” speeches. We just wanted to bless the folks of our neighborhoods. The…
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For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to…
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Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men (Matt. 2:16). In the…
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There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28). Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all (Col. 3:11) We have heard a…
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The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound . . . that they may be…
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Unlike most jobs that have a period of training before starting, the life of the disciple (and thus his calling) starts from the moment of salvation. Thus, the training we undergo is “on the job” training. We mentioned in previous pots that the Bible was given to us, among other reasons, to serve as our…
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Have you ever looked at the world through a frosted glass or frosted window? Perhaps you had those cool colored lenses (blue or red) that you could look at things through? We all have ‘lenses’ through which we view life. The Bible presents two different perspectives: that of the world, and that of the Kingdom.…
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After seeing the title of this post, you might be inclined to ask, “Law? What law? I thought we were under grace?” It is true, the believer is under grace, not law (Rom. 6:14). But it’s equally true that every Kingdom has laws and standards by which the subjects of the Kingdom live. As with…
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In thinking about growing in Christ, becoming like Him, the question might naturally come up, “What does (or should) a Christian look like?” What does it mean to be like Him? It doesn’t mean that we will be clones, “little Christs” running around. Being transformed into His image is more a matter of character and…
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All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Most of us know and believe (at least to some extent) that the Bible is the Christian’s guide to…
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And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:10-12). Few in the Christian community would doubt that we are seeing the fulfillment of these words…
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Recently I witnessed several conversations on social media between believers and those who either might be considered “liberals” or out-and-out unbelievers. I was, to be honest, shocked by the behavior and words I saw—mostly from the Christians. I shook my head, and felt as hurt as the Lord must feel. Judging by the words, I…
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In the previous post, we affirmed that there is something more needed in the believer’s life than correct doctrine. We said that the Spiritual Heart (the new heart received at salvation) longs to engage God and others in ways to show a new passion for Him. It’s the Holy Spirit who guides and directs the…