God’s knowledge: a preventative for sin

Keeping out of sin sometimes sounds easier than it is. After a passionate sermon on Sunday morning, it might seem inconceivable that one would ever knowingly choose sin again. But after a series of offenses from a boss on Monday afternoon, sin might seem the only viable and rational response. How can we keep from […]

Humbled by grace

Followed relentlessly by police officer Javert, Jean Valjean finds himself with a unique opportunity: another man has been accused of his crimes and is about to be convicted. And if the innocent man is convicted, Valjean will be free. The dilemma is, can he allow another man to be unjustly accused and imprisoned for the […]

The spiritual value of sickness

After recently preaching on Romans 8:28-29 and then listening to Keith’s lesson on how to pray for those who are suffering (“Praying in Light of Job”) this past Sunday, I came across this related counsel from J. C. Ryle: Sickness is meant… To make us think—to remind us that we have a soul as well […]

Dreaming of faithfulness

Have you ever had a dream? I have… When I was five, I dreamed of being a garbage man. When I was ten, I dreamed of being fifteen. When I was fifteen, I dreamed of being a baseball player. When I was twenty, I day-dreamed. When I was twenty-five, I dreamed of finishing school. When […]

God is not like us

I’ve been thinking much lately about how God uses difficulties, trials, and even sin for the accomplishment of His purposes and even for good in the lives of the believers (think Romans 8:28-29). Our tendency is to react defensively and with significant resistance to a statement like that. We struggle to accept that God works […]

A word to parents

If you’ve been a parent for a while one of two things is likely true — either you are confident in your role, knowing exactly what you need to do, or you have become thoroughly confused and you feel clueless. You may be like the dad who said, “Before I had children I had three […]

Something for every person

You have been a Christian for years. Ministry seemed intimidating at first, but you’ve been involved in your church for a number of years, you’ve volunteered in some civic organizations, and you have a fairly clear perspective on your spiritual giftedness and effectiveness. Ministry is much more natural now. Yet, while the patterns of life […]

Mark Talbot preaching on suffering

I have not yet listened to these messages given by Mark Talbot on suffering at the B. B. Warfield Memorial Lectures, but if they are anything like the message he gave at the Desiring God conference several years ago, this will be well worth hearing. (His message “Redemptive Curveballs,” given at Wheaton College is also […]

Two thoughts while reading Chronicles

This morning I began reading the two books of the Chronicles again. When reading these books, it’s easy to have your eyes become glassy and your mind distracted as you read name after name of unknown people. How can I read these verses in fresh ways so that the Lord uses this morning in redemptive […]

Truths to believe when suffering

We are more inclined to believe and enjoy and be satisfied with God’s sovereignty when we are in favorable circumstances. But what about when circumstances seem to be against us, when we are in difficulty, suffering, and even persecution? What then? What will we believe and cling to then? What will be our joy then? […]

Sunday Leftovers (7/10/11)

One writer has observed about the tendency not only of our culture but even believers, “We are willing to worship God only if God makes us safe. Thus you get the silly question, ‘How does a good God let bad things happen to good people?’” Too many want God only for the safety and comfort […]

Life under the sun

Solomon found life under the sun to be vanity. The pursuit of all the attractions of the world was empty and void of any sustaining meaning and hope. But all those activities found empty by Solomon are infused with meaning and fulfillment as they are redeemed by Christ. The believer in Christ finds them […]

Re-thinking forgiveness

For a word that is so deeply biblical, there is far too much unbiblical thinking and talking being done about forgiveness. And it is not only unbelievers who are communicating poorly about this rich truth. Believers also seem confused about the nature of forgiveness. This morning I came across two articles that address the topic […]

New sermon series

Having just finished the book of Ephesians last Sunday, I am being asked pretty regularly these days, “what are you preaching next?” I have several topical series in mind that I’d like to do soon, along with a couple of book studies (Titus probably later this year followed by Hebrews and/or 1 John). But next […]

Do we pray? Let us pray.

On Sunday morning, I said something like, “Our tendency is to talk about prayer, admit our weakness in prayer, accumulate prayer requests, and then not pray. (It’s doubtful any believer would disagree with that statement of our practice, including me.) It’s time to stop talking about praying and time to start praying.” Then yesterday I read […]