When you are sinned against

You cannot keep people from sinning against you. You will be treated unjustly. You will be lied to and gossiped about. Ungodly accusations will be spoken against you — and said directly to you. Others will be angry with you — sometimes because they have misunderstood you and sometimes because they understood you. Sometimes people […]

Keep on

The pain of parenting is not greatest the first time a child commits a significant and serious violation of trust. It is when that child persists in his sin for years and decades. The greatest trouble for a cancer patient is not the first chemo treatment. It is the ongoing chemo treatments, followed by radiation, […]

Sunday Leftovers — what’s a young man to do?

If there is one thing a young man should do, he should be sensible. That is, he should be self-controlled, clear-headed, and sober-minded (Titus 2:6). Paul tells Titus six things an older man should be (2:2), four things an older woman is to be and do (2:3), and seven things that a young woman is […]

Praying for others

Ask any believer about his prayer life, and he will invariable acknowledge something like, “It’s not what it should be.” And as a pastor, I am not only called on to pray often, but prayer is actually part of my calling. You won’t find “prayer” in most pastoral job descriptions, but the apostles believed that […]

Despairing and troubled?

When you awakened this morning, did the day seem heavy? Did you awaken expecting the problems of yesterday to seem lighter and a resolution more likely only to feel as though the problem grew in dimension during the night, obscuring any possibility of hope? Despair and discouragement are not unusual. The psalmists felt those pains […]

Evangelistic attitudes

Yesterday, Ken Currie wrote this over at Desiring God: Evangelism is counter-cultural. It’s true everywhere on the planet, but perhaps it’s especially so in our increasingly post-Christian Western society. We live in a polite culture, for the most part. Talk about religion? You just don’t go there. Talk about how many tornadoes have come through, […]

What makes you thankful?

What makes you thankful? Our lists usually include things like family, a trouble-free day, an extra (unexpected) blessing or two, and our salvation. Since we are to be thankful for all things, those obviously are fine objects for our gratitude. But I have often been impressed by the things that stimulated Paul’s gratitude. And I […]

Do good Christians make bad citizens?

When greeting people in the foyer after a sermon, it’s not unusual for a preacher to wonder, “Just what did they hear today?” when someone says, “I liked it when you said…” and they proceed to tell the preacher something he said that he is quite sure he did not say. That curious wondering might […]

They’re listening…

When our children were young and curious about conversation between me and my wife, I would sometimes begin to venture into a topic that might be inappropriate for the girls, and Raye Jeanne would look at me and say, “Little pitchers have big ears…” It was her way of saying, “Be careful what you say […]

The benefits of conflict

We don’t (generally) like conflict. Typically, conflict is painful. We’ve been hurt by conflict. And we’ve hurt others in conflict. So it’s hard to affirm a statement like, “there are benefits to conflict.” Yet, when conflict is handled well, there are benefits to it. And Acts 15 demonstrates some of those benefits. This chapter recounts […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from around the Internet. This week’s articles focus mainly on the topics of technology and counseling: Timothy Raymond has a list of “20 Things Pastors Hear in Counseling.” How many of these are you equipped to help people address biblically? John Piper reminds us why the Psalms are so significant in counseling […]

Whom have I in heaven?

It has often been said, “don’t be so heavenly-minded you’re no earthly good.” That is, don’t think so much about heaven that you will be of no benefit on earth to those around you. In truth, most of us are so earthly-minded that we’re no heavenly good. We have put so much attention on the […]

Bragging rights

It’s been called “the Me Monster” — the insatiable desire to exalt oneself and boast in one’s accomplishments. A toddler will say, “Watch me, Mommy.” A mom might say, “I just got my child’s report card today…” A businessman will say, “I just closed the deal I’ve been working on for six months…” A pastor […]

Spiritual fruit defined

As you think about the presence of spiritual fruit in your life, consider the following definitions of the various aspects of the fruit mentioned in Galatians 5. Is this the kind of fruit that is being produced in your life? LOVE DEFINED: “Love is the commitment of my will and affections to your needs and […]

Are you growing in fruitfulness?

Are you growing in spiritual fruitfulness? There are many questions that can be asked to evaluate one’s spiritual life. (Don Whitney’s book, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health is a particularly helpful resource). But I ask this question because I think it encompasses many other questions that we might ask about the spiritual life, […]