What’s your story of grace?

If you are a Christian — if you are a follower and lover of Jesus Christ — are you regularly, constantly, and presently aware of God’s grace in your life? How often do you think of God’s grace? How often do you meditate on what life might have been like without Christ? Are you quick […]

Who’s who in the early church

The apostle Paul’s letters often conclude with lists of greetings from or encouragements to particular people. The list of generally obscure names in Colossians 4 is typical and reveals the kinds of people God uses to accomplish his purposes. Consider Aristarchus, a captive man. He was from Thessalonica and went with Paul and Tychicus to […]

God’s lovingkindness is everlasting

Psalm 118 begins this way: Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Oh let Israel say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Oh let the house of Aaron say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Oh let those who fear the LORD say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (vv. 1-4) And it ends […]

Father, How Sweet

This week I’ve been thinking about the gift of our salvation, summed up in such simple words as “He saved us” (Titus 3:5). It was God’s kindness, love, and mercy that produced our salvation. We repeat those kinds of words frequently, but do we meditate on them and allow the weightiness of them to rest […]

Question of the day

This is paraphrased from a message by C. J. Mahaney, given at the recent Resolved Conference: Are you prone to identify evidences of grace in your church family more than criticisms of your church? What are those evidences of God’s grace in your church? It is worth taking a few minutes today to write down […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: Jon Bloom explains why “God is Merciful Not to Tell Us Everything: “Can you imagine how the disciples might have felt if the Lord had explained to them that he would not assume his earthly reign for another 2,000-plus years, during which the Church would gradually and with […]

Two words of grace

Grace has been defined as “undeserved blessing freely bestowed on man by God…” If that’s true (and I believe it is), the opening verses of Acts 8 do not appear to be very gracious. “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church […]

Grumbling about grace

It is a skill we begin to hone early in life. Its first manifestations are the belligerent screams of a demanding infant at feeding time (or diaper changing time or bath time or getting dressed time). By the time the child is a toddler, the screams morph into whines, mixed with occasion tears. In the […]

The innumerable works of God

Of all the attitudes that might be cultivated towards God, one of the most dangerous is complacency. Because God is majestic and supreme to be bored with Him is sin. Because God is infinitely gracious to all mankind and particularly gracious towards those who belong to Him, to take His work for granted is an […]

A complaint against Jesus

We may not admit it, but we like to complain. We are not unlike the Israelites, who escaped from the unjust wrath of Pharaoh and then complained that they didn’t have leeks, garlic, and cucumbers to eat (Num. 11:5). We complain about colds and cold weather — grumbling against God’s sovereignty in various sufferings and […]

Stories of grace in unusual places

Tell someone you have a story about grace and they will immediately think you received an unexpected financial gift, a couple struggling to get pregnant finally is with child, or estranged friends were finally reconciled. Jesus also told many stories of grace. But some of those stories didn’t immediately sound so gracious, like the two […]

He does all things well

It’s just one tiny sentence at the end of a story, but it’s the key to understanding the story. After Jesus healed the Syrophoenician’s daughter of the demon and healed the deaf man by touching him with His saliva (Mark 7), along with other unnamed miracles, the crowd declared, “He has done all things well…” […]

A reluctant Giver?

A few years ago I was encouraged to ask someone for a favor — “Ask him…I really think he’d be willing to help you.” I was uncertain. The favor I was asking was not insignificant and while this man was well-known to my friend, I did not know him at all. Why would he take […]

Book blurbs

In the interest of “something is better than nothing,” here are a few blurbs and comments on some books I’ve recently completed reading: Title: Bringing the Gospel Home: Witnessing to Family Members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well Author: Randy Newman Publisher: Crossway, 2011, 216 pp., $14.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Summary: Newman not […]

What makes a heart hard?

Examples of people with hard hearts abound in Scripture. Pharaoh is the first one who is explicitly said to have a hard heart (Ex. 7:13ff). He was followed by Sihon (Dt. 2:30), Israel in the wilderness (Ps. 95:8), the inhabitants of the land of Canaan at the return from Egypt (Josh. 11:20), the Philistines when […]