Do you believe the gospel?

Do you believe the gospel? Specifically, do you believe the power of the gospel to change and transform the lives of those who believe the gospel? I don’t ask the question rhetorically; I ask it actually. Do you believe the gospel has the ability to save anyone and transform his life? Do you believe that […]

25 years ago today

Twenty-five years ago today, we said, “I do.” Twenty-five years ago, we were “just married.” Today we are “living happily every after.” That doesn’t means there have been no bumps along the way. There have been. We have had conflict — and experienced the joy of reconciliation through repentance, confession, and forgiveness. We have had […]

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 […]

Why are we surprised?

Why are we surprised when unbelievers reject the gospel? Why are we surprised when unbelievers reject the gospel emphatically? Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7 serves as a demonstration of the history of the rejection of God by the nation of Israel. “And he [Moses] supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance […]

Some good Kindle deals

There are generally good deals to be found on Christian books for the Kindle every day, but here are a few current deals that I’ve seen that are particularly good (remember that these prices are subject to change without notice): Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within ($2.99) Joe Thorn, Note to Self ($2.99) Thomas Brooks, Smooth […]

The ministry of the Word

As the early church began to grow exponentially, it quickly became essential to delineate roles and responsibilities in the church. So in Acts 6, deacons were selected to assist the elders so that the elders could carry out their primary responsibilities of “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (v. 4). Now it might seem […]

Meditating on God in everyday events

Biblical meditation is filling our minds with the truth of God and then contemplating and thinking on that truth. Typically we think of meditation as something done in conjunction with reading our Bibles, and that certainly is part of meditation. However, as Thomas Watson demonstrates, meditation can be stimulated as we go through our day, […]

My soul waits in silence for God only

When I was in junior high, an English teacher was fond of using a particular phrase when the volume of interaction in the room passed a certain decibel level. “Cease and desist!” he would pronounce with authority. I’m not sure if he was suggesting that legal action would result if we continued in our errant […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles and blog posts I’ve spotted recently: Mike Riccardi [“Learning to Suffer Well: Trusting God’s Absolute Sovereignty”] writes, “…when we suffer, we should not seek to save God from His sovereignty. If we do that, we cut the legs out from under the solid, robust theology of God’s absolute sovereignty that we depend […]

Are you fearful?

Are you fearful? We live in a time when many kinds of fears dominate many kinds of people. Fear of financial woes, fear of exams and school, fear of music, fear of the dark, fear of clowns, fear of heights, fear of death, fear of commitment, fear of being alone, fear of speaking in public, […]

The Bible, the President, and homosexuality

This week the President announced his support for same-sex marriages: “At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” What has been missed in some of the discussion is that he also […]

“We are living in an appalling time of need…”

Two days ago I read this statement by Martyn Lloyd-Jones in John Knox and the Reformation. After yesterday’s announcement by the President about his position on homosexual marriage, MLJ’s statement sounds even more profound: We are living in an appalling time of need, sin and evil rampant; the whole world is quaking and shaking. Is […]

My Hope Is In You, Lord

Here is a new song by Aaron Shust: “My Hope is in You.” The song is a powerful testimony in itself. But its testimony is amplified when one knows that the video was produced by Vinegar Hill, a company founded by Ian Murphy, husband of Larissa. Watch and listen:

The Story of Ian and Larissa

John Piper introduces the story of Ian and Larissa — a unique couple who married when most would be very hesitant: Being satisfied in God (or anything) always seems easier when all is going well. But when things you love are being stripped out of your hands, then the test is real. If God remains […]

Are you changing?

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13; NASB) Many years ago I read something that continues to challenge me — “I worry that our lives are like soap […]