God: worthy (alone) of glory

A few of years ago, popular author John Gray (Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus) released a new book:  How to Get What You Want and Want What You Have.  His thesis?  “When you do your best, God does the rest.”  In one place he reportedly writes, “Regardless of your particular orientation [of […]

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Grab bag

This week I counted the number of open tabs in my web browser.  It was over 40.  Time for a Grab Bag, me thinks. Many more churches are being proactive in providing biblical counseling for their people and the community (check out the GBCM webpage and the GBC biblical counselor training page as examples).  Capitol […]

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Happy, Happy Mother’s Day

Joyce Heinrich (Bethlehem Baptist Church) wrote a particularly encouraging post, “Happy, Happy Mother’s Day.” Oh, mothers, I urge you to continue on as you have begun with your maternal responsibilities. Love your children intensely, selflessly, wisely! But with an even greater love, love your God, Jesus Christ. Set your face like a flint to follow […]

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In preparation for this Sunday

How do you fight the battle against sin?  How do you wage war against the temptations that are prone to lead you away from Christ and towards the world?  How do you keep from engaging in any sinful and evil impulses? For too many, suggests Bryan Chapell, we are in bondage to spiritually destructive behaviors: […]

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Two thoughts about parenting

Yesterday I was doing some reading in preparation for a parental dedication on Sunday morning and came across these two gems from the pen of John Younts: “Parents looking primarily for enjoyment from such creatures are in for a major disappointment. Loving, enjoyable relationships between parents and children are a by-product of good parenting, not […]

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Work, work, and more work

This morning I talked to friend — “How’s it going?” I routinely asked. “It’s Monday…” We both knew what he meant by that — “The weekend is over, rest is gone, work has begun, the drudgery is back.  It’s Monday.”  You know exactly what those two words mean. For many, work is no friend, but […]

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Sunday Leftovers (5/1/11)

In 1965 the future looked extraordinarily bright.  Man was four short years from walking on the moon.  The world was on the brink of a technological explosion — computer, microwave, laser, and communication advances were certain to revolutionize every facet of the way we lived.  So a U.S. Senate Subcommittee in 1965 predicted that by […]

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The Most Royal Wedding of All

A prayer from Scotty Smith — Dear heavenly Father, on a day on which many in our world set clocks and arranged schedules to view a wedding of total strangers—a wedding to which we were not invited, how can we not think about and long for our coming wedding day to Jesus? Like John, when […]

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Four truths about trials

As to my own circumstances, I still meet with trouble and expect no other as long as I live in this world. [Jonathan Edwards] Things haven’t changed much since the time of Edwards.  In fact, it has always been that way, and as long as we live in an unredeemed state, it always will be […]

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Knowing the will of God

How can one know the will of God?  That question is not only frequently asked in our day, but has often been asked by followers of God throughout much of, if not all of, history. Here is an answer from pastor John Newton in one of his many letters.  Though written a couple of centuries […]

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