Reading Joel

The book of Joel is a warning to the Israelites that they are facing a coming judgment unless they fulfill their part of the covenant with God. There are similarities in this book to the other prophets as well as the book of Revelation 9. And like those other books, it concludes with a positive […]

Thanksgiving thinking, Part 3

You know the verse. It’s short, concise, and direct. In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18) Give thanks? Sure. We’ll give thanks when a job is provided. We’ll give thanks when a baby is born. And when a gift is received. And when verbal encouragement […]

Thanksgiving Thinking, Part 2

The handwriting was on the wall. God had spoken. And it wasn’t good news for the king and his minions. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. God has numbered the days of the kingdom, the king has been evaluated and found deficient, and the kingdom would be given to another empire. That night. What was the great […]

Reading 1 Thessalonians

After founding the Thessalonian church, Paul was able to stay there only a short time — perhaps as little as three weeks. And the persecution that drove him from that region was a continuing burden to the Thessalonians. This letter serves as an encouragement to the persecuted church and a call to stand ready to […]

Learning grace in affliction

Greg Lucas’ son Jake has a variety of severe learning disabilities. And Jake has been a significant means of grace in the Lucas family. He has learned and is learning the truth that God regularly uses trouble and trial in our lives to remove inept and futile desires from our lives and replace them with […]

Thanksgiving Thinking, part 1

In order to stimulate my own heart towards biblical gratitude this week, I pulled some files last week to remind myself of what Scripture and others have said about thankfulness. Might these next few days be ones in which you and I are genuinely giving thanks to the Lord for all that He is and […]

Reading Daniel

The book of Daniel is one of the more popular Old Testament books — it is filled with historical drama, interesting characters (where else can you read of the king who became like a beast who became a king again!), exciting visions, and fast action. In short, Daniel is a book of history. It looks […]

Grab bag

A few things I’ve spotted around the internet lately: Can six seconds a day protect your marriage? Jani Ortlund says it can — if it’s a six-second kiss. Unbelieving pastors? Say it ain’t so. And yet there are some. Perhaps (probably?) the report by new-atheist proponent Daniel Dennett is biased, but if he could find […]

My Soul Finds Rest

Here is the video of a new song we will be singing on Sunday — it is written as a collaboration between Aaron Keyes and Stuart Townend (who has written a number of songs with the Gettys). YouTube – My Soul Finds Rest – Psalm 62 – Aaron Keyes. The first verse — My soul […]

New source for eBooks

Monergism has announced that they are now selling eBooks, both in iPad and Kindle formats. They are making available many older works as well as new works at reduced prices (often 20% less than list price). If you have an eBook reader, this is a good source to find some harder to find books. As […]

How to see yourself with clarity

It is true that we need to be careful how we live. We need to have eyes of discernment. We need to see ourselves clearly, to have the cloudiness of cataracts and the murkiness of sleepiness removed. But how? In his book, Speaking the Truth in Love, David Powlison offers some insight on this very […]

Be careful how you live

“The unexamined life is not worth living,” wrote the ancient secular philosopher. That is true for believers as well. The practice of self-examination is wise and profitable for every believer. It is important to “try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10) so that we might cultivate discernment in the daily choices […]

Is alcohol ok for believers?

In Ephesians 5:18, Paul contrasts being filled with the Holy Spirit by the control that is experienced by those who are under the drunken influence of alcohol. While the main focus of the analogy is on being filled by the Spirit — Paul is using drunkenness as an illustration only, not as a major theological […]

Sunday Leftovers (11/14/10)

When the Scriptures speak of the will of God, there are two possibilities in view — either the sovereign, decreed will of God by which He governs all the affairs of creation, or the moral will of God by which He reveals the commands of which are incumbent on all men to follow. And in […]

The secret things belong to God, so…

I came across this statement by Jonathan Edwards in my morning devotional reading today. It fits well with part of my message this coming Sunday morning on Eph. 5:17-18 — understanding what the will of the Lord is: Don’t perplex your mind with the secret decrees of God and particularly about the eternal decrees of […]