Sunday Leftovers (5/9/10)

Writing of the importance of the home and in particular, the mother’s role in the home, John MacArthur has said this The family might survive the problems with children and husband-fathers if the women who are wives and mothers were faithful to their godly calling. Their influence is so strong and pervasive in the home […]

Do not be surprised at fiery ordeals

A few weeks ago I was talking to one of my daughters about a friend she was trying to encourage. He thought he was going through some unusually difficult times — and he was openly unhappy at God about it. How could she encourage him to endure and to trust God’s providence in his life? […]

Has Noah’s ark been found?

I think it was 30 or more years ago that I first heard a report that Noah’s ark was found on Mt. Ararat. Since then other discoveries have been claimed, including one a couple of weeks ago as reported by numerous news sources including FOX News and National Geographic. The question is whether or not […]

Impoverished believers

Mark Dever and Paul Alexander identify one of the things that makes a believer impoverished and weak in his spiritual life — and their assertion is in contradiction to the call of our day and culture: While our individual walks are crucial, we are impoverished in our pursuit of God if we do not avail […]

How God uses sin for our good

Romans 8:28 is a well-known, often-quoted, hard-to-believe verse. That God uses the beneficent acts of our lives for our good is comprehensible. We do not struggle to understand how God is working good in our lives when we are recipients or instigators of gracious words and activities. But when the worst things in life invade […]

God’s love for His own

Romans 7 speaks of the problem of indwelling sin in the life of the believer. He has a new disposition that wants to do good, but he still has the nature of the flesh that does the things he does not want to do (and doesn’t do the things he wants to do). But thanks […]

25 words for new graduates

Always treasure Christ and you will never be disappointed. If you are disappointed, you have hoped in something more than you have hoped in Christ.

Sunday Leftovers (5/2/10)

Who has influenced you for the cause of Jesus Christ? Who has been a dominant, guiding influence in the progress of your faith? The list is invariably substantial (and my best guess is that in heaven when our eyes are opened to the vastness of the expanse of God’s grace, the list will be greater […]

Faith and works

Yesterday I interacted with two stories relating to the nature of saving faith. When a man is genuinely saved, the fruit of that salvation will be evidenced in his life. That is, empowered by the Holy Spirit, he will be changed so that while prior to salvation he could do nothing good, now after salvation […]

Religious theists and saving faith

Faith in God is not enough to save a man. Two related stories that came across my computer screen this morning authenticate that statement. The USA Today references this morning a survey by Lifeway Christian Resources about the so-called faith of young adults (age 18-29). In this study, among those who identified themselves as “Christian:” […]

Dry and thirsty?

Many years ago, my brother and I went on a hiking expedition in the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California. Unfortunately, we were ill-equipped for the day. What began as a cool, refreshing, spring-like morning quickly developed into a hot, parching, dead-of-summer day. Soon I was overcome with the most overwhelming drive to quench my […]

Grab bag

Al Mohler, “The Pill Turns 50” “Has God Predetermined Everything? Even Sin?“ “Why fight sin if God uses it for good anyway?” Together for the Gospel panel discussions are now available A new book by John Piper, Jesus, the Only Way to God (July, 2010) Practical suggestions for how to encourage missionaries — and without […]

There are Canaanites in the land!

The story of Israel in the book of Joshua is triumphal and victorious. It is filled with obedience, worship, and delight in God. The story of Israel in the book of Judges is sorrow and defeat. Judges is everything that Joshua isn’t. It is a book of disobedience, idolatrous worship, and rejection of God. And […]

Thinking about our thoughts

David longed for words and meditations that were acceptable to God — words both inward and outward that reflected a heart conformed to the character of God. Solomon notes that the inward thoughts of a man reveal the very character of a man — it is not what he does but what he thinks that […]

Sunday Leftovers (4/25/10)

Ministry is often perceived to be for “ministers” only — for pastors. Individuals in the church might “help” or “serve,” but real ministry is for the paid “professionals,” the thinking goes. Yet as Ephesians 4 demonstrates, ministry is for everyone. At GBC, one of the core values that we affirm and encourage is “every member […]