It’s hard to trust God

I sympathize with those who find it difficult to trust God in adversity. I have been there often enough myself to know something of the distress, the despair, and the darkness that fills our souls when we wonder if God truly cares about our plight. I have spent a good portion of my adult life […]

Praying in Jesus’ name

To pray “in Jesus’ name” (Jn. 14:13) does not mean that Jesus is bound to answer our requests the way we want. It is not a set of magic words that constrict God from acting according to His will. In fact, to pray, “in Jesus’ name” is to request the will of God above all […]

Sunday Leftovers: You can pray

Because the believer in Christ is secure in his salvation, he can be sure that God has saved and will save Him through eternity (1 Jn. 5:13). But that’s not the only benefit of salvation; because the believer is saved, he also can be confident in going to God in prayer, not withholding anything from […]

Sermon: Pray with Confidence

Pray with Confidence 1 John 5:14-15 August 10, 2014 When a new college graduate takes his first job, one of his concerns will be, “what kind of benefit package do you have?” He wants to know what added privileges there are for working in this job — is there health care and a retirement package […]

Reading Habakkuk

One of the most repeated sentences by young children is, “it’s not fair…” As in, It’s not fair that my brother can stay up later than me. It’s not fair that dad’s piece of pie is bigger than mine. It’s not fair that I can’t watch that movie. It’s not fair that he broke my […]

Kindle book sale

If you own a Kindle or use Kindle software on another device to read books, this is a good week to purchase books, as there are a great many excellent deals on books this week/month. Tim Challies has compiled a long list of these books; among the ones at the top of my list are: […]

Watch your heart

[Keeping the heart] is the hardest work; heart-work is hard work indeed: to shuffle over religious duties with a loose and heedless spirit, will cost no great pains; but to set thyself before the Lord, and tie up thy loose and vain thoughts to a constant and serious attendance upon him; this will cost thee […]

Is God alive?

“They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can […]

If we are lovers of God, we love what God loves

Thomas Watson in All Things for Good (orig., A Divine Cordial) writes about tests we can give ourselves to determine whether or not we genuinely love God. Test nine follows: If we are lovers of God, we love what God loves. (i.) We love God’s Word. David esteemed the Word, for the sweetness of it, […]

A culture of evangelism

A couple of years ago I committed to reading at least one book on evangelism every year. I do not naturally think of looking for evangelistic opportunities and I need things to remind me to do that. So in addition to adding evangelism to my prayer list, I also remind myself of this necessary discipline […]

Sunday Leftovers: Be sure you’re secure

Many people struggle with assurance that they are secure in Christ’s salvation. There are many reasons why that may be (Don Whitney has an excellent chapter detailing some of those reasons in How Can I Be Sure I’m a Christian?). But as we near the end of our study of 1 John, there is one […]

Sermon: That You May Know Assurance

That You May Know Assurance 1 John 5:13 July 27, 2014 Everyone wants a sure thing. Bettors at a horse track are (vainly) searching for certainty. Couples standing at the altar of marriage would like a guarantee of a successful union. Parents would like a guarantee that the training they are giving their children will […]

The end of Christianity in Iraq

Here is a story that has not been well-reported; Christians need to be aware of this one. Persecution in various forms is on the increase in America. In other parts of the world, persecution in the form of stealing, violence, and death is even more the norm. We should not be surprised. We should not […]

Don’t waste your pain

On Saturday, Rocky Wyatt spoke to our men on the topic, “Don’t Waste Your Pain.” If you weren’t there, you need to listen to this message. If you were there, you probably (like me) need to listen to it again. Download it here. Or stream it below: Rocky’s message focused on three benefits of trials […]

A strategy for living

…what we have here in this psalm [Psalm 27] is what we may well call ‘a strategy for living’, how to face the battle and the conflict in life.…we must always start in heaven and with God. Then, having done that, we come down to earth and face the problems of life and of living […]