Developing Healthy Prayer Lives
It has been said that prayer is like breathing, communing with God as an essential of life. Redemptive respiration.
Prayer is a skill that can be learned and cultivated. It may become reflexive through constant use, where turning to God in times of great trial is the natural response of having walked with Him in the ordinary course of events. But, like all skills, practice and perseverance are called for in the development. ... Continue Reading
Joy that Seeks us Through our Pain
Christian joy is more than just a perspective on life; it is the experience of that new life which is found only in Christ.
The most striking expression of this kind of joy is found in Romans, where Paul shows how the experience of deep joy is bound up with the great truths of the gospel. Having just explained how justification through faith, by grace is the basis of our new standing before God, he says, ‘And we rejoice... Continue Reading
Freshen up your Psalm Singing
If you need some extra convincing and motivation to get started on Psalm singing, why not have a read of 150 Questions About the Psalter.
Recently, in my devotions, I’ve been using the Book of Psalms for Worship, published by the RPCNA (Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America). Many of the arrangements are refreshing and, in some cases, better and closer translations of the original Hebrew text of the Psalms than either the Scottish or Dutch Psalters. I love the... Continue Reading
Where Were The Church And The Truth Between The Fathers And The Reformation?
The pre-Reformation church was not “Roman Catholic.”
The Reformation did not drop out of the sky. It was a tapestry the threads and fabric of which was drawn from the entire pre-Reformation tradition. We inherited vocabulary from Lombard and distinctions and categories from Thomas. We revised Anselm’s account of the atonement. If you know the first 12 questions of the Heidelberg Catechism,... Continue Reading
Your Testimony Is Not the Gospel
The gospel is not about me. The gospel is about Jesus.
But we shouldn’t confuse our personal testimonies with the gospel. Sharing our personal testimonies is not evangelism. It’s merely pre-evangelism, sort of a warm-up for evangelism. Our testimonies may or may not be significant or meaningful to those with whom we are speaking. There are lots of folks who can relate to my story; they... Continue Reading
How True is the Bible? – Inerrancy
How accurate is the inspired revelation of the 66 books in the Bible? How do we know?
The God of the Bible is a God of unwavering truth. He is upright and trustworthy in nature and deed. At no time in history has God affirmed something contrary to fact or failed to follow through with his promises. The remaining history will prove likewise. Motivated by his own glory and love for sinners,... Continue Reading
Is Numbers 5 Good for Women?
Apart from its context in the long story of Scripture, Numbers 5 is troubling and confusing.
While this odd procedure can easily become the focus of the passage, drawing our attention to other trials by ordeal throughout history, it is the mediation of the priest that is a better focus, pointing to the long story of Scripture ultimately fulfilled by Christ. John Calvin notes in his commentary on Numbers 5 that “many are... Continue Reading
Fighting Fear – Proverbs 3:21-26
Fear can only live where foolishness gives it cover. Seek wisdom and fear will retreat.
Instead of giving into fear, we are to receive the comfort of confidence. Specifically, wisdom will remind us regularly that the Lord is and will be our confidence. Your confidence is that thing you reach out to when you’re falling, your first instinct in times of trouble. Wisdom will teach us to grab onto God... Continue Reading
There Is Nothing Trite About It!
As Christians, we believe in the power of prayer.
News we can do nothing about. There is always one thing we can do: We can pray. Recently, prayer has been maligned as an insignificant, wasteful, or even cruel practice as a response to another person’s pain or trial or difficulty. Some of those who pray have been “prayer shamed” into silence, having been told “I’ll pray... Continue Reading
The Call to Repentance and the Championing of Grace
We’re losing the nerve to call people to repentance
“To think that the message of grace and the call of repentance are opposed to one another is to miss the beautiful, grace-filled nature of what repentance actually is. The call to repent is one of greatest expressions of the love of God.” “We’re losing the nerve to call people to repentance.” That’s what... Continue Reading