If you find yourself struggling with contentment and gratitude, you can be sure that some desire, want, lust, or idol has taken over functional control of your heart. You will need to focus your attention on what is ruling your heart. Whatever the desire is in you that you determine you cannot live without, that... Continue Reading

He is a sovereign God, and yet also a saving God. Some people might tend to pit John’s “God is love” (1 John 4:16) against Paul’s predestination. But they go hand in hand. If God were not love, we would be lost. Yet while we were still sinners, God loved us—God chose us.   A hurdle... Continue Reading

We do what-if thinking so very well. We can’t just stop thinking this way; our what-ifs must be replaced by something even stronger—and the good news is that we have that in the gospel of Jesus. Look at it this way: What-if thinking consists of possibilities. It makes sense to replace possibilities with something that is for sure, always factual—the person of a... Continue Reading

We can admit our sin trusting that Christ Jesus came into this world for the explicit purpose of saving sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). The worst sinners receive more grace. Only fools live as if they have no need to repent. God’s children know they are sick. But they also know that God has sent Christ... Continue Reading

It is a great tribute to a man when his family knows him for his commitment to the Bible, to prayer, and to the local church. Gifts and vacations and inheritances are all well and good, but there is no better legacy you can leave to your children than being a man who truly loves... Continue Reading

Jesus quotes a psalm. He says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Mark 12:10–11, citing Ps. 118:22–23). In the parable the beloved son is rejected, and in the psalm the stone is rejected. Jesus cites the psalm after telling... Continue Reading

“The Standards continue to prove themselves wonderfully serviceable in defending the faith and exposing errors. But more than that, if the church is to reach the world, we must be able clearly and effectively to declare the mind of God revealed in His Word.”   As part of the 2022 “Mission of the Church” Conference... Continue Reading

Our objection to worshiping images is that it is idolatry because that worship does not pass through them to Christ, but is actually just worshiping artwork in the same way that ancient idolaters were actually just worshiping statues. Such images do not direct our devotion to Christ, but away from him (who is invisible to... Continue Reading

Bringing people to Christ to become learners is a high calling and a privilege. Human disciple-makers are powerless in themselves, yet they are accountable to Christ, and they are active in Him. So, move ahead in faithful obedience to preach the Word. The exalted Christ ultimately makes disciples as He causes His Word to germinate... Continue Reading

God’s actions are always perfectly proportionate to his character. God’s character never changes. When it looks like God has changed in the Bible, we should explore those passages for changes in the situation: people’s attitudes, behaviors, and decisions—not changes with God’s character or being.   Have you ever seen someone so moved by emotion that... Continue Reading