Infants Are Easily Discontented
God gives us a contentment that is beyond this world, beyond our very selves—a contentment that causes our hearts to soar far above our circumstances and to remain at peace.
As we press on in the Christian life, as we advance from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity, we find joyfulness increasing even when our comforts are decreasing. We find ourselves cheerful in trials, content in persecution, submissive even when we meet with sore disappointment. Things that may have seriously disturbed us in former days are powerless... Continue Reading
Teach Your Children Well
Home is where the cradle of belief begins.
According to Barna’s research, those who believe the following are very likely to live a faithful, Christian life: God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, just, merciful, reliable creator who is also our companion and unerring guide for life. All human beings are sinful by nature; every choice we make has moral contours and consequences. Jesus Christ... Continue Reading
Come to Our Help!
The Lord often conforms His people to His image through crises for His sake, and His sovereign purposes will prevail without ultimately crushing us.
Perhaps today you are experiencing a difficult season and you feel like the Lord is asleep instead of coming to your aid. Let Psalm 44 encourage you. Look with eyes of faith to the Lord and affirm, “You are my King, O God” (v. 4). Take comfort in the truth that He ordains your suffering... Continue Reading
What to Do When the Lord Seems Absent
Our Focus Should Remain on the Lord
In order to wait on the Lord, we must not be afraid of anyone or anything else apart from the Lord. We must focus on the promise held out to those who make Him their fear, “He shall be for a sanctuary unto them.” Waiting then involves our hearts fixing on God, and none else. “My... Continue Reading
William Carey—A Plodder, Pioneer, and Proclaimer Who Kept the Grand End in View
Carey’s virtue as a pioneer allowed him to see God’s faithfulness sustain him when he was doing things no one had done before.
By keeping the grand end in view, William Carey changed the evangelical world and launched the modern missions movement. At his death, as an indication of his sole focus, he requested only a line for his tombstone from one of his favorite hymns by Isaac Watts, “A wretched, poor, and helpless worm, on thy kind... Continue Reading
A Wise and Purposeful Walk
May we all, as Paul says, make the "best use of the time" by walking wisely in the world as lights in the midst of darkness.
Moses challenged us to live with purpose in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” When your life is over, what you present to God will be determined by how you chose to walk in wisdom before a dying and needy world. One would... Continue Reading
The Battle for the Body
The centrality of embodiment to what it means to be human is something that all Christians need to be taught.
This war against the body lies at the heart of so much of our modern politics. It connects to the sexual politics that deny that human genitals are to be used in some ways and not in others. It connects to gender politics that see the significance traditionally ascribed to sexed bodies as an oppressive... Continue Reading
No Cure for Old Age
Elderly Christians often see a woeful wilderness behind them and a promised land of blessing ahead.
There are, then, several benefits of meditating on death as we age. It brings composure to the mind. It keeps us in reverence of the Lord throughout the day. It helps maintain a clear conscience in our relationship with God and others. It fosters a sense of detachment from worldly pursuits. Although it’s possible... Continue Reading
A Morality As Old As Christianity
Progressives balk at ancient Christian ethics as though they’re new.
Here is the same message The Nation seems to have just discovered on one of their sociological safaris to the American Heartland. Christians think sex belongs in marriage and that all life, even unborn life, should be protected and celebrated. News at eleven. For students of history, this is as surprising as it is new. Regarding... Continue Reading
Spurgeon, Snake Bites, and Sanctification
Spurgeon was saved through the irresistible call of God’s Word to look to the only Savior. But what does “look to Christ” mean?
When we look to Christ, we’re doing the same thing that the snake-bitten Israelites did in the desert. Stung by serpents, with venom coursing through their veins, they were doomed. The problem was within them—death was certain. Can you see the amazing simplicity of their salvation? As Spurgeon said, “look and live!” What must we do... Continue Reading
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