Pastors and elders should relate to the sheep humbly and with ongoing personal repentance. When one thinks about the responsibility of being a faithful shepherd of God’s people, it is awe-inspiring and, in a very real sense, terrifying. The stakes are high, and shepherds will be called to account for their work in shepherding the... Continue Reading

Essentially, our day becomes a twenty-four opportunity to worship our God, seeking to live a Christ-exalting life as we walk in the Spirit. We walk with Christ. He goes with us everywhere we go. The Spirit indwells us. We live in God’s world and in His presence. We are not alone today. Instead, we are... Continue Reading

Promises and commands all have a context. Just as Jeremiah 29:11 was a promise with a context (not modern-day graduates, but ancient Israelites in exile), so also proverbs have a context, a specific situation at which they are aimed. And instead of seeing proverbs as “general” or “broad” statements, we need to see them for what they... Continue Reading

Rome was not built in a day, and neither was the confessional, Reformed, Protestant church. The faithful men and women of the seventeenth century continued the work of the sixteenth-century Reformers by bringing every doctrine, every practice, and every thought captive to the Word of God.   In our day, many Christians have a view... Continue Reading

The titles of God are not mere labels; they are revelations of His nature, declarations of His character, and signposts for His authority. Taking God’s titles in vain means taking His name in vain and taking Him in vain. Using them in a way that diminishes their significance, misrepresents His nature, or treats them lightly... Continue Reading

While many churches are replacing the teaching of the word of God with other “spiritual tools” and “spiritual disciplines,” the knowledge and understanding of the actual word of God is receding to the background in the information base of many Christians. This sad phenomenon has reached “crisis status” in our opinion. However, as far as... Continue Reading

Only God can tell you who you really are. It is difficult to ascertain what it means to be human. But our identity and function are tied to our being created in God’s image, as male and female. God made us finite, bound by space and time to live in community and care for creation.... Continue Reading

In the modern west the sort of thick community, that which would allow us to witness each others’ Christians lives lived up close, is often unattractive to us. It requires us to give up some of our rights for the benefits of others. It requires us to privilege particular individuals (rather than a vague ‘everyone’... Continue Reading

You are not in this battle alone. God told Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Jos.1:9). We must be like Joshua, strong and courageous: There are battles ahead, but there is no victory without warfare —... Continue Reading

In John 6, the Jews demanded that Jesus prove Himself by performing a miracle like Moses had performed in giving their fathers manna. Jesus corrected them, explaining that it was not Moses, but His Father who gave them the manna. He further explained that He is Himself the manna or bread from heaven that would nourish... Continue Reading