5 Reasons Children Leave
Children are leaving Jesus. Young adults are leaving Jesus. They say they are leaving the church or organized religion but the hard truth is that they are leaving Jesus. The church belongs to Jesus: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell […]
5 Ways to Guarantee Hypocrisy Will Thrive
“Hypocrite” is a nasty word. It’s a slap in the face to be called a hypocrite. Jesus used it for his loudest critics (Matthew 23). He used it of those who were judgemental while ignoring their own faults (Matthew 7:5; 15:7). It is not a nice label. Nobody likes a hypocrite. Yet, hypocrisy is everywhere. […]
Who Are You Listening To?
I was studying Psalm 1 this morning and it suddenly hit me. God’s people need a better filter. We need to screen out the empty words of the wicked from our lives. That seems obvious but there is more to it; it has a greater impact than you might think. “Blessed is the man who […]
Are the Disobedient Saved?
We recently wrote of the alleged clash between grace and works. Our conclusion was that a man cannot be saved apart from God’s grace. We also affirmed that there is a response, an obligation on the part of man which is also essential. Today, I want to pursue that idea a bit further. It is […]
Grace Vs. Works
There is no clash between grace and works. Both are undeniable biblical concepts. Christians are “saved by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). They are also created to do good works and must be obedient to the Lord’s commands (Ephesians 2:10; Acts 6:7; Romans 1:5; Romans 6:17). Any clash between grace and works is man-made and […]
Christian Stress Relief
I’m thinking about family this morning; not physical family but the larger house of God. If you’ve been with us lately, we’ve talked some about being God’s people and he being our God. Those were his words through inspiration to the Patriarchs and later, to the Hebrews (Genesis 17:8; Exodus 29:49; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27). […]
Why So Much Hate?
The world is an angry place. Venom runs deep. It is ugly, even nauseating to see it running so deeply through our world. Why? Where did this mess come from? Anger and hatred can be classed into a half dozen very broad categories: Crime, Politics, Revenge, Anti-Authority, Economics, and Narcissism. These are in no particular […]
War
There’s a war going on. It’s not in Syria. Our opponent is not Russia, Iran or North Korea. The bombs are not made by Raytheon, and there are no Admirals or Generals leading armies. This war is far more destructive than any conflict humanity has ever witnessed. More will fall than in all the previous […]
I’ve Got Good News…I’ve Got Bad News
You can’t have one without the other. What is a beautiful day unless you have experienced a stormy day? What’s sunshine without rain? What is good news without bad? It takes one to contrast and highlight the other. I’ll start with the bad news. You are broken. You are sinful, and there is nothing you […]
Things I Learned from Campers
I know we go to camp to teach young people about our Lord. As adults, we are supposed to guide them. I get that. But for 15 years I have discovered that teaching and learning is a two-way street. This year was no different. Let me tell you how our campers schooled me at Indian […]
