Discipleship (Page 7)
Morning’s Invitation to See the Invisible
Nurse: “Doctor, the invisible man is in the waiting room.” Doctor: “Tell him I can’t see him right now.” Bud-dum! We’ve all heard the expression, ‘I must be seeing things!’ But truth be known, people who walk by faith are ‘seeing things,’ invisible things, all the time! In fact, that’s what it means to walk in faith. Hebrews 11:3 tells us that “faith is the substance of…
How to Live Among Scoffers
In their last written words, the Apostles Peter and Paul felt it was important to warn the church of the grave dangers that lie ahead. In his final letter, Paul wrote: “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,…
Keeping Clean While Engaging Culture
It’s been called one of the most important Christian books of the 20th century: H. Richard Niebuhr’s, Christ and Culture. I read it thirty years ago, then I read it in seminary, and I read it again last year. It’s astonishing to me that a book written in 1951 about something as ‘in the now’ as engaging culture remains as relevant as it is. Sixty-seven years is a long time…
On the Threshold of a Fresh, Mysterious Year
Greetings highly-favored people of God (Matthew 13:16-17)! The new year is upon us with all its blessings and challenges and, well, mystery. None of us knows what danger lurks around the next corner (cue dramatic music), but we do know this: (1) The Lord is with us in the journey (Matthew 28:20b) and (2) His Word is more than sufficient to guide us, instruct us and…
“Love Mercy” – Giving People What They Don’t Deserve
Micah 6:8 really captures our attention because when Gods says, ‘Here’s what I’m expecting of you,’ believers perk up! And it doesn’t get much clearer than this: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk…
Two Seats
It’s one of the most powerful stories in the Gospels, even if it’s of questionable paternity. A woman is accused of being caught in the very act of adultery. Her accusers bring her before Jesus who is asked to choose between affirming the Law of Moses, which says she should die if she’s guilty, and releasing her, which would open Him to the charge of setting aside God’s…
“Act Justly” – Giving People What They Deserve
The Big Three This is a wonderful passage isn’t it? I remember being in high school/college/seminary and, no matter what course I was taking, the question on every student’s mind was the same: ‘What’s going to be on the test?’ We all wanted to know what the teacher expected of us. Believers are…
Drowning in Rivers of Oil
What does the Lord require of me? When the Lord looks at me, a sinner He’s rescued from sin and death, what does He expect to find? Micah 6:8 famously asks and answers that very question. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly…
The Blood That Delivered Us, and Keeps Delivering Us
In Micah 6, the Lord calls upon the mountains and the hills to witness His accusation against His people. Why have they been so unfaithful? Why have they abandoned Him for other gods, for idols? Why have they walked away from His love? The Lord has an indictment to bring! But, despite their…
The Lost Art of Contrition
The Mercy of Jesus: A Meditation, Part 2
Mercy is one of our Father’s many magnificent attributes. Those of us who have found mercy – who have been kissed by God’s mercy – need not have it explained to us. Those who have never known it can never understand it, no matter how eloquent the explanation offered. Mercy rescued me, a guilty sinner and a lost man. Mercy delivered me from the quicksand of my own…
The Mercy of Jesus: A Meditation, Part 1
It is impossible for me to imagine that Johann Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations were written when he was only twenty-two years old. I knew nothing at twenty-two, and I sometimes feel that I know even less now! Gerhard’s Meditations are profoundly inspiring and deeply, deeply spiritual. They seem to be the work of a much older man – one who’d experienced many decades of the…
The ‘Christian Family’ and Bagging an Octopus
We might call this the Age of the Redefinition of Terms. Word’s like marriage, family, sin, freedom have all experienced a significant retooling in the past several decades. But, for believers, there is only one primary standard by which we measure and define: God’s Word. So, our question should be…
Why Marriage?
This morning I’m reposting an insightful article from FamilyLife ministries written by Dave Boehi. In it, Dave explores in simple, straightforward language the three great purposes God intends for marriage. Hold your own marriage up against these and ask whether or not its achieving God’s objectives. As always, I’ve included reflective questions at the end. Enjoy! P. Gene…