It’s not a message we hear too often from Christian pulpits today: You have to be harder on yourself! But, here’s what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Now, I’m not loving this translation! It’s TOO … Read more
Bob Dylan wrote some really great songs during his so-called ‘born-again’ period. Perhaps the most famous was, You Gotta Serve Somebody. The lyrics are pure gold: You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You … Read more
As God leads us through the various seasons of life, He wants us to know that there’s always a rest available. Some of life’s seasons are clearly more difficult than others, but God’s rest – and internal Garden of Eden, a place where we can retreat in the calm of His presence – is never … Read more
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 may be one of the most well-known chapters of the Bible, familiar to believers and non-believers alike. It talks about the times and season of life. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; … Read more
“For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29). Near the very end of His earthly ministry, Jesus told a story, a parable. It was about a Master who was about to … Read more
I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it” (1 Corinthians 3:2). Mary and I love art! So, recently we took in an exhibition in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum called, Fra Angelico: Heaven on Earth. Fra Angelico was a truly breath-taking painter of the early renaissance. … Read more
Dr. Harry Ironside was a gift to the Church. He was a fine Bible teacher and theologian. He pastored Moody Church in Chicago from 1929-1948. He’s said to have preached nearly 7,000 sermons that reached more than 1.25 million hearers in the years between 19 29 and 1948 and he was instrumental in the development … Read more
David was well acquainted with his sins – and like ours, they were many. I think perhaps the most difficult thing for David to wrap his mind around was that God would actually delight in him, enjoyed him. In fact, the king wrote, that God delights in him was the very reason why He delivered … Read more
David is a man who came to understand his own sinfulness before God. You know the story: staying home when he should have been out in the field with his troops; the rooftop voyeurism; the seduction and adultery; the murderous cover-up. It all reads like a Greek tragedy. Eventually, the prophet Nathan led the king … Read more
Have you ever felt unworthy of God’s love? ‘How could He love a sinner like me?’ ‘How can it be true that I – with my history of sins and ongoing offenses against Him – could be loved by Him?’ I think every honest, blood-bought Christian has asked those questions. The more I am confronted … Read more