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Jonathan Edwards on the True Excellency of the Gospel Minister
A lot has changed since 1743 — but not everything. The "true excellency of a minister of the gospel" is the same today as it was back when Jonathan Edwards preached an ordination sermon by the same...
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A. I. M. S. — A New Acronym for Living My Life
I have a new acronym. Along with I.O.U.S. and A.P.T.A.T. and A.N.T.H.E.M. I now use A.I.M.S. to help me maintain my Christ-consciousness through the day. Two times in his second letter Peter said he...
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The Glory of God's Sustaining Grace When Our Prayers Aren't Answered
It doesn't happen often, but it does happen — people see my son Paul and ask if they can pray for him. At places like WalMart (where it has happened) I usually accept their offer after quietly and...
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What's the Deal with Anxiety?
Pastor John explains the nature and effects of anxiety, Think for a moment how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed...
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Few Things Are More Humbling
Pastor John: We do not give God authority over our lives. He has it whether we like it or not. What utter folly it is to act as though we had any rights at all to call God into question! We need to...
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Wolfhart Pannenberg on Schism
Of course, the courage of Bonhoeffer to defy the compromising state church of Germany in the early days of Nazism is inspiring. A church that did not stand with the Jews, he said, was not the church...
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Ages and Ages of Immeasurable Riches
Ephesians 2:4–7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been...
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Psalm 111: Delighting in the Works of God
Psalm 111:2 reminds us of a fundamental principle: Delight leads to study. A Lover can recall every feature of his Beloved’s face. A mother knows every dimple, hair, and birthmark on her baby’s body....
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The Darling Object of William Wilberforce
At 4:00 AM on February 24, 1807, the British Parliament overwhelmingly voted to abolish the slave trade and then “rose almost to a man and turned towards [William] Wilberforce in a burst of...
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How Safe We Are
Matthew 10:30: But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Charles Spurgeon: You all take care of yourselves to some extent, but which of you ever took so much care of himself as to count the...
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Why Would We Observe Lent?
Growing up in the South in years when there was a lot more etiquette in the air, I learned an important lesson about Easter — that’s the day you can begin to wear white shoes again after winter....
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Lenten Lights
On each Sunday of this Lenten season and on Good Friday and on Easter, one of the devotions from Lenten Lights will be posted here — a total of eight devotional readings. Each reading begins with a few...
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Lent or No Lent, Life is War
Lent or no Lent, not doing some things you feel like doing is the daily pattern for the disciples of Jesus. Yes, daily. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily...
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Why the Lamb Was Spotless
Gerald Bray: The lamb that was sacrificed for the sins of the people became sin for them, but it was not covered in blotches representing sins. On the contrary, it had to be completely free of blemish...
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First Sunday of Lent
Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here. First Sunday of Lent (if reading weekly) or Saturday of Palm Sunday weekend...
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What Is "Secret Church"?
There are millions of Christians around the world who meet in secret. David Platt describes one experience in Radical: Despite its size, sixty believers have crammed into a little room. . . They are...
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When Is Indecision Loveless and Sinful? (A Lesson from Bonhoeffer)
Have you ever been paralyzed with indecision? I have. It is not a good trait of leadership. Dietrich Bonhoeffer breathed the air of crisis most of his adult life. This would eventually make the issue...
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Don Carson on the Wrath of God
You can't speak of God's wrath the same way you speak of his love. But why not? In this 12-minute interview, Don Carson explains the wrath of God and counsels pastors in how to minister its truth:...
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Hell Can't Blackmail Heaven into Misery
God is for your everlasting joy. Real joy and really everlasting. Nothing can impede it, not even the simultaneous reality of hell. Pastor John writes in Future Grace, When God's patience has run its...
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Speaking of Apps: The Voice of God in Our Hands
As I did last year, here's another call for your Bible app to threaten the use of every other app out there. Olive Tree BibleReader is my default mobile Bible. I use it for devotions every day, usually...
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