Category: Life Issues
Our Blessed Hope
I was visiting a wonderful, godly lady yesterday who has faced tremendous, continual suffering in this life. She nearly died recently, unconscious and failing for many days, and then she woke up, right on the brink of death. She told me that when she awakened, she...
Five Ways Every Member Can Love and Strengthen the Church
If you want, you can pay someone to wash your car. You can pay someone to iron your clothes. You can pay someone to make food for dinner. You can even pay someone to take care of your children for large parts of the day. It...
Psalm 23 Revisited: How We Come Into the House of God
We all love Psalm 23. The image of being shepherded by the Great Shepherd through good and difficult times is comforting for the true believer. The first portion is idyllic. Read it again: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie...
Jesus on Forgiveness
When we wish to learn as much as possible about something, and when there is a singular renowned expert on that particular subject whose teaching happens to be plentiful and immediately accessible, it would seem unwise to spend a lot of time looking elsewhere for our...
Finding Friendship in the Church: Moving Forward
The starting place of Christian friendship is the message of Christ crucified for us. In Christ, God has removed the barriers that keep us separated from him and from one another. As a result of the cross, we are now freed to pursue real friendships, even...
Purposeful Community
In the church, we need each other. This is a simple concept, but do we believe it? The New Testament teaches us that the church is an interdependent community. Each of us is dependent upon others to meet our needs, and each of us is responsible...
Getting from Here to There: How We Obtain the Inheritance
The inheritance for the Christian begins with eternal life, a transformed body, new heavens and a new earth, and extends literally to all there is. We are co-heirs with Christ, meaning all that Christ has received in his ascension and final victory over evil, we will...
7 Questions for Meaningful Conversation with Believers
We’ve got to move dialogue with believers beyond a superficial level if we are going to really know and encourage one another. But where do we even start? Here are seven questions you might ask. They might be useful in a variety of settings, such as...
Finding Friendship in the Church: A Starting Place
Recently I read a clever question on social media: “When are we going to talk about the miracle of Jesus having 12 close friends in his 30s?” It was meant to be humorous, so I smiled, but inside I was frowning because the comment hit a...
A Church Without Love?
Seven messages from the Lord Jesus to seven local congregations in 1st-century Asia form the bulk of the opening chapters of the book of Revelation. They are a mix of warning, encouragement, rebuke and commendation, with each church receiving its own personalized blend from the sovereign...
