Category: Spiritual Growth
The Standard
In Romans 6:17 Paul tells us that Christians are people who have become “obedient from the heart.” No longer is their obedience motivated only by fear of God’s judgment, or fear of disapproval from other people, or fear of living with a tormented conscience. Now they...
How You Receive the Scripture
Though the Scripture may be shown to be trustworthy by many historical and logical proofs, it is essentially received as true because of the revelation of God’s glory experienced through it. Just as nature reveals God(Rom 1:19-21), and some receive or reject his glory, so man...
Peter’s Dying Declaration
In the legal world, a “dying declaration” is the one form of “hearsay” evidence that is admissible in court. This assumes, of course, that the dying person knows he or she is about to die when the statement is made, along with several other factors. The...
Dare to Be a Daniel?
The first lecture of one of my classes at a Christian college in the 1990s was titled, “I Dare You to Live Like Daniel.” I also recall hearing a message about Daniel during one of our daily chapels that concluded with a challenge to “Dare to...
The Chains of Habit
The chains of habit are often too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. This old saying has been quoted and adapted by many writers and speakers over the years. No one is completely sure who should get original credit for...
Spiritual Adultery and the Grace to Be Restored
Are you sinning often but professing to love the Lord? Though the fruit of constant sin against God can indicate a lost condition, true believers can also sin in awful ways. James has a helpful word for us in James 4:4-10. On the one hand the...
Don’t Miss the Greetings and Benediction
I have never regretted slowing down and meditating on the greetings and benedictions at the end of Paul’s writings. Here is the latest I’ve been contemplating: Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially...
Careless Conduct
I didn’t pay careful attention. We changed insurance carriers, and the new company denied my diabetes medicine that had been keeping my blood sugar levels in check. I temporarily switched to some “over-the-counter” insulin to use occasionally when my blood sugar spiked. But I was careless....
Pursue Love
Two simple words forming one simple command lead the way in Paul’s introduction to 1 Corinthians 14 — the chapter best known for Paul’s instruction about spiritual gifts in the meetings of the local church. “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts . . .”...
Answer Your Own Prayer, Then Give God the Glory
King David was in trouble. For four years his own son, Absalom, had been secretly gathering a powerful following for himself among the men of Israel by turning their loyalties away from the true king and deceitfully undermining David’s authority. As the story is summarized in...
