There is something about me that always wants to be in control. If I am sick, I want to outlearn the disease and overcome it. If relationships start to fail, I want to be able to charm them back to life. We all desire control. I think this is why we buy into so many … Continue reading Finding Peace Beyond the Illusion of Control
The following is an excerpt from a letter from John Berridge to a fellow minister who had recently injured himself in a bad fall. Dear Sir, I received your letter, and dare not say that I am sorry for your fall, nor indeed for any afflictions that God lays on His children; they are tokens … Continue reading Fierce Furnace, Gentle Grace
Standing at my window one day, while the cholera was raging in London, I saw two corpses carried by, followed by one little child, walking alone next to the coffins, with a few neighbors behind. That child was now an orphan. Both parents had been carried off by the pestilence. The sight of that child … Continue reading Spiritual Orphans: Forgetting our Heavenly Father
Some of Scripture’s strongest encouragements come in the middle of some of its darkest passages. 2 Peter 2:1-11 is one such passage. It contains one of the darkest and most foreboding condemnations of false teachers, but Peter wrote it to encourage us. We see this when we get to verse nine, but to truly appreciate … Continue reading Bright Hope on a Dark Canvas
Does Peter tell us the gospel was preached to the dead? 1 Peter 4:6 presents a theological complexity that warrants careful examination. It reads, "For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the … Continue reading Was the Gospel Preached to the Dead? – Understanding 1 Peter 4:6
Many of us have slipped into an Evangelical assumption about the Christian life that does not align with Scripture. We live a Christian existence that is far from the biblical reality. We have begun to see the spiritual life as not much more than attending church to listen to sermons—some good, some bad, doing our … Continue reading Evangelical Assumptions About the Christian Life
It is sad to say that the precious doctrine of limited atonement is reviled by some. John Wesley and company used to refer to Calvinism as the “doctrine of demons,” and surely limited atonement was seen as the crown jewel in Satan’s coronet. This is a tragedy because this doctrine reveals to us the heart … Continue reading The Beauty of Limited Atonement
Daniel chapter seven opens with a vision of four beasts, each more terrifying than the one before, but the Ancient of Days eclipses them all. The first beast was like a lion with eagle's wings, but its wings had been plucked off. It was lifted from the ground and made to stand on two feet … Continue reading Four Beasts and the Ancient of Days
I recently celebrated my fiftieth birthday. I have had four other birthdays that ended in zero, but this one feels more significant—half a century. So much time has passed, and so much has changed, yet in all of that time and change, some things have remained the same. For fifty years, I have had wonderful … Continue reading Fifty Years of Grace
We look to Christ’s life for our salvation and righteousness, but do we also look to His story to define our own? Or do we think Christ merely gets us into heaven, yet it’s our job to ensure our lives are up to par? While we know only He can save us, we often think … Continue reading 3 Responses to Falling Short
The Fight of Faith 