God has, Paul told us, given each believer enabling grace. If the blood of Christ covers us, we are part of the larger body of believers. From His exalted seat in heaven, Christ pours out His grace and Spirit to aid us in the church's work. He is our head. We are His body. (4 Minutes / 700 Words)
Read moreMarriage Principles From Non-Marriage Verses — 2. The Spirit Transforms Us (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Christina and I are not the same people we were in 2002, the year we stood before God and witnesses and declared our covenant of love for one another. As age and life has ticked by, we have both matured. In a sense, because we were relatively young when we married, we have grown up together. But our personal growth is not due entirely to the natural flow of life. No, we have both experienced spiritual transformation at the hands of Jesus Christ. He has shaped and molded us over the years. (5 Minutes / 1000 words)
Read moreJesus Christ — The Ultimate Man
9 Minutes / 1,800 Words
Read moreBecome A Free Slave (Romans 6:15-23)
I call it the Africa Decision Myth. I’m sure you’ve heard, or maybe even said it, before. The idea is simple: if God asks me to go to Africa, I will go. In other words, I will live my life, my way, and then if God busts in and interrupts everything, gives me a big ol' sign in the heavens, I will do as He asks. (16 Minutes / 3100 Words)
Read more2 Samuel 19 — God-Hearted #30 — The King’s Return
2 Samuel 19 teaching outline.
Read moreAppreciate Christ's Generosity (Ephesians 4:7-10)
Even though the church is unbreakable and one, we are diverse and varied. Paul tells us “grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” The grace Paul writes of is not the saving grace of Christ, but the enabling grace of Christ. This is roll-up-your-sleeves-and-work grace. (3 Minutes / 600 Words)
Read moreMarriage Principles From Non-Marriage Verses — 1. Our Identity Is In Christ (Colossians 3.3-4)
Consider the phrase: “Christ who is your life.” Christina and I have found that we cannot be one another’s life. Her life is not hidden in mine; nor is mine hidden in hers. We are close, intimate, and one, but as believers, we discover our lives in Jesus Christ. This plays out in our marriage in simple ways. Here are five of them: (5 Minutes / 1000 Words)
Read moreApps I Like — Mac, iOs, and Android
As we all prep for 2018, I thought it might be helpful if I wrote a listicle post describing some of my favorite software and apps, with brief explanations of what makes them useful to me...
Read moreOne Way "Having A Peace About It" Could Mislead You (Psalm 129:3)
“The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” (Psalm 129:3 ESV).
“I have no peace about it,” someone says. “So I will not do it.” With the right spirit, this is a prudent mechanism for discerning God’s will. But if what you mean is, “I will not have peace if I do it,” you might be in error.
Christ’s Example
You see, the Christian life follows Christ, the one who embraced affliction to win the church. He had a vision of what could be, but also the suffering required to get there, and endured that pain to reach his goal. We will never atone for anyone’s sin like Christ did, but once in Christ, he will further his kingdom by calling us to pockets of pain.
The Song
Our psalmist, one of the pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem, sang of the pain. The plowers had plowed upon his back. His suffering had been intense. It cost him to go to Jerusalem and worship. To follow God, to allow him his rightful place as king, the pilgrim paid the price. Some form of pain, we do not know what kind, came into the psalmist’s life. He felt his back was like a field, cut and plowed and churned up. The furrows his tormentors carved were long. The hurt was palpable and real.
Though painful, fruit comes from the long furrows of a field. Perhaps the suffering singer, pen in hand, writing the song, knew the plow would result in fruit. Maybe he realized all the suffering would produce.
Paul’s Pain
Paul, after his conversion, learned all he would suffer for Christ’s sake (Acts 9:16). I don't know anyone who could handle such a revelation. But he knew, from the outset of his ministry, the hurt he would pay for the fruit of gospel advancement. The nations heard, but the hardship was great.
Paul was a Roman by citizenship and Jewish by race. He was a young Pharisee educated by the foremost rabbis but also experienced in Greek culture from childhood. He possessed a commanding intellect, adept in Scripture and society. He was an ideal candidate to bring the gospel to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). But all those qualifications would have meant nothing had he been unwilling to suffer. Because he was willing, Christ’s message increased throughout the world.
Hurt Required
Leadership, parenting, and sanctification require pain. Education, career, integrity, evangelism, disciple-making — all take hurt to accomplish. I recently overheard a mother talk to her friend about her early-elementary aged children. She complained about the childish attitudes of her children. She was flabbergasted they didn’t want to go to school, be responsible, or study hard. She was aghast she would have to work to help them learn to work. She seemed to have forgotten, perhaps just for a moment, I’ve been there, that anything worth doing is going to sting.
Believe In The Church's Unbreakable Oneness (Ephesians 4:4-6)
Paul dreamed of the church. In so doing, he introduced a beautiful truth: the universal church is one because the Triune God is one. (3 Minutes / 500 Words)
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