All Posts (Page 28)
Update From Jerusalem: September 2013
“Hello, hello.” “Excuse me, please come in.” To the thousands of tourists swarming through Old City Jerusalem every day, these words, spoken in heavy accents by every Arab shopkeeper lining the narrow streets, may seem endearing and inviting. But now we hear them multiple times a day, on our way to school, on our way to work, everywhere we go. They’re almost offensive to us now, because although we look like every other tourist passing by, the Old City is…
Bible Intensive Retreats: Romania 2013
While I was in Romania with Jim Elliff toward the beginning of April, my wife was putting our youngest daughter, Lilly, to bed. She told her, “Tomorrow we get to go to the airport to pick Daddy up!” Lilly responded, “To keep him?” I’m happy to say my daughter cherishes me. Jim and I are hopeful that the pastors and missionaries we served while in Romania now cherish their Bibles more than ever. We left the States on April…
False Teachers are like Spiders
Spider! It’s early in the morning, still dark, and I’m sitting at my kitchen table unable to sleep. Just outside my window and clinging to the corner of that window is a spider’s web. He has provided entertainment for several nights now. The light from the inside by the table draws unsuspecting bugs to the window pane. The spider takes advantage of the light to deceive them into his larder. The spider isn’t effective without being close to the light.…
BIBLE INTENSIVE RETREATS IN ROMANIA 2013
Studying hard with pastors in Romania on our last trip. We’re holding Bible Intensive retreats like this all over the USA also with eager leaders these days. These three day experiences are reminding us all about the amazing power of the Scripture when we seek to understand it diligently and together. Please pray for our work in this area.
Finding the Right Church
Here’s a reality that never changes: there is always another church that does something better than your church. You can never find the perfect church any more than you can marry the perfect mate or be employed at the perfect job. But you can find God’s will for you and your family. What should you look for? 1. Leaders that seek above all else to obey the Head of the church 2. Teaching that probes the Scriptures and let’s you…
MEDITATION
By meditating on Scripture you are transformed into the person God intends you to be. Meditation is a blend of your words to God and His Word to you; it is loving conversation between you and God through the pages of His Word. It is absorption of His words into your mind by prayerful contemplation and concentration.
Christ’s Nazarite
John was filled with the Spirit in the womb, and would drink no wine (Luke 2:15), a Nazirite vow. Shadows of this Nazirite vow show up in Ephesians 5:18, “And do not be drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit.” In essence Paul is saying: Don’t be overcome w wine so you can be overcome with the Spirit. To be “filled” with the Spirit is like a man who is filled with rage or filled with ambition. It means…
REPENTING EARLY
David’s tryst with Bathsheba illustrates how one sin brings another. A look led to lust; lust in the heart led to adultery; adultery led to an attempt to cover up by David calling her husband in from battle so he might lie with her. That failing, David sets his faithful servant Uriah up for death on the battle field–murder! Then follows months of agony & guilt (Ps 51) until finally David crumbles in repentance before Nathan. For believers, the chain…
SO THEY PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS BEFORE YOU
Speak to them, whether they listen or not, “Thus says the Lord God”(Ez 3). We shouldn’t be so arrogant as to think we’re prophets like Ezekiel, hearing direct words from God. Rather, we humbly speak what the prophets spoke. We sometimes succeed, yet they preached with the knowledge that almost all would not obey. So, don’t despair when you meet up with insults and resistance to words God first gave through His writing prophets.” In the same way they persecuted…
MOTIVE FOR EVANGELISM?
I was asked, “What should be the primary motivation for evangelism and missions: Love for Christ or love for the lost? The question is an impossible one to answer because it offers a false dichotomy. In the NT, love for others is the way we love God. “How can you say you love God if you do not love others?” James and John and Paul said. Both are always at play. For instance, Paul was so passionate about the lostness of his…
FORGETTING LABELS
I hope it’s a sign of becoming more heavenly-minded to find myself uninterested in labels among true believers any more. When we’re the next world, what possible difference could they make? What good are they now, except to create division, end conversation, and promote loyalties that may diffuse our true loyalty to Christ alone? I don’t mean Bible TRUTHS are unimportant, or that they shouldn’t be talked out passionately—just that it seems more consistent to be Bible Christians than system…
RIGHTEOUSNESS ON THE BROAD WAY?
In the Sermon on the Mount, the broad way that leads to destruction is the external religious way. The narrow way is the way Jesus taught. This is seen particularly in the “antitheses” section in Mt. 5. For instance, the broad way is by fulfilling the command, “You shall not murder,” but the narrow way is found in Jesus’ statement: “but I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother is guilty…” Or again, “You shall not commit adultery” is…
BABY SPRINKLING
Went to a friendly mainline church this morning (ours meets in the afternoon), where I witnessed a baby sprinkling. The minister announced that in this experience the baby received the Spirit and was reborn. The child was then displayed as the newest member of the church. Whatever the rationale for this practice, we must all agree that such an experience did not take place in the New Testament.
Are You Poor in Spirit?
Are you poor in spirit, mourning over sin everywhere you find it, gentle and approachable in your relationships, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful to others, pure and unmixed in your devotion to Christ? Are you a peacemaker? Are you sometimes persecuted in subtle or even striking ways for your distinctiveness as you live out life from a changed heart? If not, you should have no assurance that the kingdom of heaven is yours, that you will receive comfort from God…
What You Need to Know About The Da Vinci Code
Do you know someone who has read The Da Vinci Code? If you don’t by now, you probably will. Dan Brown’s suspense novel has been on the NY Times best-sellers list for over 3 years, and, according to Brown’s website, "has become one of the most widely read books of all time."1 A quick search of a national bookseller’s website yielded no less than 15 books written about this novel, and a major motion picture based on the book is…
What Was Reformed in the Reformation
If one wants to know what the Protestant Reformation was all about without reading huge volumes of historical literature, it is perhaps most clarifying to look at the theological results. One should specifically note the rediscovery of five critical biblical doctrines that had been obscured from public view by the medieval version of what we now know as the Roman Catholic Church. And just so you know, Rome still either openly opposes or seriously distorts these doctrines. Using the Latin…