Stand Fast
The story is told of a young boy who grew up on a ranch where his father raised thoroughbred horses. It was a common sight for the boy to watch the young thoroughbreds being trained to jump obstacles and race with their long, easy strides. However, because the young thoroughbreds are overly-sensitive and high-spirited, the
Flirting With Jesus
(Adapted from Christianity Today, December 2006, from an article written by Agnieszka Tennant, “Dating Jesus.”) We want to be so relational in this society void of meaning and meaningful relationships. It’s showing up in the church. There are books that encourage a date night with Jesus. Can I ask a few obvious questions? What do
Psalms 17-18a
Psalm 17: Hear Me, Hold Me, Hide Me Three words summarize David’s cry in Psalm 17–“hear,” “hold” and “hide.” “Hear a just cause, O Lord, attend to my cry” (v. 1). David was saying, “I want the Lord to hear me, because my heart is right.” “You have tested my heart” (v. 3). When did
John-Herbie
When I was two years old, my father walked out and abandoned our family. Less than a year later, the Lord placed into my life a man who would become a dad in every sense of the word. I called him “John- Herbie.” My heart was always thrilled to see him come strolling across the
Let’s Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
I’m a Southern Baptist. I was raised in a Southern Baptist church. I was saved in a Southern Baptist church. I went to a Southern Baptist college and attended two Southern Baptist seminaries. I’ve lived long enough to see the conservative resurgence in the SBC When I was in school, the influence of liberalism was
Psalms 15-16
Psalm 15: Are You Worthy? Who is worhty to live with God? Imagine what would happen if I walked up to that gate at Buckingham Palace in London and said to that tall, handsome, well-dressed guard, “Sir, I want to live with the King and Queen.” He would lok at me and say, “Begone before
We Live in an Anti-Christian World
(Adapted from an article by Gene Edward Veith entitled “Anti-Christian Paranoia”WORLD Magazine, DECEMBER 2, 2006) “The case against Christianity has not degenerated in to paranoid bigotry. The old argument against Christianity was that it is not true. Modern science, evolutionary theory, rational argumentation and the like were said to disprove the existence of God and
Psalms 13 – 14
Psalm 13 Have you ever been impatient with God? Impatience is one of my big problems. I always get into the wrong lane on the toll road. Somebody’s in front of me with all kinds of foreign currency, trying to buy their way through the toll booth. I get in the wrong line at the
Five Views of Sin in a Believer’s Life
Many Christians today don’t like to talk about sin. We’d rather talk about positive things like love, kindness, social action, acceptance and so forth. But the Bible does speak of sin, and most of us have a doctrine of sin–even of sin in the believer’s life. I sometimes doubt if we have fully thought through
Are You a God Pleaser…? (Part 2)
Methods matter. Some folks today are using methods that are unworthy of the gospel. They use gimmicks to entice. They use “worship aids” to manipulate emotions. You can’t watch religious television without feeling people are being baited. They are being sold the gospel of blood and sacrifice at a bargain basement price. They are buying
Principles Are the Bottom Line (Part 4)
(As found on Christianity Today) Some patsors pray for each of their members by name during the course of a week or a month, or where the congregation is large, several months. Certainly a pastor can make time to pray for the officers and leaders of the church during one week. It is a privilege
Saving Wretches Like You
It is hard to sing some songs the way they were written. They just go against our grain. Few folk today want to sing John Newton’s Amazing Grace the way he wrote it: “that saved a wretch like me.” Or how about Isaac Watts’ hymn that includes the line, “for such a worm as I”?