In Acts 16:14 Luke records:
“A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”
This language is sometimes understood to support the Calvinistic doctrine of the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. It is affirmed that man, because he is born…
It is not uncommon today to hear older Christians who have already reared their children comment somberly in the presence of young prospective parents, “I certainly wouldn’t want to be bringing up children in times like these.” It may be innocently done, but it is not helpful. These already anxious young people do not have a choice of times in which to rear children. For them, it is now or never.
Candidly, from the short term perspective, these are certainly not the best…
One of the things that constantly impresses me about the study of the Old Testament is the imagery that God has preserved to grant his children understanding in the relationship that we share. I have always thought on judgment day, that the presence of the Lord would be such an awesome sight, that no one would be capable of standing to offer an excuse for any rebellious mishap in their life. If standing in the presence of the Lord would be possible, then the Lord would simply reveal the countless opportunities…
Wash Your Nets !
Luke 5:1-11 records an incident in the life of Jesus which occurred on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Most people remember this as the time when Jesus’ apostles caught so many fish, that their ships nearly sank.
There is another, rather incidental, detail in the story. In verse 2 Luke says that Simon and the others were washing their nets. What is significant about this? Simply that they had…
In Judges 2:8-10 we read of a sad and tragic development in the history of Israel.
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord…
A 93-year-old man in Iowa named Bob Williams is known for sharing chocolate bars with random strangers in his small community. Every Saturday, he goes to the local dollar store to buy boxes of chocolate bars before handing them out to random people. People in his community say it puts a smile on their face and makes them feel special. They also tell how an act of giving a simple chocolate bar from an old retired teacher can turn a bad day on its head. “The Candy Man” – as…
It’s not good theology to attribute to the Holy Spirit that which the Holy Spirit never attributes to Himself. Doing so results in both faulty and contradictory claims, and this is exactly what we often see. Feelings get attributed to the Spirit, which are then contradictory to the feelings of others, who might also claim the Spirit as the source. Such feelings may also directly contradict God’s own word. Claims are made about what the Spirit is doing, when all the person has is a good feeling about a work. I wish it…
John Owen was an influential Puritan preacher in the 17th century. Consider what he wrote concerning acceptable worship:
Question: What doth God require of us in our dependence on him, that he may be glorified by us, and we accepted with him?
Answer: That we worship him in and by the ways of his own appointment.
Question: How are the ways and means of the worship of God made known
The claim that Jesus was raised from the dead is the most vital point in the Bible. Without it, Christianity is a waste of time (1 Cor 15:12-19). It is important that we know why we should believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, because there are many theories that try to counteract the resurrection story.
One theory holds that the disciples of Jesus stole the body from the tomb. This is actually the oldest theory because it dates back to the…
It has been said that a virtue in excess is a vice…. Examples:
