"Every talks about Jezebel, but nobody talks about Diotrophes." I once heard a preacher say something like that. This was at a time when it was very common to hear or read a message about the Jezebel spirit. The point the preacher was making was that Jezebel is not the only bad example in the … Continue reading Diotrophes’ Disease: The Love of Preeminence
The Sermon on the Mount through the Centuries is a collection of essays in which scholars look at how different commentators have approached the Sermon, from John Chrysostom to John Stott. Here are some of my favorite parts. Chrysostom: The Philosophy of Christ Was Jesus a philosopher? Certainly many early church fathers tried to present … Continue reading The Sermon on the Mount through the Centuries
This is one of the many great benefits of the cross. It centers you. It makes you whole and keeps you whole by uniting your fragmented heart. This benefit has been described well by Horatius Bonar in his book, God's Way of Holiness. First published in 1864 in Scotland, God's Way of Holiness is one of … Continue reading The Cross of Christ Is Your Center of Gravity
An example of misremembering the past is given to us in Exodus 16: "They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of … Continue reading Misremembering the Past – A Hindrance to Spiritual Growth
A Look at Bill Johnson's God Is Good We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (see Romans 12:2). A key to that renewal is to take the goodness of God seriously. And if we take it seriously, we will pursue it passionately and consistently. This is one of the themes of God … Continue reading Truth to Restructure Your Thought-Life Around
Moses was one of the greatest leaders in history. Like all leaders, he experienced his share of rejection. In studying his life, I counted fourteen cases of rejection. Thirteen of those came from the people of Israel. But one rejection, the second one, was different. The first rejection of Moses happened when he was forty … Continue reading Overcoming Self-Rejection: A Lesson from the Life of Moses
Moses, the deliverer of Israel, was repeatedly rejected by the people of Israel—fourteen times by my count. Yet he successfully led them from slavery to freedom. We can learn much from the fourteen rejections of Moses, why they happened and how he overcame them. Here's a look at the first one. Passionate but Presumptuous This first … Continue reading Young Moses and the Israelites: Immature Vision and Premature Rejection
What is the Governing Question of Human History? Or isn’t there one? If we look at history from a biblical perspective, we should be able to find one. Austin-Sparks gave an answer to the question in the second chapter of his book, The Stewardship of the Mystery. Before I get to his answer, I want … Continue reading T. Austin-Sparks on the Summing Up of All Things in Christ and the Meaning of History
We can begin now to live the life we will live forever because Jesus is still living for us the life He began to live for us many years ago.
When Jesus instructed His disciples to abide in Him, He used the illustration of a vine and branches. The pruning of the branches was an integral part of that lesson, and of abiding in Christ: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, … Continue reading Every Branch Gets Pruned
