In Psalm 23:3, King David writes, “he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” While there is benefit to me in walking a path of righteousness, my benefit is not the primary purpose of God’s leading me. David points to God’s reputation and God’s purpose as the reason for the leading. […]
The Ministry of Reconciliation – We Can Do Better
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17–18 NASB) Having grown up in the church, I […]
You shall know them by their . . . excess?
I am reminded of something I read about John Stott a while ago. He said that he wanted to live a lifestyle that would not cause the richest person in his congregation to feel sorry for him. Nor did he want the poorest person in his congregation to be put off by ostentation. He wanted […]
They don’t even know how to blush – responding to a lack of shame
A recent ruling in Indiana held that sexually graphic pictures posted by school girls on Facebook are considered constitutionally protected speech. As a result, their school could not submit them to discipline for the photos. The case was decided in court because the ACLU represented the girls to appeal the discipline that he school implemented […]
Freeze Warning: When visitors complain that your church is cold
When the Apostle Paul said farewell to the Ephesian elders, he quotes Jesus as saying, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Paul pointed to his own work to support himself while among the Ephesians as an example of this. Along these same lines, Matthew 20:28 tells us that Jesus did […]