Living As Enemies No More
Disunity and relational strife seem to plague many churches. I hear of fighting and grumbling over a plethora of issues ranging from music style to Bible translations to dress to room usage. Disunity in a local church hurts the mission of Christ as it does not show the result of our salvation – that believers […]
Flying and the Expulsive Power of a New Affection
I do not like getting on airplanes. I don’t like going through security. I don’t like taking my shoes off and getting my socks all wrinkled up in my shoes. Airport food is just a notch above tolerable to me. I can’t stand turbulence. I really don’t like the center seat, especially near the back […]
Marcus Aurelius and Our Lives
In approximately A.D. 62, the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians: All things have been created through Him and for Him… and by Him all things hold together. Sometime between the years 161 and 180, Marcus Aurelius wrote his famous Meditations. Some believe Marcus Aurelius was a great leader, a great emperor. […]
Buy a Cemetery Plot Next to a Famous Person
I learned of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery reading Tim Chaddick’s book Better, written on the Book of Ecclesiastes. Chaddick, who pastors in LA, drives by the Hollywood Forever Cemetery regularly. Out of curiosity, I wondered how much a plot would cost. With a few clicks on the Internet, I discovered there is a market for […]
Rescued from the Futility of Accomplishing
After declaring everything to be meaningless, Solomon asked a piercing question: What does a man gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:3) Everyone pursues something, labors for something, works for something. And Solomon’s point was that all the labor under the sun is meaningless because there really is […]
When a Blessing Becomes Meaningless
In Ecclesiastes 1, Solomon declares everything to be meaningless. He boldly states, “Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities. All is vanity!” Just as the Bible uses the language “King of kings and Lord of lords” to emphasize that Jesus is above every king and every lord, Solomon is emphasizing that everything is emphatically and utterly […]
5 Things that Killing Sin is NOT
I have been reading the classic work, The Mortification of Sin, by John Owen. Owen famously challenges us to “be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” He strongly states, “The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.” It is our duty, […]
Through the Risen Christ
Because He is alive, we may live and live in freedom. In his classic work The Finished Work of Christ, Francis Schaeffer reminds us that we live as Christians only through Jesus. We live only through the power of the risen Lord. The law is not enough to save us, and it is not enough to […]
Let the Word Dwell in You: Why It Matters
My friend, Toby Jennings, is guest-blogging today. Toby is the Managing Editor of LifeWay’s Explore the Bible, a book-by-book study for groups of all ages. Toby earned his PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. You can access a free preview of the first month of Explore the Bible here. When asked by Roman Christians how God could […]
Paid Debt and Response
Perhaps you have pulled through a Starbucks drive-through and experienced the barista informing you that the person in the car in front of you has already paid for your coffee. In that moment, your heart is filled with gratitude over a small action. It likely impacts the rest of your day. Grace does that to […]