Helping you grow in God's all-sufficient grace and truth
One of the clearest evidences of a person’s love for God is a magnetic pull toward people, specifically the people of God. The believer in Christ, more than anyone else, experientially knows the true meaning of such Scriptures as Psalm
Continue readingRemember, not all counseling is specifically sin-related in a personal sense, but some certainly is. The love-motivated efforts of brothers and sisters in Christ to help one another overcome sin is the focus of this post. While some of these
Continue readingDietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor executed in 1945 for his part in the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, had profound insight into the human heart and its self-centered depravity. His treatise on the nature of Christian fellowship, entitled Life Together, contains
Continue readingA month ago one of our deacons loaned me the audio version of the book, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, the life of the German pastor executed in 1945 for his part in conspiring to assassinate Hitler. This highly acclaimed
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[Last week, I posted a personal testimony about the progress my wife and I are making as we work to eliminate long-standing debt we incurred over a period of many years, which had significantly crippled us. Today, I am publishing
Continue readingThe past few days I’ve been reviewing certain portions of The Cross of Christ by John Stott, which I read last year as part of Tim Challies’s Reading Classics Together initiative. I was again blessed by Stott’s pointed words of
Continue readingIn yesterday’s post I told you that I would finish up my comments on The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion by telling you what I think is the best page in the book and then relate
Continue readingThe past couple days we’ve been allowing B. B. Warfield’s essay, The Emotional Life of our Lord, to help us think more intentionally about the emotions of Jesus, specifically His compassion. Now, before moving on to Warfield’s next major section (anger),
Continue readingPicking up where we left off yesterday, let’s think more, with B. B. Warfield as our tutor, on the matter of how Jesus experienced and expressed the emotion of compassion. The compassion of Christ is sometimes both anger and sorrow
Continue readingThree months have already passed since the birth of this blog. We’ve been very encouraged by your response and trust this resource will become increasingly helpful as you reflect more intentionally on God’s truth and grace and, consequently, become increasingly
Continue readingHere’s some solid counsel from J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) concerning eight practical ways our love for Christ should express itself. I’ve taken liberty to trim back the word count a bit. Read the full article, “Loving Christ…Practically” here. 1. If we love
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Concerning the ministry of confrontation, which sometimes results in church discipline, please allow me to commend to you the best book I’ve read on the subject. It is clear, concise (80 pages), practical, loving, and biblically faithful. In Pursuit of
Continue readingConsider with me for a moment the instruction of Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that
Continue readingYesterday, in our adult Bible class at church, we broke into small buzz groups and surveyed the Scriptures on the subject of hospitality, the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers. It was a very challenging and profitable time
Continue readingAs an appendix to the last Q&A, which addressed the meaning of 1 John 4:18, let’s consider another application of the same principle (mature love casts out fear), which I believe is legitimate given the larger context of John’s epistle concerning
Continue readingQUESTION: Does 1 John 4:18 mean that anyone who fears judgment isn’t saved? ANSWER: Here’s what the verse says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears
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I’ve been thinking about love and texting for the past week or so because of a brief conversation I had with one of the elders at our church. So let me “think out loud” with you for a few moments.
Continue readingLet’s counsel one another on the matter of our freedom in Christ. Read 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. Take note of the seed thought that is planted in the first verse: “but love edifies.” Discuss the eight reasons the apostle cites to
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By God’s grace, I’m a husband, dad, grandpa, and pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Mayfield Hts, OH. I love Christ because He first loved me.
