Helping you grow in God's all-sufficient grace and truth
Lord, please counsel us by revealing the subtle deceptions of our heart. We pray: . . . that we will have no other gods before You. That we will not dishonor Your uniqueness. That we will not put anything or
Continue readingYesterday, I was blessed and convicted by a message Joel Beeke preached at the Desiring God 2011 Conference for Pastors. As Beeke reflected upon the prayer lives of the Puritans, he expounded on seven principles for private prayer. TAKE HOLD
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We need God’s grace in our times of weakness. But we also need the Spirit to pray for us because our knowledge is not complete—we are ignorant of some things. Matthew Henry writes, “We are not competent judges of our
Continue readingIs Someone You Love Suicidal? – Listen to this recent podcast with Heath Lambert. Also, if you are looking for a good, small resource, check out HELP! My Friend Is Suicidal by police chaplain, Bruce Ray. 7 Ways to Protect
Continue readingO GOD OF THE OPEN EAR, Teach me to live by prayer as well as by providence, for myself, soul, body, children, family, church; Give me a heart frameable to thy will; so might I live in prayer, and honour
Continue readingPrayerlessness may be the most serious sin problem in the church today. Why do I say that? Because the absence of prayer is fueled by prideful independence, which God actively opposes (James 4:6). Who among us wants to be a
Continue readingLast summer, Wired magazine featured an article entitled, “UK now spends more time online each day than sleeping” (August 4, 2016). The article begins, “The average adult in the UK spends nearly nine hours of each day on media and
Continue readingHearing aids are a significant blessing to our family. In God’s gracious providence, these electronic devices have given the gift of hearing to four of our children. Whether it’s the typical battery-powered hearing aid, which became popular in the 1950’s,
Continue readingWhen you receive bad news what is your first response? Do you get angry? Do you get depressed? Or do you experience a little of both? Does disappointment provoke you to become angry with God or others whom you perceive
Continue readingIn our Older Testament, there is the account of a spiritual leader named Nehemiah who, in the providence of God, assumed a tough assignment. His burden was to regather the Jews who had returned to Judah after the exile to
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As God performs his sanctifying work in us—conforming us to the image of his Son, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)—there will be times when answers to prayer seem out of all possible reach. When we try
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God listens to those who listen to him. The proof of this is all over Scripture. Isaiah 66:2 offers a prime example when God says, “this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite
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Since my conversion from dead religion to the risen Christ in 1984, there is nothing I have wanted more than God’s profound favor upon my life. Therefore as a husband, I find 1 Peter 3:7 deeply sobering: “Likewise, husbands, live
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Hiding beneath the cloak of our perceived goodness are religious sins, those that feed self-awareness of our spirituality. Instead of driving us to God in humble dependence upon his grace, they blind us, fuel self-righteousness, breed spiritual apathy, and often
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Some sins are more passive than active. We may call these sins of omission rather than sins of commission because they are all about what we don’t do. These sins involve neglecting (and sometimes refusing) to do what is right
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Yesterday, I mentioned that I would post six brief articles introducing you to the six most common reasons for unanswered prayer, which are explained more fully in the book, Brass Heavens: Reasons for Unanswered Prayer. Here’s the first of those
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Sometimes we’re tempted to wonder if God can hear. After months or even years of praying over a particular person or situation, we look for evidence God is getting our message or even paying attention, and we can’t find much.
Continue readingIn 1975, at the Western Open golf tournament near Chicago, the legendary Lee Travino was one of three golfers struck by lightning on the same day. Later, when he was interviewed on television, he was asked what he had learned
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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.
