The Character of Job
God is always searching for men who will be men for Him. The Bible confirms this truth. Samuel said to Saul, the Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). Jeremiah 5:1 says,
Continue reading
Category: Sanctification
Flashback Friday – 37 Ways to Love One Another
Five years ago, this month, I published this article. Since then 44,000 people have read it. Therefore, I thought it may make a good Flashback Friday post. I trust it will encourage your growth in grace. A local church is
Continue readingThe Locus and Display of God’s Holiness and Beauty
As I near the end of reading Isaiah By the Day: A Devotional Translation by Alec Motyer, I want to pass on to you some really important thoughts from the author which serve to challenge each of us. Today’s reading
Continue reading
3 Ways Suffering Helps to Make Us like Christ
The past two Lord’s Days, our congregation has been considering what the apostle had in mind when he declared his heart’s longing, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like
Continue readingNUGGETS [7/29/16]
Why We Do Not Punish Our Children – Sara Wallace makes the same distinction that I’ve been making in my teaching and writing for several decades (HELP! My Toddler Rules the House, for example). So glad for this TGC post!
Continue readingWhat It Means to Know Christ
Sometime in the early months of 1984, I met Jesus Christ. Before that moment, I knew about Him, but I did not know Him. I had a religion, but I did not have a relationship with God. By God’s grace
Continue reading
Four Means of Restoring the Human Conscience
Today is the third, and final, post in a series of reflections on the conscience stimulated by a chapter in A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life. First, we thought about the nature of the conscience as first created by God.
Continue reading
Six Kinds of Evil Consciences
Continuing from yesterday’s post, I’d like us to think for a few more moments about what the Puritans taught concerning the conscience. In this post, consider a summary of six kinds of evil consciences which, again, are drawn from A
Continue readingFlashback Friday: 3 Results of Freedom in Christ
It’s Friday again! So here’s an article from July 2012. Earlier this week, the citizens of the United States celebrate their independence as a nation. We truly thank and praise God for the political and religious freedoms that we have
Continue readingFlashback Friday: Bearing One Another’s Sin Burdens
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 you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and
Continue reading
Work Out Our Own Salvation
As believers, we long to be more like Christ but some days we feel we are taking three steps forward and two steps back. How do we approach the Christian life? How do we make steady progress in our spiritual
Continue readingDoes God Love You and Have a Wonderful Plan for Your Life?
Today, many Christians believe they are entitled to a trouble-free life. This mindset may be at least partly due to having been sold a bill of goods. Many have been told “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
Continue readingFour Implications of Being Risen with Christ
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the well from which the fountain of new life springs. Those who are united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection possess this new living water in their innermost being (Jn 7:38). This
Continue reading
Freedom from the Performance Treadmill
In 1994, I was given Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges. Immediately, I read the first few chapters and set it aside for no memorable reason (Providence had another plan to use it later). There it sat until 2006 when I
Continue readingAttitude Is Everything
What is godliness? Is it measured by conformity to a list of man-made rules and regulations? Does it consist primarily of prohibitions? These are questions that Jerry Bridges answered for me many years ago in his book The Practice of
Continue readingHoliness Is Like Farming
Last week, when I posted a brief tribute to an unseen mentor, I mentioned that I would be posting more thoughts about how the writings of Jerry Bridges have impacted my thinking about the Christian life and practical theology. One
Continue readingJerry Bridges, My Unseen Mentor
For 32 years, Jerry Bridges was a spiritual mentor to me. It began in the spring of 1984, when the home Bible study group that was instrumental in my conversion morphed into a Navigators 2:7 discipleship group, where I was
Continue readingSoul Purity
Christians are crashing and burning on the runways of life. Through the TV, Internet, cell phones, newspapers, books, and magazines we are bombarded by the world’s temptations and attractions. The response of choosing isolation from the world doesn’t work: we fail to reach the
Continue reading
