Helping you grow in God's all-sufficient grace and truth
“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors.” – Psalm 119:24
QUESTION: 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
Continue readingYesterday, while listening to the audio version of John Stott’s The Cross of Christ, I was hit between the eyes, i.e. convicted, by two sentences: “Envy is the reverse side of a coin called vanity. Nobody is ever envious of
Continue readingDo the troubles of life ever leave you so wiped out physically, mentally, and emotionally that all you can do is squeak out “God, help me!”? Then Psalm 121 is for you. Yesterday, our congregation spent its morning worship time
Continue readingToday, I have the privilege to officiate the funeral service of a man in our church who became a friend over the past half-dozen years. When he cautiously first came to a Thanksgiving dinner at our church he did not
Continue readingHere are a few more links that will encourage your personal growth, cultivate biblical thinking and discernment, and strengthen one-another ministry. Backward Porn Addiction, by Rick Thomas, tackles the issue of modesty and exhorts Christian women to dress for the
Continue readingOne of the tasks that I both love and hate as a seminary professor is grading papers. I hate it because it can be so laborious. But I love it because I get to see if I succeeded in stimulating
Continue readingIs lust and porn a male problem? The answer is a resounding NO. For all of human history lust has damaged the human soul and wreaked havoc on relationships, destroying too many marriages to count. Yet the church has largely
Continue readingAccording to 1 Peter 1:7, God’s purpose in our suffering is “that the genuineness of [our] faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at
Continue reading“Abuse is a growing problem. In 2007 there were over three million reported cases of child abuse in the United States, involving as many as six million children. Estimates of the number of incidents of domestic violence range from just
Continue readingHe who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see (1 Tim. 6:15-16). Let us draw near
Continue readingIn addition to the daily, private feeding on the Word (yesterday’s post), public intake is also necessary for sanctification. The growing disciple is also one who places a high priority on listening to the public reading and preaching of the
Continue readingBiblical sanctification requires the habitual putting off of the sins that so easily entangle us (Heb. 12:1). But there is another side to godliness—what we must put on, or crave. As ingrained sin habits are being cast aside, the follower
Continue readingAuthentic biblical counseling recognizes God’s holy calling for the believer and the disciple’s personal responsibility for self-discipline, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to live in a manner worthy of his or her high position as a new creature
Continue readingSince dads are disciplers it is crucial for us to understand how our anger affects our children, most specifically how it corrupts and frustrates their innate desire to please us. Rick Thomas, of The Counseling Solutions Group, posted a very
Continue readingO FOUNTAIN OF ALL GOOD, Destroy in me every lofty thought, Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds. Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness, Implant in us true lowliness of spirit, Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence, Open
Continue readingOne of the beauties of God’s wisdom is the way he uses our trials to equip us to counsel one another—just as it says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. As a result, many times the best counselors are those who’ve “been
Continue readingPeriodically, questions are submitted to this blog by email. Since this Q&A interchange will surely help others, in addition to the one who posed the question, I will sometimes post answers here in generic form. Here’s a few questions from
Continue readingIn yesterday’s post, we began looking at Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonians: “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thess. 5:14). We considered the first two kinds of people he
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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.
