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Aug 2014 29 Aug 29, 2014
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What is the greatest threat facing mankind? Continue reading . . . What is the greatest threat facing mankind? Many would say it is climate change, while others would point to the increasing presence of radical Islamic fundamentalism. Others would highlight the uncertainties of our global economy or perhaps the potential for new diseases that are resistant to all medical remedies. As important as those issues may be, the greatest threat to the eternal welfare of the hu...Read More

Aug 2014 28 Aug 28, 2014
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The book of Hebrews devotes considerable space to the glorious truth that the high priesthood of Jesus, which is according to the order not of Aaron but of Melchizedek, is superior to everything that preceded him and all that may follow. Continue reading . . . The book of Hebrews devotes considerable space to the glorious truth that the high priesthood of Jesus, which is according to the order not of Aaron but of Melchizedek, is superior to everything that preceded him ...Read More

Aug 2014 27 Aug 27, 2014

What would have become of us if Jesus had died before he reached the cross? Continue reading . . . What would have become of us if Jesus had died before he reached the cross? What would have happened if he had died in Gethsemane, or anywhere else for that matter, other than on a cross? If he had, the true significance of his death would not have been apparent. Something more than merely dying was needed. It needed to be made perfectly clear that he was altogether innoc...Read More

Aug 2014 26 Aug 26, 2014

I’m both rebuked and encouraged by something I recently noticed in Mark 1 and the portrayal of the early days of our Lord’s earthly ministry. Mark 1:21-28 describes how Jesus entered the synagogue on a Sabbath day and taught powerfully and authoritatively. The “altar call” that followed was hardly typical of what we see today. Jesus was confronted with a demonized man whom he immediately set free. Continue reading . . . I’m both rebuked and...Read More

Aug 2014 25 Aug 25, 2014
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Headlines were recently made here in Oklahoma City when Archbishop Paul S. Coakley withdrew a lawsuit that had been filed against a group of Satanists who had planned on using a consecrated wafer in their so-called “black mass” at our local Civic Center Music Hall. Continue reading . . . Headlines were recently made here in Oklahoma City when Archbishop Paul S. Coakley withdrew a lawsuit that had been filed against a group of Satanists who had planned on usi...Read More

Aug 2014 21 Aug 21, 2014
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All suffering passes through God’s hands. Nothing befalls us that he does not permit or fail to use for our ultimate good. We see this especially at the close of the passage we’ve been examining. Continue reading . . . All suffering passes through God’s hands. Nothing befalls us that he does not permit or fail to use for our ultimate good. We see this especially at the close of the passage we’ve been examining. “Beloved, do not be surpri...Read More

Aug 2014 20 Aug 20, 2014

The world may think suffering for Christ is silly and disgraceful and shameful. But not the Christian. Continue reading . . . The world may think suffering for Christ is silly and disgraceful and shameful. But not the Christian. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his...Read More

Aug 2014 19 Aug 19, 2014

We’ve been exhorted by the apostle not to be surprised when we suffer, but to rejoice in it. Now he goes even further and tells us that when we suffer we are, in fact, blessed! Continue reading . . . We’ve been exhorted by the apostle not to be surprised when we suffer, but to rejoice in it. Now he goes even further and tells us that when we suffer we are, in fact, blessed! What? “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon yo...Read More

Aug 2014 18 Aug 18, 2014

It’s one thing for Peter to tell us not to be surprised by suffering, but to insist that we “rejoice” in it is another thing altogether. But this is precisely what he says. Continue reading . . . It’s one thing for Peter to tell us not to be surprised by suffering, but to insist that we “rejoice” in it is another thing altogether. But this is precisely what he says. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it com...Read More

Aug 2014 15 Aug 15, 2014
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The first thing Peter tells us is that we shouldn’t be “surprised” by suffering. Continue reading . . . The first thing Peter tells us is that we shouldn’t be “surprised” by suffering. Here is how he put it in 1 Peter 4:12-19. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may...Read More

Aug 2014 14 Aug 14, 2014
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My primary concern as I begin this brief series of articles on suffering is this: how do I communicate the biblical perspective on suffering to a people, myself included, who live in such a safe environment? Continue reading . . . My primary concern as I begin this brief series of articles on suffering is this: how do I communicate the biblical perspective on suffering to a people, myself included, who live in such a safe environment? I don’t mean safe in terms of...Read More

Aug 2014 13 Aug 13, 2014
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What does the author of Hebrews mean when he says in Hebrews 2:10 that God the Father made Jesus, the founder of our salvation, “perfect through suffering”? Continue reading . . . What does the author of Hebrews mean when he says in Hebrews 2:10 that God the Father made Jesus, the founder of our salvation, “perfect through suffering”? And what does he mean in Hebrews 5:8 when he says that “he learned obedience through what he suffered?&rdqu...Read More

Aug 2014 12 Aug 12, 2014
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A lot of things can happen when the gospel is proclaimed. Some of them, though, are not always welcome. Take for example the disturbance Jesus caused at the beginning of his earthly ministry. Continue reading . . . A lot of things can happen when the gospel is proclaimed. Some of them, though, are not always welcome. Take for example the disturbance Jesus caused at the beginning of his earthly ministry. We read in Mark 1:21-28 that Jesus preached in the synagogue at Cap...Read More

Aug 2014 11 Aug 11, 2014
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Robert Gagnon, author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice, recently addressed this question (The Hope Update, an official publication of Restored Hope Network, July 2014, Vol. 2, No. 3). He finds what he believes is biblical precedent for his conclusion in 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Paul’s counsel regarding whether it is permissible for Christians to visit pagan temples where idols are worshipped. Continue reading . . . Robert Gagnon, author of The Bible and Homosexu...Read More

Aug 2014 7 Aug 7, 2014

Last week I mentioned the release of John Piper’s most recent installment in The Swans are not Silent series of Christian biographies. The three men discussed in the book are George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis. The book is titled, Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully. I thought I’d give you a couple more insightful quotes from the book in hopes that it will stir you to get it and read it in its entirety. Continue reading . . . Last week I men...Read More

Aug 2014 6 Aug 6, 2014
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What does it feel like when God’s word “pierces” and “divides” and “discerns” and “exposes” our hearts? Let me give you two examples from my own life. Continue reading . . . Hebrews 4:12-13 declares that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no cre...Read More

Aug 2014 5 Aug 5, 2014

I recently finished reading Wesley Hill’s popular book, Washed and Waiting: Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Zondervan, 2010). Continue reading . . . I recently finished reading Wesley Hill’s popular book, Washed and Waiting: Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Zondervan, 2010). Wesley was one of the best students I had when I taught at Wheaton College. After graduation, he spent a couple of years at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, wh...Read More

Aug 2014 4 Aug 4, 2014

In his remarkable essay, The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis identifies five promises that Scripture supplies regarding our eternal future. Continue reading . . . In his remarkable essay, The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis identifies five promises that Scripture supplies regarding our eternal future: “(1) that we shall be with Christ; (2) that we shall be like Him; (3) with an enormous wealth of imagery, that we shall have ‘glory’; (4) that we shall, in som...Read More