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Feb 2019 27 Feb 27, 2019
1

I am regularly blessed by the Scripture meditations that appear daily at the Solid Joys app, yet another expression of the ministry of John Piper. This week, Monday, February 25, there appeared a brief meditation entitled, “You Are Greatly Loved.” I loved it! I was deeply encouraged by it, and I think you will be also. Here it is. We all once lived among [the sons of disobedience] in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the m...Read More

Feb 2019 25 Feb 25, 2019
1

As we are in the process of building a diaconate at Bridgeway, I thought it would be helpful to mention a few important things to keep in mind. (1) The English word deacon is the translation of the Greek word diakonos which appears 29x in the NT. However, only four of those twenty-nine occurrences refer to a person who holds the office of deacon (Rom. 16:1; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8, 12). The other instances of the word simply mean servant or messenger or one who ministers ...Read More

Feb 2019 21 Feb 21, 2019
3

There is an astounding statement in 1 Peter 2:6 about Jesus Christ that stands as a challenge to each of us who claim to be his followers. Peter describes Jesus as “a cornerstone chosen and precious.” Think about it: he is chosen of the Father and precious! He is of immeasurable value to God the Father and must therefore be precious and of immeasurable value to us! Treasuring Christ is God’s response to Christ and therefore should be ours. Consider thi...Read More

Feb 2019 18 Feb 18, 2019
4

We should acknowledge right from the start that the terminology of “slave” and “master” is highly offensive. And the reason is that our concept of “slavery” today is quite different from what existed, for example, in the time of Paul when he wrote Colossians 3:22-4:1. So let’s proceed carefully as we try to understand what the Bible actually says about this controversial topic. Needless to say, this is far from an exhaustive trea...Read More

Feb 2019 13 Feb 13, 2019
1

I’m excited today to tell you about a new book that I can happily recommend to everyone. The title is, Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit (Nashville: Emanate Books, 2019, 186 pp.). The author is Andrew Gabriel with whom I became acquainted last year and got to know better when we met up at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in November, 2018. When Andrew sent me a pdf copy of his manuscript, I...Read More

Feb 2019 12 Feb 12, 2019
Feb 2019 11 Feb 11, 2019
7

Ours is a splintered, fractured world, that often in its differing political parties and conflicting ethical systems and its seemingly endless variety of opinions on virtually every imaginable subject holds out little hope for ultimate meaning. And yet in the midst of undeniable diversity and the differences that so often divide us, the Bible tells us that there is a single, overarching, unitary theme and purpose and goal to all of human history and experience. The apos...Read More

Feb 2019 7 Feb 7, 2019
3

The immediate answer to the question posed in my title is, Yes, of course. Each individual Christian has the immeasurable privilege and joy of knowing and enjoying the love God has for them in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 2:20). But there is a dimension to this experience that God intends for us to enjoy only in the context of relationship with others in the body of Christ. Why do I say this? I say it because of two things Paul said in his prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19. Yo...Read More

Feb 2019 4 Feb 4, 2019
2

We should acknowledge from the outset that the adjective “common” does not appear in the Bible as a modifier of the noun “grace.” But we are justified in making use of it in view of how God’s dealings with non-Christian people are portrayed for us in Scripture. Our task will be to determine in what sense, if any at all, the grace of God is given to or is operative in the lives of those who persist throughout life in unbelief and rebellion ag...Read More