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Aug 2019 28 Aug 28, 2019
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Everyone is familiar with the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4. But not everyone can explain what Jesus meant when he said that the Father is seeking men and women who will worship him “in spirit and truth” (v. 23)? To say that we must worship God “in spirit” means, among other things, that it must originate from within, from the heart; it must be sincere, motivated by our love for God and gratitude for all he is and has ...Read More

Aug 2019 26 Aug 26, 2019

Last November, while in Denver for the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, I recorded an interview with Andrew Gabriel, author of Simply Spirit Filled. You can watch the 8 minute interview by going to this address. https://www.andrewkgabriel.com/2019/08/18/encouraging-spiritual-gifts/...Read More

Aug 2019 26 Aug 26, 2019

Last week I posted an article in which I argued that if God is going to love us in the fullest and highest manner, he must seek from us the praise and adoration of all that he is. It is a portrayal of God in Scripture (see John 4:23) that almost destroyed C. S.  Lewis’s faith. Today I want to continue thinking on this theme. So let me begin with an illustration. If God is to love my wife, Ann, optimally, in the most superlative way possible, he must bestow or...Read More

Aug 2019 21 Aug 21, 2019
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[I posted on this subject a few years ago, but as I’m preaching through John’s gospel it reared its head yet again. It is of such profound importance that we need to meditate deeply on it over and over again.] C. S. Lewis was voted by evangelicals in America as the single most influential Christian of the 20th century. If you are wondering why he was known only by his initials, it is probably because C. S. stands for Clive Staples. If you were named Clive St...Read More

Aug 2019 19 Aug 19, 2019
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I couldn’t help but sit up and take note when I read that “popular Texas megachurch pastor and author Robert Morris preached before hundreds of inmates at the state's largest prison last week, assuring [them] that God is not ‘mad’ at them.” According to the article on The Christian Post, “The H.H. Coffield Unit in Anderson County houses over 4,000 inmates in East Texas. Since the Southlake-based church opened up its Coffield Campus la...Read More

Aug 2019 14 Aug 14, 2019

This may be the shortest article I’ve ever posted. It concerns the misspelling of a word that is being used with increasing frequency in evangelical circles. Much is being said these days about apostasy or the falling away of certain formerly professing Christians. In an article I read today, once again it referred to people who “apostacize". In one sentence he writes, “Years before a man or woman apostacizes . . .” Please note that the proper sp...Read More

Aug 2019 14 Aug 14, 2019
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[On August 7th, J. D. Greear, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, posted this brief but insightful article on the nature of the atoning death of Jesus. There is, in my opinion, no greater threat to the Christian faith, the true gospel, and the glory of God and all he has done for us in Jesus, than the repudiation and sinful characterization of penal substitutionary atonement on the part of certain “theologians”, “pastors”, and “aut...Read More

Aug 2019 12 Aug 12, 2019
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I love the spiritually volcanic eruptions of doxology in Scripture. One such explosion of praise is 1 Peter 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” It’s perfectly ok to ask the question: Why is God “blessed”? Why is he worthy of such adoration? Peter says it is because he is infinitely merciful and kind and has caused us to be born again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (v. 3)....Read More

Aug 2019 9 Aug 9, 2019

Many of you are already aware of a 30-minute podcast featuring Ray, me, and Tony Merida that is currently available at the Gospel Coalition website. It was recorded live at the Acts 29 Global Gathering in Orlando, back on July 24th. The focus of the questions Tony asked us was endurance in pastoral ministry. How have we done it? What are the greatest challenges to endurance and perseverance? What words of counsel do you have for young pastors today? Questions like that....Read More

Aug 2019 8 Aug 8, 2019
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[The editors of Pneuma Review recently asked me several questions about the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. Here it is.] At this point in church history speaking in tongues is still a controversial subject. What would you say to someone who refers to speaking in tongues as gibberish? If a person believes that all tongues speech both in Scripture and today is a known human language spoken somewhere in the world but previously not known by the speaker, then yes, i...Read More

Aug 2019 5 Aug 5, 2019

John MacArthur’s Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Thomas Nelson, Nov 12, 2013) reviewed by Craig S. Keener [Craig Keener wrote an extensive review of MacArthur’s book, Strange Fire, following the conference of the same name. It was originally published on-line at Pneuma Review on November 15, 2013. Since it is quite lengthy, I will post it in two parts. Part One was posted on Friday, August 2. Below is Part Two]...Read More

Aug 2019 2 Aug 2, 2019
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John MacArthur’s Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Thomas Nelson, Nov 12, 2013) reviewed by Craig S. Keener [Craig Keener wrote an extensive review of MacArthur’s book, Strange Fire, following the conference of the same name. It was originally published on-line at Pneuma Review on November 15, 2013. Since it is quite lengthy, I will post it in two parts. Below is Part One] While offering some very needed points,...Read More