Last week we looked at Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17 that we be “in the world but not of the world” as we, His disciples, fulfill God’s mission for us on the earth. This is the method we will use to attack our job with confidence—being regularly involved right in the middle of Satan’s world system, but never partaking of it. We don’t have to “be one to win one.” We are different, not because we try to be or even know…
John 17:16-18: (vs. 16) “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (vs. 17) “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (vs. 18) “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” This great truth was verbalized by Jesus in His high priestly prayer to His Father on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples on the night He was crucified. He was sending them out, just…
What keeps us from sustained spiritual growth after we become Christians, or for some, from even continuing in the faith? Some would say a failure to “be in the Word,” or not being “faithful in church attendance,” or maybe a lack of “total commitment.” However, how many who diligently check each of those boxes, upon close examination, exhibit very little “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, humility and self-control?” Those qualities, Paul’s “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22, 23, are a measure…
Today’s blog posting is courtesy of a good friend, Dr. Christian Overman, whose perspective on the old Christmas hymn “Joy to the World” is outstanding. Be sure to watch the concluding 5-minute video that literally left me in tears of joy! This posting is taken from his web-site, Worldview Matters, https://biblicalworldviewmatters.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-worlds-greatest-christmas-gift.html “Joy To The World is based on Psalm 98: ‘Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth, break forth in song…for He is coming to judge the earth, with righteousness He shall judge the…
I recently had coffee with a young friend whom I have known for some time. He grew up in a Christian family, but in his twenties strayed from the path he had been taught to follow by his parents and experienced a good bit of the lifestyle of today’s millennial culture. About three years ago he had a brand new experience with the Lord, and his interests, desires and life goals were changed. He found himself wanting to live a life that would reflect…
Those who like to think in “big picture” categories have probably noticed that the topics of my blog postings/newsletters generally fall within two rather distinct and separate divisions—gospel or kingdom, grace or law, tree or forest, internal or external, what is above you or what is beneath you. Martin Luther believed being able to understand and then translate to real life these “truths in tension” was the very essence of Christianity. For the last few weeks, we have been looking at the first half…
The world looks at the church today and sees us as self-righteous Pharisees. They watch us as we try to live righteous lives, obediently following the Lord and His commands as best we can, just as we have been taught, and then they call us hypocrites when we inevitably stumble and sin. We come to church and involve ourselves in its programs to learn to obey God more successfully, and eventually we find ourselves leading others in what we see as a universal quest…
Did you know that a family, civil government, a church, a business, a sports team, a school or university—indeed an organization of any kind—will only be successful to the degree it runs by the principles of the law of God as found in the Bible? This is called the “external use of God’s law.” However, Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:23, 24 that there is another, very different use of the law, the “internal use of God’s law.” The external use, ordering behavior according…
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). In previous blog postings, we have discussed at some length Paul’s idea of carefully distinguishing between the two edges of the sword of the Word of God—God’s holy righteous, perfect law and His limitless, unconditional grace—our two fraternal, distinctly different twins. In the verse above, Paul tells Timothy that as he is diligent to comprehend that distinction, the…
Nothing is as useless as a kitchen knife with a dull blade. The same is true of the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, Who resides in our hearts as we live here on the earth. If our swords are not sharp, we will not be effective in the spiritual battles we face every day in the world. Several weeks ago, we discussed the fact that in the Bible the word of God is said to have two edges: “Out of [Jesus’]…