Long time ago there was a small boy who was brought in from one of the villages in the dark forest that surrounded the castle to live in the kingdom covered in sunlight. Upon arriving he discovered that he was loved by the king, but the boy never met the king, and never learned why…
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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to God, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5,6 The first sentence is straightforward: when we lean on our understanding we play God. We assert we know better than God. Finite beings are…
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The Fascinating Truth about a Doctrine We Like to RidiculePaul opens the letter to the Ephesians with the doctrine of predestination. A doctrine that a lot of people like to trash. That’s unfortunate because God intended it as a gift. A gift from his heart. Paul writes that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,” establishing the timeline. This was…
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Hid in Christ: A Hymn on Colossians 3:3This is my attempt at writing a hymn. It’s a commentary on Colossians 3:3: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” I don’t know anything about writing music, but I figured it couldn’t be any harder than writing a poem. You be the judge. Long ago we once stood…
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Introducing the 9/60 best books on the gospel. A 62-week long series. Let me give you the lowdown on the asterisk up there next to the word “Gospel.” When I first stumbled across this I found many titles that I would expect to be on that list. Then I found a few that I didn’t expect….
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We’ve all been there. Rapid-fire rejection. Unrelenting criticism. We find ourselves with our backs to the wall. Our nights spent staring at the ceiling. Curled into a ball on the couch. Our hearts wanting to jump out of our chest. We beg for it to end. But we know that as the sun rises it…
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Introducing the 7/60 best books on the gospel. A 62-week long series. Dear Mr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, You, my friend, can write! I also hear you can preach, too, but alas, I’ll never hear it this side of heaven. I will look you up when I arrive, though. Until then I must be content with your books….
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Introducing the 6/60 best books on the gospel. A 62-week long series. Gimmick isn’t deragatory. It’s marketing jargon for something that makes a product stand out from competitors. Think toy in cereal box. Easy-grip handles on toothbrushes. J. D. Greear has his own gimmick. More on that in a minute. Why Another Contemporary Book on the…
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Introducing the 5/60 best books on the gospel. A 62-week long series. Image credit: I’ve said it before: the Puritans are without mercy when it comes to sinners. Joseph Alleine is no exception. He opens his with this: The unconverted soul is a very cage of unclean birds (Rev xviii 2), a sepulchre full of corruption and…
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Top 100 Hymns Against Top 100 Contemporary Praise SongsA. W. Tozer said something in his that struck me: Some old hymn books may yet be found in which the hymns have no names; a line in italics above each one indicates its theme, and the worshipping heart cannot but rejoice in what it finds: ‘God’s glorious perfections celebrated.’ ‘Wisdom, majesty and goodness.’ ‘Omniscience.’…
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