SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
My morning devotions led me to the opening verses of Matthew 9, where Jesus heals a paralytic. These verses jumped out at me: But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose […]
REVELATION AND ILLUMINATION
No born-again Christian will deny that the Bible is God’s divinely inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word. Many can even quote the verses that call it God-breathed, useful for training in righteousness, alive, active, and sharper than a double-edged sword. But for most believers, it remains a difficult book to read, let alone study in-depth for […]
HOLINESS AND THE ARMOR OF GOD
Holiness is a word you don’t hear much in today’s church culture. After all, the trends of our day have focused on making it fun to go to church and that means avoiding any talk of things that do not sound like fun. Things like sin, repentance, surrender. And holiness. That word has an otherworldly […]
THAT THEY MAY ALL BE ONE
The scene is one of the most poignant ones in all of Jesus’ ministry. It is the eve of Passover, the most sacred of Jewish holidays, and the culmination of His mission. One last time, He has gathered His inner circle of disciples in an upper room for a meal and final instructions before giving […]
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD?
It’s a question that has been on my mind lately. It relates to much of the thinking and writing that occupies our time: the true identity of Christians. We are surrounded by so many different churches and denominations all claiming to have a corner on God’s revealed truth that it gets confusing. According to the […]