Earlier today a wonderful brother in Christ pointed me to Philippians 3:12. There Paul writes, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." I was exhorted to rejoice in the truth that Christ Jesus has made me his own. That is a wonderful encouragement that all Christians should re...

At the Tuesday night men's Bible study, one of the brothers (not me) led us in a few songs from his guitar. We closed with "It is Well." After we had finished singing, I mentioned to the brothers that third verse of that hymn has to be one of the best stanzas in all of hymnody. I'm sure if I gave you few words you'll be able to recite the rest, but just in case, here's the...

Last night I had the privilege of ministering with another brother in the congregation. A few weeks back he was walking about in his neighborhood, when he suddenly found himself talking with his neighbor about some serious matters. He was faithful to express his concern for them, and faithful to express his willingness to listen and be of whatever help he could. In short, ...

If you're like me, then sometimes prayer (real, sincere, and earnest prayer) doesn't come easily. Sometimes I'm helped by others to pray. In the past I've used the compilation of prayers entitled Valley of Vision to help inspire me to pray. Recently, I've discovered John Baillie's A Diary of Private Prayers that has and I think will continue to prove useful in helping me t...

As I was driving to church on Sunday morning, I began to wonder if I was trusting God as I ought to have been. We've been studying through 1 Thessalonians and considering persecution and suffering a lot. I can see how I would be driven to trust God in hard circumstances, but over the last few days I've been thinking about whether or not I've been pridefully trusting in mys...

This post may bore some of you. Sorry if it does, but I don't think it should! In some ways, this is an answer to a question that a member raised with me the other day, but I thought that it would be beneficial to share more broadly. Here's the heart of the matter I want to address why do we have a different ending to the Old Testament than Jesus had, and does it matter? ...

In my sermon, I mentioned that holiness is ultimately about God. Holiness isn't about what we do or don't do. It is about reflecting God's good, gracious, and holy character. I could have (and maybe should have) also mentioned that holiness is not about something outside of us, but rather about what is happening inside of us. It is certainly true that holiness can be seen ...

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a writing project that addresses how to biblically view, deal with, and approach a particular set of sins. I've been reading various books and articles on the subject, but mostly I've been trying to read the Scriptures. This morning I spent some time reflecting on passages like Luke 18:11-13 and 1 Corinthians 10:13. The Luke 18...

Brothers Sisters, Last week I wrote expressing my thanks for pouring into me as your pastor in allowing me to attend the T4G conference and a small pastor's network meeting. In that note, I began to share with you some of my reflections on that time. I mentioned a few thoughts from talks delivered by Thabiti Anyabwile, Matt Chandler, and Mark Dever. Let me pick up where ...

This past Monday morning I was extremely edified and encouraged by Charles Spurgeon's morning devotion from his book Mornings and Evenings. I thought that it could be useful to your soul as well. Here is what Spurgeon had to say in reflecting upon Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to ...