Can I be sure I am going to Heaven? In one of my recent articles, a pastor from the 1600s offered the suffering Christian the encouragement that whatever they are suffering here on earth is “all the hell you shall ever know.” A commentator on that post asked “can a Christian lose their salvation?” Lets make this personal: What if I slip up and fall? What if I commit a big sin? What if I ‘backslide’ on my faith, perhaps even... Read more
Jesus clearly promises that he will send the Holy Spirit and commanded us to receive Him. Yet this clear instruction is left off many lists of Jesus commands. Perhaps it is ommitted because we cannot fill ourselves Holy Spirit. Yet if we have been paying attention throughout this series so far we will have seen that by ourselves we cannot obey most of the commands of Jesus. In the verses below we see that the Holy Spirit is sent... Read more
There is a little book called “The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod.” written by Thomas Brooks in the 1600s which speaks about how suffering can be seen in some senses as God’s loving discipline for us. Of course it was written in an era, unlike ours, of great suffering. I commend this little book to you which I have read this morning thanks to one of my readers recommending it in a comment on my Preparing for Unexpected Suffering post. The... Read more
Desiring God Ministries have just published an article I’ve written on preparing for sickness and other forms of suffering. We will ALL experience suffering at some point in our lives. It often comes with no warning, and may come to us sooner than we expect. Without becoming riddled with fear, we would be wise to prepare for the unexpected. Like most who read this article, I live in a historical anomaly when it comes to suffering. I have access to clean... Read more
When God delivered the Israelites, Samuel didn’t want them to forget what had happened as we so often do even today. So he set up a stone, the Ebenezer stone. Which means ‘stone of help’. And as he did so, Samuel said “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!” (1 Samuel 7:12, NLT). I have had plenty of opportunity since becoming unwell to reminisce, and look back over my own life. I really do have a lot to be... Read more
In our fast-paced world, where every second is filled by something, is it any wonder we don’t have time to hear the voice of God? In the hurry to get tasks done, we neglect the glorious calling to direct our gaze heavenwards. Even the ‘quiet time’ can degenerate into one more task to tick off our list, rather than a time to linger in God’s presence, and hear him in his Word. On a diet of tweets and soundbites we... Read more
Who or what do you worship? Yourself? The idea of having a perfect partner? Money? Success? Power? Happiness? Jesus commands us to worship only God: Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” (Luke 4:8) As John Piper puts it: Everyone in the world worships something. From the most religious to the most secular, all people value something high enough to build their lives around it. It may be... Read more
Faith. Due to frequent distortions the word itself now raises antibodies among many Christians. The so-called ‘faith teachers’ have in many cases been responsible for the distortion of prosperity teaching, the worst export that America has given the world. It is an ongoing scandal and provocation to the Almighty that certain preachers are getting rich from deceptive preaching on ‘faith.’ Download a PDF version of this article for easier reading and printing. The idea that God can be turned into... Read more
Of course the term ‘angry watchbloggers’ hadn’t been invented during John Stott’s lifetime. But the type certainly already existed. And in an example of how there is nothing new under the sun, he had a rebuke for them which rings true today. Similarly modern progressive Christians sometimes don’t realise that they are echoing similar movements in previous generations. In Stotts day these would have been called liberals. And Stott has a strong message for those of them who in their... Read more
When you look at a crowd of people what do you see? A potential threat to withdraw from? A time-consuming multitude to avoid? A faceless mass to feel indifferent to? Not Jesus. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36) My pastor Tope Koleoso loves to watch crowds of people. I think he sees the crowd as a group of individuals. All of whom need... Read more
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