Watchman Nee has written the best explanation of what the New Testament means by “the world.” He notes, (1) When we turn from the classics to the New Testament writers we find that their uses of kosmos fall into three main groups. It is used first with the sense of the material universe, the round world, this earth. For example, Acts 17:14, “the God that made the world and all things therein”; Matt. 13:35 (and elsewhere), “the foundation of the... Read more

Many students of the Bible have demonstrated that the “soul” — according to Scripture — contains three parts: mind, will, and emotion. In Revise Us Again, I discussed how these three parts of the soul map to the way that each Christian tends to recognize God’s voice. (You can listen to that chapter here for free.) People are generally wired to lead with one part of their soul. Some are mostly heady/intellectual (mind), others are mostly emotive/feelers (emotions), and others... Read more

Lexham Press (known for Logos Bible Software, which I highly recommend) has produced a marvelous new book entitled Journeys of the Apostle Paul. Craig Keener, the world’s foremost expert on New Testament background, is one of the contributors. It’s a beautiful volume. I’ll be using it — along with two similar books by F.F. Bruce — in my research for the updated and revised version of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Here’s the publisher’s description of the... Read more

The world says . . . “when you grow old you will be able to make your own decisions, go your own way, and control you own destiny.” But Jesus has a different vision of maturity: It is the ability and willingness to be led where you would not rather go . . . . The servant leader is the leader who is being led to unknown, undesirable, and painful places. The way of the Christian leader is not the... Read more

“Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ. Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.” ~ Oswald Chambers Read more

Just to brighten your day. 😉 WARNING: If you watch this video, the tune will stay in your head for 3 days! Read more

The following is an excerpt from the Study Guide to my book, Jesus Now. What You Didn’t Know About Hebrews 4:12 When I was a young believer, I committed to memory Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Admittedly, I had no clue what “the... Read more

Several years ago, I watched the Netflix documentary about Tony Robbins entitled “I’m Not Your Guru.” It raised numerous questions for me. Questions that I’ve discussed with at least one other person. But I’d like to encourage those of you who have Netflix to watch it. Robbins uses expletives most people use the words “and,” “but,” and “like,” so you may not want to have children around if you dare to watch it. I’m not going to share my observations,... Read more

As the Head, Jesus Continues His Earthly Ministry Luke began the book of Acts with this remark: The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven. (1:1–2) Notice the word began. The “first account” Luke was referring to is the gospel of Luke. The implication of this sentence is that Luke’s new volume, Acts, is a record of what Jesus continued to do and... Read more

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