We can never be reminded too many times of the gospel of grace. It is a message that is not just information, but also food, and light, and warmth—it is a message that is effectual. And there is a word we should all love more than we do—effectual. Our condition apart from Christ is one …
The Lure of the Fragmented Life
We all have a tendency to live fragmented lives, and a central part of this is because we do not look to the place where all true integration happens, and that is to the Lord Jesus. But part of the reason we don’t do this is because we foolishly believe that fragmentation makes us easier …
The Spice Spoons of Sentimentalism
We all know that mercy is a good thing, and we are grateful to God when He extends it to us. We also know that we are called to imitate God in this, and to show mercy to others. But because of our fallen world, this is more complicated than it might look at first …
However Do We Manage That?
Self-deception is hard to understand, and even harder to see. Think for a moment about what self-deception involves. You have to be cunning enough to tell yourself a lie, and you have to gullible enough to believe it. How can that happen? How can one part of you pull the wool over the eyes of …
Secularism and the Blood
This is Ascension Sunday, the day on which we mark the ascension of the Lord Jesus to the right hand of the Ancient of Days. We confess explicitly on this day what we affirm on every day, which is that the Lord Jesus has been given universal authority over every nation. As a consequence—because we …
A Greater Abraham
The judgments of God are slow in coming, but sudden when they come. We have a tendency, once any state of affairs has continued past three weeks, to consider it our lot in life or our birthright, depending on whether it is hard or easy. This is why we are always surprised—whether the surprise is …
Composed for Confession
Our liturgical worship here is intentional—but there are two ways this can go. One is that you can “learn the drill,” and go through the motions while your heart and mind are off somewhere else. The other is that you can learn the liturgy so that you can use it as an instrument to focus …
Peoples, Not Just People
When we gather to worship the Lord, we are crying out to Him. He is God, and we are the worshipers. He is the one who bestows, and we are the supplicants. He is the Savior, and we are those who need to be saved. He is the Deliverer, and we must be delivered. He …
No Hope Without Jesus
The Bible teaches that sin is organic. It grows and develops, and does so in a natural progression. There are many images of this, but the upshot is that the harvest of terrible consequences does not look anything like the field did when it was first planted. When sin is trans-generational, this means that the …
When You May Explain Yourself
One of the great problems we have is the temptation to self-justification. But whenever we justify ourselves, it is because we are covering ourselves with stories and excuses, woven out of our own heads, instead of covering ourselves with the blood of Jesus Christ, plus nothing else. Of course, the fact that we are sinners …