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 …
Real Temptations
God’s saints are often troubled by the mere fact of their temptations. Sin is one kind of trouble, but we know how to seek forgiveness for sin committed in the past. But what about the constant volley of suggestions that seem more than a little attractive, to which you have not given way, but which …
Taking It Personally
God promises us times of refreshing in the gospel, but He always does it on His terms—never on ours. If the arrangement were to be made on our terms, it wouldn’t be gospel at all. Repent, He says. Be converted, He says, which means to be turned . . . away from self and toward …
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 …
The Spirit Brings Us
Christ is everything to us. We were saved by Christ, we are being saved in Christ, and we will be saved to the final image of Christ. Christ is the way to the Father, and we all, like lost children, must be brought to the Father. This is the Father’s Table. He set it—it was …
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 …
Wine Into Vinegar
We are summoned to this Table in faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and we want our time here to be entirely pleasing to Him, as well as to ourselves. This means that we must come with full, complete, entire, evangelical faith in Jesus. We may come with our sins, because that …
Old Wineskins in a New Age
Today is the day we mark the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead, in a higher and more pronounced way than we do every week. Every Sunday is resurrection Sunday, today is Resurrection Sunday. Many Christians observe a Lenten fast up to this day, a custom we do not observe. While it is possible …
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 …