The Christian Life

• Seeking Miraculous Healings: Musings and Cautions
  "Should we consider the miraculous essential to our Christianity?"
  
  
• Fiscal Hilarity
  "Have you ever dreamed of giving more? I mean, have you dreamed of giving a lot. By 'a lot' I mean 'a lot compared with what you have, not what somebody else has.' What about 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% or more?"
  
  
• A Mission of Peculiarity
  "When Jesus prayed that you would be sanctified by means of the Word (John 17:17), he meant that you would be peculiar, or distinctively unlike the rest of the world."
  
  
• Do Hurricanes Just Happen?
  "Though some postulate that hurricanes are spawned merely by natural causes, this answer is one "cause" too short. The Bible teaches they are first decreed by God."
  
  
• Seven Laws of the Race
  "The motif of the Olympic race was dear to the Apostle Paul. Did he sit in the stands in Athens or Corinth? Perhaps so. Regardless, parallels between "the games" and the believer's race in life were often on his mind. He (along with the author of Hebrews) gives us seven laws for running the race."
  
  
• Let Us Resolve This . . .
  " Do we find that we are frequently successful in making significant and lasting changes by means of this annual form of sincere commitment?"
  
  
• Powerfully Kept
  "It is the mistaken idea of many religious people that the security of the Christian is found in how tightly he or she can hold on to God."
  
  
• Worth a Lot of Sparrows
  "At two cents per five sparrows, one dollar’s worth would buy two hundred and fifty of them. Imagine that!"
  
  
• A 12 Point Cure for Complaining
  This could easily be used as a Bible study lesson and is especially helpful to keep in your Bible or on the fridge.
  
  
• Writing Down Our Thoughts
  "I know that you will think your thoughts are too paltry to keep, but they are the work of a lifetime and need to be passed to others for their spiritual benefit. Sometimes, as you know, it is the simplest of observations that has the most profound effect on us, and others."
  
  
• An Argument for Learning
  "Christians ought to be the world's brightest thinkers. We should be best, not because we have the degrees ("Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth." 1 Cor. 1:26), but because we start at the right place. "
  
  
• The Guarantee of Holiness
  "There is no such thing as an unholy Christian (at least in any ongoing sense.) Can Christians commit any sort of sin? Yes. Can Christians repeatedly commit sin? Yes. Can Christians commit the worst of sins? Yes. But it is inconceivable that a person could be a Christian without holiness of life."
  
  
• The Heart of Family Reformation
  "Lewis Bayly said, "What the preacher is in the pulpit, the same the Christian householder is in his house." Family worship is the natural outcome of such a view."
  
  
• Why Read a Good Book?
  "Never let the reading of books replace the reading of the Bible. Instead of one or the other, do both."
  
  
• Sanctifying Reason
  "To sanctify our reasoning process is to yield to his infinite wisdom and to expect from him every ounce of help that is necessary to make a decision that is both wise and pleasing to him. If faith is anything it is an attentive and conscious recognition of God’s place in all the details of life."
  
  
• On Stumbling
  "What is the difference between a betrayer, a deny-er, and a stumbler?"
  
  
• The Unrepenting Repenter
  "The religious man often deceives himself in his repentance. The believer may sin the worst of sins, it is true; but to remain in the love of sin, or to be comfortable in the atmosphere of sin, is a deadly sign, for only repenters inhabit heaven. "
  
  
• Disinterestedness
  "However, when we are tempted and seek to know and love God, and like Moses long to see His glory, and out of that occupation of our minds have no further love for that previous temptation, we have experienced something of the reality of the very highest form of freedom from sin."
  
  
• An Intimate Hour with God
  "If the joy of heaven is in knowing the Lord's presence without any sin to hinder us, surely seeking His presence now must be the greatest possible pursuit."
  
  
• Five Resolves For Personal Revival - "Personal revival begins when the believer faces his sin honestly."
  
  
• 35 Reasons Not To Sin - "Because sin makes light of the cross, upon which Christ died for the very purpose of taking away my sin."
  
  
• Abiding Life - the abiding life is the true Christian life. This tool outlines Jesus' teaching in John 15. Useful for teaching a class, or for private meditations.
  
  
• The Preservation and the Perseverance of the Saints*
  "God will preserve every true believer, but He will not do so without persevering faith, a faith He alone gives." This article is a chapter in a new primer on the doctrine to be published by Joshua Press. It is presented in outline form.
  
  
• The Care and Feeding of Flies
  "Just when we sit down to enjoy our Lord and the fellowship of like-minded believers, here come those flies."