Posts from August 2019
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
The central teaching of the Bible is that we are declared not guilty in God’s sight for the sake of Jesus our Substitute who lived, died and rose for us. This “justification” of sinners is a done deal. Paid in full. Finished. This gospel or good news of pardon is ours to personally enjoy when the Holy Spirit brings us to faith in Christ. But something else happened when we were justified by faith, when we were born to a…
“MORE THAN CONQUERORS”
Paul once talked about the gospel ministry in this way: “Thanks be to God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ. In a culture which measures success statistically and visibly, we might wonder how Paul could describe the preaching and teaching ministry as a triumphal procession. Paul’s missionary journeys were marked by public floggings and imprisonments, by stonings and riots, by persecution and rejection. Many of his congregations teetered on the brink of defecting to show-biz-for-Jesus counterfeits. Still, Paul…
THE HIDDEN GOD
“Indeed, You are a God who hides Himself,” wrote the prophet Isaiah (45:15). Martin Luther wrote a great deal about this subject of “the hidden God.” Even when it comes to His beloved children, there are some things which God lets us in on, things which He clearly reveals to us in the Bible. But there are other things over which God draws a curtain. He hides Himself. Moses put it this way: “The hidden things belong to the Lord…
OASIS OR MIRAGE?
You’ve probably seen a few mirages in your day. Drive down the highway on a hot summer day and sometimes the pavement up ahead looks like a shiny lake – but it keeps melting away as you approach it. It’s just a mirage. Light bends differently in the hot air near the surface of the road. Look into a glass of water with a pencil in it and the pencil seems to be broken or disconnected. Same principle: Light…