“Our prayers can go where we cannot. There are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.” —Brother Andrew
The historicity of the Bible is well documented. Here is another archeological biography from The Bible Archeology Report, this one of Ben-Hadad III.
“I do not want the walls of separation between different orders of Christians to be destroyed, but only lowered, that we may shake hands a little easier over them.” —Rowland Hill (1744-1833)
“Those who are seriously attempting chastity are more conscious, and soon know a great deal more about their own sexuality than anyone else. They come to know their desires as Wellington knew Napoleon, or as Sherlock Holmes knew Moriarty; as a rat-catcher knows rats or a plumber knows about leaky pipes. Virtue—even attempted virtue—brings light; indulgence brings fog.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
Marvin Olasky begins this informative article, “The war against abortion did not begin with the now-overturned 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.” He then gives us a comprehensive history of women of science who have stood on the front lines of the pro-life movement. Check out The Women Who Guarded the Womb.
J. Warner Wallace debunks that myth that Christianity is anti-science. Wallace actually makes that case the Christianity is the reason behind science’s remarkable growth.
Greg and I both have confessions to make about areas we fell short in our earlier careers. But we have learned that those stumbling points can be launching points for greater growth.
“Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first—the most basic—expression of Americanism.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
Greg Morse calls out the way pornography addictions are hamstringing the church. “My intention is simply to kindle the abhorrence that every saint should have for this sin. I hate pornography. I hate what it does to young men; I hate what it does to marriages; I hate what it does to older men and even older ministers who trip while crossing the finish line. I hate its accessibility; I hate its covertness; I hate how it is designed by satan to disable the men and women who were made for so much more.”
“But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what [God] intended us to be when He made us. He is the inventor, we are only the machine. He is the painter, we are only the picture. How should we know what He means us to be like? … We may be content to remain what we call ‘ordinary people’: but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility: it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
“Leadership development is synonymous with personal development. As leaders grow personally, they increase their ability to lead. As they increase their capability to lead, they enlarge the capacity of their organization to grow. Therefore, the most crucial objective for any leader is personal growth. … The most important thing spiritual leaders do is cultivate their relationship with God (John 15:5; Jeremiah 7:13).” —Richard and Henry Blackaby, in Spiritual Leadership
Here’s a quote from John Piper that got me thinking: “God loves His people. He loves for them to get good food, rich food. He knows how to put His shepherds in the vice of affliction and squeeze out of us authentic, prayer-soaked, desperation-flavored insight—the unsearchable riches of Christ for the joy of His people.” Pastor, God wants to use you to shepherd the flock He’s placed under your care. So trust Him to give you what you need. And check out my book When Sheep Bite to help you along through this journey.
“Do more than go to church; be the church. Find a place to serve in the promises of your pastor and fight for that vision like it was your own. Do more than give what’s left; give what’s right. Do more than show up as a consumer; show up as a partner, knowing the day will come when you will need partnership to see your dream come to pass. If your promise is concerning business, then be the best employee of the people for whom you work. If your promise will need generous people involved to make it happen, then be generous in the promises of others. If your promise is about your family, be a blessing to the families of those who are around you. Make their dreams come to pass and you will plant the seeds that will, in time, become the fruit of your God-given why.” —Jim Wiegand, in Why is Greater Than What
“You have noticed, I expect, that Christ Himself sometimes describes the Christian way as very hard, sometimes as very easy. He says, ‘Take up your Cross’—in other words, it is like going to be beaten to death in a concentration camp. Next minute he says, ‘My yoke is easy and my burden light.’ He means both.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
T.M. Moore is beginning a new series of posts on the importance of the spiritual life for the Christian. He writes, “We may thus define the spiritual life in terms of Christ exalted as our focus, Christ indwelling as our sustaining power, Christ at work in and through us as the outcome of our discipleship, and Christ returning as the hope which sustains us through the tests we encounter every day. True spiritual life, in other words, is all about Jesus Christ.”
“The truths of eternity have an infinite power. They are often powerless because we do not give them time to reveal themselves. Taking time to be alone with God is the only remedy. … The Word that we get from the mouth of God brings the power to know it and to do it. Let us learn this lesson: personal fellowship with God alone in secret can make the Word alive and powerful.” —Andrew Murray
Dr. Thaddeus Williams unpacks what Charles Darwin meant when he wrote to a friend, “The horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man’s mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy.” Check out Dr. Williams’ post, which he opens with, “If our minds came from a capital “M” Mind—God—gifted to us as truth-knowing mechanisms, we have a reason to reason. But if our minds came from a non-mind, a literally dumb process of random mutations and natural selection, then our minds are not fundamentally truth-knowing mechanisms, but mere survival mechanisms.”
“Our first birth brought us into sin and sorrow, but our second birth brings us into purity and joy. We were born to die; now are we born never to die, ‘begotten again’ unto a life that shall remain in us for evermore, a life which shall even penetrate these mortal bodies, and make them immortal, ‘by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.’” —Charles Spurgeon, commenting on 1 Peter 1:3-4
Patience is a leadership builder, just as surely as impatience is a leadership killer. When leaders repeatedly make poor choices because of their impatience, there is only one way to fix this leadership killer—lengthen the fuse.
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” —Henry David Thoreau
“Christian sorrow leads to repentance; repentance leads to forgiveness; and forgiveness leads to true joy over one’s reconciliation with God.” —Henry Halley, commenting on James 4:9-10; c.f. Psalm 32:1
“People who were not Christians themselves helped me to Christianity. But usually it is those who know Him that bring Him to others. That is why the Church, the whole body of Christians showing Him to one another, is so important. You might say that when two Christians are following Christ together there is not twice as much Christianity as when they are apart, but sixteen times as much.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
“And so I labored hard to be a man of full integrity in all my dealings, being careful not to fall into temptation, lest the pagan should some pretext have to denigrate my good episcopate and to disparage me.” —Patrick of Ireland
With all the activity inside even the tiniest of cells, how do the cells keep their proper shape? Scientists have discovered a process called CorMR. “Researchers found that CorM, a protein inside the system, forms thin strands just under the inner cell membrane. CorR, another bacterial protein, helps place those strands in the right area. An additional system, MinC, helps keep them away from the cell ends and the division site.” This is just another example of the precise details our Creator superintends in all He has made!
Thomas S. Kidd writes, “Given the mixed personal record of the American Founders, what accounts for our nation’s impressive history of Christian devotion? The most important factor was the Lord’s providence working through thousands of churches to spread the gospel. A second essential factor in America’s robust religious history was the unusual freedom that churches and Christians enjoyed due to religious liberty.” Check out this thoughtful post about the story of Christianity in America.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
Nearly every church has a pulpit where the pastor stands to deliver the weekly sermon. And almost every evangelical church gathering has the same order of service. Where did these things originate?
I talk more about biblical and non-biblical issues in this video, and in my blog post and video called “Use the right term.”
The full sermon from which this clip came is here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I was asked to share one of the funniest things I’ve seen in church. I didn’t exactly “see” this one, but it still ranks as one of the funniest things I have ever experienced!
In all seriousness, we often are looking for “a sign” to help us confirm the direction God may be leading us. I would invite you to check out my post and video Knowing God’s Will, especially if you are contemplating God’s direction for you.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Fifty-eight years ago this weekend, on April 4, 1968, just after 6pm on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was cut down by an assassin’s bullet. A powerful voice in the struggle for civil rights for African Americans was silenced, and yet his legacy still lives on more than a half-century later.
A couple of days ago, we remembered another historic death: the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. But unlike Dr. King, today we also celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead!
Does it matter that Jesus was raised back to life? If Dr. King’s legacy can still live on in the life of his followers, even though his body is in the grave, couldn’t the same thing happen for the followers of Jesus of Nazareth? The answer, quite simply, is “No!” This is because Jesus claimed that His kingdom was an eternal Kingdom, and that He came to bring people eternal life (John 3:16). If the Founder of this Kingdom could be held in the grave, what would His followers have to look forward to? Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19.
(I’m not going to take the time to go through all the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus here, but I would encourage you to check out our series A.L.I.V.E.
We have named this series after a statement from Jesus, “I will build My Church.” He made this statement before His death and before His resurrection, which tells us that He knew the outcome before those events even occurred.
Look how Paul concludes that the resurrection of Jesus is what gives meaning to the terms “saints” and “Church” in Ephesians 1:15-23. Our faith in what Jesus did for us on the Cross—namely, paying the penalty for our sins—is what justifies us, allowing us to be called saints (2:4-5). Notice how saints are to now live (2:6-10).
Look at those two phrases: “saved…not by works” and “created…to do good works.” As my friend T.M. Moore noted, “We are not saved by good works, but we’re not truly saved without them.” Good works is what characterized the earthly ministry of Jesus (Acts 10:38), and good works are what His saints are now freed and empowered to do (Romans 7:4; 1 Peter 2:12).
Paul goes on to say that saints are who make up the Church of Jesus (Ephesians 2:14-22). The Church is not a building, but saints following the example of Jesus to make the Kingdom of God known in the world (Acts 4:32-35).
A hundred years later, Aristides wrote a letter to Emperor Hadrian about these saints (who were now known as Christians):
“They help those who offend them, making friends of them; do good to their enemies. They don’t adore idols; they are kind, good, modest, sincere, they love one another; don’t despise widows; protect the orphans; those who have much give without grumbling, to those in need. When they meet strangers, they invite them to their homes with joy, for they recognize them as true brothers, not natural but spiritual. When a poor man dies, if they become aware, they contribute according to their means for his funeral; if they come to know that some people are persecuted or sent to prison or condemned for the sake of Christ’s name, they put their alms together and send them to those in need. If they can do it, they try to obtain their release. When a slave or a beggar is in need of help, they fast two or three days, and give him the food they had prepared for themselves, because they think that he too should be joyful, as he has been called to be joyful like themselves.”
Jesus is the eternally-living Founder of His Church, and those who have had their sins forgiven by their faith in His death and resurrection are the living stones of His Church (1 Peter 2:5).
Coming to the Cross makes us saints. Making the Savior known by the way we live makes us the Church.
We can’t do this unless Jesus is alive and actively empowering us (Matthew 28:18-20).
Let me reiterate what my friend wrote, because this is how saints should live: “We are not saved by good works, but we’re not truly saved without them.”
The resurrection of Jesus makes it possible for us to not only be delivered from trying to earn our salvation by doing good works, but to be empowered to do good works so that we compel others want to know Jesus for themselves.
As the saints go, so goes the Church.
Check out all of the messages in this series “I will build My Church” by clicking here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week we saw that the essential confession is not just, “I believe You are the Christ the Son of the living God,” but also, “I will take up my cross and follow You!” (Matthew 16:16-18, 24). Notice that these are “red letter words”—words spoken by Jesus. They are not “they say” words (like v. 14; Matthew 7:21-23).
Look at the very next red letter words in Matthew 7:24-27. Notice the two parts: hears and puts them into practice. That’s our verbal and our lifestyle confession. What are we hearing and putting into practice? “These words of Mine.”
Jesus is our Cornerstone. The dictionary defines this as, “something that is essential, indispensable; the chief foundation on which something is constructed or developed.”
Some sandy things to build your life upon:
what your family practiced
what your pastor preached
what your friends believe
You know how you will know how sure your foundation is? When the storms come! I recently heard a well-known scholar and Christian apologist in an interview. He was asked by a skeptic of Christianity if he had doubts, and he responded, “Sure, I have doubts. But I choose to believe what the Bible says.” And I thought, “How sad to live this way.” We have a reliable, unshakable foundation in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:18-22; 1 Corinthians 15:58).
Religions and philosophies have come and gone.
Spiritual giants have stumbled, and fierce tyrants have growled and then died.
Traditions and societies have changed through the millennia.
Our Cornerstone remains unmovable and we can stand on Him unshaken. This foundation…
…was prophesied—Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22
…was fulfilled—Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11-12
…is still standing today—Ephesians 2:19-20; 1 Peter 2:4-6
…will still be standing for all eternity—Revelation 21:5; John 14:1-4
So there is no need to be afraid. There is no need to get frustrated. There is no need to engage in meaningless debates with the “they say” crowd. Stand firm on the red letter words—our Cornerstone.
“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!”
Check out all of the other messages in this “I Will Build My Church” series here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week we talked about biblical beliefs carrying more weight that non-biblical or extra-biblical beliefs. Christians must stand firm on God’s Word to give biblical meaning to everything we say and do, otherwise we lose the true meaning of essential terms like Church and Christian. That means there are words we need to let go, and there is the Word for which we must stand without wavering or backing down.
Have you heard people make the “They say” claim? “Well, they say you said…,” “They say that Christians are…,” or “They say that Jesus said or did…” It’s always a good idea to get to the source of these statements.
This is what Jesus did in Matthew 16:13-14. Jesus asked His followers about the “they say” claims they had heard, especially in light of what Jesus had already addressed in Matthew 11:18-19.
Matthew 16:15 is a great question to ask others: What do you think of Jesus? By asking this question and truly listening to the answer, you may just be able to uncover some non-biblical “they say” thinking that you can help correct.
But this verse is also a great question for us to ask of ourselves! Why? Because there is a huge difference between a verbal confession and a lifestyle confession. Look at vv. 16-23 to see the difference between Peter’s verbal confession in verse 16 and his lifestyle confession in verse 22.
John may have had this exchange in mind when he wrote 1 John 1:5-10. Notice John’s contrast between the verbal confession (“If we claim”) and our lifestyle confession. Listen: Demons can make a verbal confession (Luke 4:41) but they will be confined in Hell for eternity (Matthew 25:41). In the same way, religious people can make a verbal confession and walk out a completely opposite lifestyle confession (Matthew 7:21-23).
A lifestyle confession can either amplify or cancel a verbal confession.
Jesus loved Peter’s verbal confession, but then He gave us a lifestyle confession in Matthew 16:24-28.
The essential confession is not just, “I believe You are the Christ the Son of the living God,” but also, “I will take up my cross and follow You!”
We lose our life when we live for Jesus’ words (“I will build My Church”) and not living for “they say” words. As Brennan Manning sad, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
So let’s ask others, “What do you think of Jesus?” But let’s also ask ourselves that question. Let’s make sure that our verbal confession is being amplified by our lifestyle confession. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your vocabulary and your lifestyle. A great prayer for this is in Psalm 139:23-24.
If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series “I Will Build My Church”, you can find them all here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Charles Spurgeon said, “The resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of the glorious temple of truth, the keystone of the arch of revelation.”
What we believe about the resurrection gives meaning and purpose to everything else. The resurrection is the defining Truth. In 2 Timothy 2:19 we read two important truths about this foundation: (1) God knows those who truly know Him, and (2) Those who really know Him must unabashedly stand for the Truth.
Words are powerful, they are creative. At the very beginning of Time, God said, “Light” and light existed (Genesis 1:1-3). God’s Word is still creating today (Hebrews 4:12). There are words we need to let go, and there is the Word for which we must stand without wavering or backing down.
In 1 Timothy 1:3-7, Paul essentially says we have two choices: Do we want to promote controversy or do we want to promote God’s work? We have to learn to distinguish what is biblical and what is not.
Biblical things—God’s Word clearly tells us “Yes” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Unbiblical things—God’s Word clearly tells us “No” (like: do not murder, do not commit adultery, etc.)
These two are fairly straightforward. As Dr. Donald Stamps wrote, “The Church has the responsibility to safeguard the true and original apostolic doctrines found in Scripture and commit it to others without compromise or corruption.”
What is harder to sort out is:
Extra-biblical things—something in addition to or outside of God’s Word
Non-biblical things—something not specifically addressed in God’s Word
Passages like 1 Timothy 4:1-7 and 2 Timothy 2:14-19 help us sort out biblical and non-biblical things.
Are extra-biblical things wrong? Not necessarily. Paul quoted poets, and even uses an extra-biblical example of Jannes and Jambres [who] opposed Moses (3:8).
Are non-biblical things wrong? Not necessarily. But both extra-biblical and non-biblical things can become wrong when we give these things biblical status (Mark 7:9).
“Church” and “Christian” can completely lose their biblical meaning if we allow unbiblical, extra-biblical, or non-biblical ideas to define them. We must stand firm on God’s Word to give biblical meaning to everything we say and do.
Jesus said, “I will build MY Church.” He’s going to build it His way, not our way. We don’t want to fight the Architect, but neither do we want to fight the erring saint or the scoffing skeptic (2 Timothy 2:22-26).
Let me give you four applications for this:
Do get into God’s Word everyday.
Don’t define the words but let God define His own words.
Do gently challenge those saints who are getting caught up in non-biblical or extra-biblical things.
Don’t quarrel with those who are living an unbiblical lifestyle (Colossians 4:5; Jude 1:22).
You can find all of the other messages in this series called “I will build My Church” by clicking here.
You may also be interested in these posts and videos:
For Christians, there is no sacred-secular divide. We need the mind of Christ for literally everything that we do! Spirit-baptized Christians receive extraordinary insight from the Holy Spirit.
Craig T. Owens 