Run the race with Christ in sight. Pour all your energy into following him. You will never be put to shame. Wait for His upward call. Praise the glories of God’s grace in Christ forever....
Rest assured, God graciously and sovereignly chose you, and nothing can separate you from His love in Christ. Nothing means nothing. God doesn’t deal in man-determined situational destinies, He is the God of unconditional election. He put no conditions on you. Your salvation doesn’t depend even 1% on you. He decided and acted upon His choice. Salvation is all of God. All means all; what God decrees stands forever....
If you want to put your mind on the things of the Spirit then put your mind on, think about, focus on, get preoccupied with, everything that the Spirit is preoccupied with. ...
Don’t waste your life on trifling things; things destined to burn. Invest your energy, resources, gifts, and talents on eternally significant pursuits. ...
God proclaims grace to broken, breaking, bending, beloved, beautiful hearts. It is costly, painful, eternal, and free. He saves and secures suffering souls. He applies essential truth and meets the deepest need in Christ....
Here’s an article I wrote for Christian parents recently. I hope it is helpful....
THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS” Excerpt of A SERMON DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK, ON A LORD’S-DAY EVENING IN THE YEAR 1856....
Joy is a gift from God in Christ that cannot be stolen....
If you believe Scripture is supreme and sufficient you won't be content with reading the Bible a little bit every day. You'll immerse yourself in the Word, think about it, talk about it, pray about it, let it wash over every aspect of your being. ...
We are to stand back in wonder and awe at the goodness of God in Christ. He is so merciful and gracious. ...
How true believers can be not ashamed, offended by, or stingy with the Gospel. ...
Jesus loves you because He made you, chose you, and saved you; not because of your good behavior. ...
Christians need a come-to-Jesus heart check. Jesus is the only answer. ...
Love Initiates Friendly Engagement. A good way of life. ...
Every family has been and is affected by many sins. That should make us more loving and empathetic; and also more convinced of the wrongness and sinfulness of certain choices and behaviors. We should be more intent to rescue those in danger of perishing. Wherever depraved humans live, sin will rear its ugly head (and that ugly head will often be covered with a deceptive mask). We would do well to speak truth in an atmosphere of love rather than hide or obscure truth in an atmosphere of the fear of man or false acceptance....
May the Gospel be displayed like water to thirsty and desperate souls, just like mine, through all who believe....
The undermining and ignoring of Biblical preaching in the American church today is a travesty. ...
Has the Gospel changed your heart? Then your relationships will change because you will work hard with the Lord's strength to do what you know is right. It's part of being in the family....
It's a fine line we walk in this world, being in it but not of it. As we live in Christ we are called to communicate truth while not condemning or condoning people's sinful lifestyles, or caving in to temptations to sin....
The stones are on standby in case we don’t do what we were made to do....
God doesn't do White Elephant Christmas or Choose-Your-Own-Gift. God doesn't fulfill your selfish requests. God gives what you need....
Why is Christmas so hard when you have lost a loved one or gone through some other huge relational pain? Because you love....
Preaching God's Word is a holy privilege, a truly weighty calling. ...
I'm thinking more and more about the sovereign will of God that unfolds before our eyes but is hidden from our sight until it comes to pass. And I'm thinking about the commanded will of God that is right there front and center waiting for us in the Word of God....
As I reflect upon my life I can see the hand of God leading, guiding, protecting, and providing for me in ways that are nothing short of miraculous, because God has done it. I'm sure you can see these things in your own life as well....
I don't know how many times I have spoken words that I ought not to have uttered. Far too many times to count, and far too many times I have needed to repent of words foolishly spoken. I think it's really easy for us to say what does it matter what I say in any given moment? Jesus said we'd give an account for every word carelessly spoken (Matthew 12:36). That's why it matters....
You can see why people might be suspicious of Christ's followers. They are simultaneously seen as a blessing and a curse. ...
I think a lot of people ascribe to the adage that they need to serve themselves. Because no one else will. But I found there's a better way. Wake up in the morning and ask God who you can bless. ...
Making sure your people interactions are encouraging and edifying rather than selfish and insincere comes only when the people of God continually come to the realization that it is not by might nor by power that they live but by God's Spirit (Zech. 4:6). ...
Based on the exalted preeminence of the crucified, risen, returning Lord Jesus Christ, we are to intentionally be and do what God calls us to be and do, in His strength, for His glory....
Loving people like Jesus loves us leaves lots of room for understanding before evaluation and curbs our tendency to blast others....
Why we do not need to fear anything or anyone except God....
What should we remember when we're going through pain or helping others going through it?...
Reformation and Revival is marked by true preaching....
The killing of Christians exposes our sin and need of Gospel repentance and redemptive reengagement with lost and hurting humanity. Jesus said do not fear those who kill your body but cannot touch your soul. Fear Him who has the power over both body and soul (Matt. 10:28). God is Sovereign and Almighty, Terrorists are not....
A lot of people talk about hearing from God. What does it mean to hear from God? Follow these four steps if you want to hear from God....
Blue cords aside, what helps you remember to obey God's instructions? Check out these 4 primary built-in reminders. ...
It's the beginning of February and right about now there are plenty of people feeling guilty about already abandoning their resolve to read the Bible every day this year. They stumbled and they fallen and can't get up. ...
Preaching is almost an alien activity. We get up, frail humans holding the perfect Word of God, trusting God to do something that we could never do. ...
HEAR AND DO GOD'S WORD EVERYDAY. Commit to start or continue a daily discipline of time in God's Word and prayer....
Being a Christian is about trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation apart from anything you can do....
Rockets launching, bombs blasting, people hating, people dying. It's the world in which we live. From the garden of Eden to the neighborhood where you live. What are we to do? The answer for Christians is not simple, it is simply Biblical....
Wait a minute! I thought all Christians read their Bibles. Aren't we "people of the Book"? Isn't it "the Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible" for us? If only that were true. More and more professing Christians are not reading their Bibles in a context where there are literally multitudes of Bibles at their fingertips on their smart phone. We can read it or listen to it anytime of the day or night and we ignore it. There are people overseas who still have no Bible, they are starving for the Word of God, and here we are with a proverbial refrigerator full and we walk away. We are starving too. Biblical illiteracy amongst Christians is at an all-time high. Ouch. What are the reasons for this and how might we stem the tide?...
I am so thankful for Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior and for the people He has put in my life who are not afraid to tell me the truth about myself. ...
Expositional living is living that is centered on reading the Word, finding out the explanation of a passage, and applying that to daily life. That is done in context of following Jesus and in the context of the particular passage. That should be a less self-centered way of living. It is very easy to jump around from need to need and text to text and just seek to have our needs met. Expositional living puts the focus on Jesus Christ and him crucified, risen, and returning. Seize the glory of God is our highest aim. ...
It's easy to only think of preaching's effect as what happens afterwards, but what about the actual preaching moment? The preaching moment is the most crucial and significant. ...
We don't make God do anything. God does as He pleases. He acts according to His sovereign good pleasure and perfect will. And He expects us to pray and wait expectantly on Him to act. True. He taught us to pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done" (Matthew 6:10). So where does praying and waiting expectantly for Him to act come in?...
I have been preaching in the book of Acts now for several months and we are 13 sermons into the book. The past four weeks we have focused on four passions of a church devoted to Christ: the apostles' teaching (the Word of God), fellowship (caring community), the breaking of bread (remembering Jesus' death), and the prayers (together and often). ...
It is so easy to come to worship with the mindset of a critical consumer rather than a Christ-honoring contributor....
True repentance is a change of heart and mind and actions; away from sin and toward God. ...
Christ's Lordship transforms us into free radicals. Free in Christ to live radically for Jesus and the Gospel. ...
Let the nations rage. Let secularists and humanists boast of their autonomy. Let everyone stand in opposition. Let them drag your name through the mud in the public square. Let the chips fall where they may. You acknowledge Christ's Lordship. You stand for Gospel truth. Because you are eternally safe in Christ....
Faithfulness and kindness are in short supply and there's nothing like a road trip across our beautiful land to remind you of that truth. Truckers rarely yield and out of state motorists, including me, aren't much better....
Besides people, what were the greatest causes of stress in your life today? If you are anything like me I'd venture to guess that have to do with the clock and the dollar....
Growth in Christ takes God's power and our participation. ...
Often times, believers get really nervous when they hear that they are to preach the Gospel. It should be encouraging to know that there are two kinds of preaching in the book of Acts that believers today ought to engage in as well. Two kinds of preaching means twice as much God-ordained fun....
There is one doctrine we cannot afford to get wrong. ...
Thoughts on the Current Cultural Divide and the Ongoing Moral Slide...
Preaching and teaching the Word of God is not about trying to get Christians to......
Just in case you have been wondering… "Whatever happened to memorizing 1 Peter?", let's just say it hasn't been easy....
You may sincerely feel like you are at the breaking point. Like everything is crumbling around you and there is nothing to stand on or hold you up. You may grasp frantically for an answer and in a panic look for anything that might answer your wounded heart; some solution that will bring relief. There is one. ...
The theological words satisfaction and substitution need to be carefully defined and safeguarded, but they cannot in any circumstances be given up. The biblical gospel of atonement is of God satisfying himself by substituting himself for us....
It was necessary for Christ to die. And it is necessary that we believe in the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. It is necessary that we grasp this truth....
It's a beautifully strange journey. Cosmic and mundane. God's providence and blood, sweat, and tears; sovereign Grace working in and through the elect. A Holy God redeeming sinful man. A process for which we praise the glory of God's grace in Christ....
Inerrancy is not an optional belief. It is the essential position of Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, Gospel-changed people. We believe every word of God's Word is from God. Full confidence, total sufficiency....
We have sweet comfort in a time of pain, to know we are Christ's and that He reigns....
Trials are difficult to navigate. Suffering is extremely trying. Hardship is pointedly painful. Persecution can play sneaky tricks on your mind. In the midst of tough times it's easy to spin into a spiritual vertigo. It feels like it's impossible to get your compass calibrated. It's tough to hold onto truth in those moments. That's when we need each other to help in a big way. Often, God uses words of comfort and encouragement to bolster us. In that context I have some words for you, designed to encourage your heart and help you today. And remember this, my words may help you, but God's Word can change you....
Discovery of your God-given gifting (1 Peter 4:10, gift, Greek charisma = spiritual gift) comes from doing the good things that you want to do because you love Jesus and want to serve Him. That's from God....
If you want to get a handle on what it is that God wants of you, if you want to please God, if you want to follow after Jesus with reckless abandon, then as one chosen by God and trusting in the power of God who has caused you to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has given you a love for His inerrant and infallible Word, you will do something that many think is frivolous and expendable. Something so many believers sell short. Something many think is optional....
1 Peter 4:8 calls for costly love. It takes courage and a fixation on the Cross of Christ. ...
This agape is not sentimental fluff, but a substance found only in the truly converted, which springs forth in humble outbursts of gospel-infused sacrificial service for, to, and through, Jesus....
A Goapel-infused poem/hymn/song that expresses a longing for Jesus to return....
Most people do not think of an insult as a blessing. But God does. God says that when you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed because God's Spirit rests on you....
We hate to suffer, but God loves to cause us to rejoice in suffering....
There was and is a fiery trial for believers in the Lord Jesus. It is to test our faith. ...
As we use our God-given gifts to serve the body of Christ, it is to be for the praise and glory of God....
1 Peter 4:10 is focused on Christians serving one another in the body of Christ....
God's people share God's mission. We may not always feel, look, or act like it, but when God reconciled us to Himself through Christ we became ambassadors for Christ in a very needy world (2 Cor. 5:17-21)....
Hospitality is more than inviting people over and entertaining lots of people in your home. It's more than being ready, willing, and able to make a meal for someone at a moment's notice. Those things are very helpful and often a great blessing. but the heart of hospitality goes much deeper....
The love of God shown by His people to one another provides a protective covering from sin's damaging effects....
Why would God give us a stock answer and what does 1 Peter 4:7 have to do with our daily life?...
Don't be swayed by the evil of man. God's greatness is always on display. ...
Sin is not worth the loss of all things. Only Jesus is....
Why do we experience the letdown? How can we keep from experiencing the letdown? What does God want us to know that were missing? That is what we need to think about today....
We love Christmas but hate what it has become. Our rally cry "God with us!" still stands....
Why is Believer's Baptism so Important for Christians? Why do Believers Wait So Long or Never Get Baptized? What Level of Commitment and Understanding is Necessary for Baptism? Why do Unbaptized Believers Need to Be Baptized As Soon As Possible? Are you convinced yet? I hope so. If so, what should you do?...
Those who trust in Christ face many pitfalls and God brings them through to victory. ...
I am thankful for the precious blood of Christ by which I'm saved. ...
There is only one way to show that we truly believe this: we consider eternal things of greater value and temporal things. Don't spend all your time and effort collecting garbage, but true riches. ...
The world needs Christians ready to humbly and boldly believe, speak, and live in Christ. ...
Pour your life into what will last: people made in God's image and the Word of God. Fixate on what Jesus has done and how that transforms everything it touches. Work for what the world says at best is secondary, you will be misunderstood and maligned here, but richer there, and fulfilled in Christ, content with Him....
You take a sensitive subject, with many opinions, strong emotions, highly subjective, and place God's objective Word next to it, and everything becomes clear. God cares and is kind and his instructions are good. Therefore we want to do what he says....
I'm really glad people interact with other people in friendly ways and give them little cards with Bible verses on them to point them to faith in Christ. I'm glad that we have the freedom and I'm glad that God puts it on the hearts of many to step outside their selfish bubble and reach out with the love of Jesus....
God wants you to be like a newborn baby in your desire for His Word so that you would grow in Christ....
Growing in Christ can be a really tricky proposition. Sometimes we can even truck ourselves into thinking that good healthy growth is happening when it is not. ...
God brings about a beautiful change and resulting commitment to His family, in the lives of all He has chosen....
What 1 Peter 1:17-21 teaches us about a healthy fear of God, a.k.a. fear of displeasing God and incurring His discipline on our lives (a la Heb. 12:3-11). ...
Can man be good apart from God? Can people be good without use of the Bible? Some say Yes emphatically. I say an equally emphatic No. Where's the objective standard of proof that people can do that? Actually, here's the deal: Only God is truly good. His is the only truly objective standard of goodness....
DeYoung calls holiness the new camping. I call it the new flossing. What everybody knows they need to do, but don't really want to do, and only does when they have to....
C.S. Lewis, in one of his letters wrote, “How little people know who think holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing…it is irresistible.†Jonathon Edwards commented, “Holiness is a most beautiful and lovely thing. We drink in strange notions of holiness from our childhood, as if it were a melancholy, morose, sour and unpleasant thing; but there is nothing in it but what is sweet and ravishingly lovely.†Ahhh. Abject, rapturous, captivating beauty. ...
I can't help but think that within the Christian community we often think of holiness in the wrong ways. We think of it as a human ideal to measure up to rather than what it really is, a divine character to imitate and align with. It hasn't helped that through the years holiness has meant many things to many people, and it usually has to do with the standard of behavior that is expected and even forced upon adherants. ...
Doesn't it always seem like we are scheming to get our needs met? We are angling, we are conniving, we are trying to work the angles so that we get what we want....
It takes timing, desire, and gospel truth to preach Jesus to people that you meet....
It's so easy to get wrapped up in things that really don't matter all that much. ...
At the end of the day, when all is said and done, and we are taking our rest, what will make any difference, what will be the significance, what will matter most? Not what I have said and done, not what I have determined, not what I have called significant, not what I deemed as matter-some. Because I am a child of the King of the Universe....
As a pastor I often have the privilege of meeting with people are dealing with questions that are not easily answered. They need to process their thoughts, and I am given the privilege to engage those thoughts. I do so because I care. My God-given calling, my vocation, my reason to care, is simply stated, for Jesus and the Gospel and the good of all people. I do not perfectly fulfill my calling, but most of the time I do embrace it eagerly....
The elect are chosen in Christ, therefore comforted and assured of their eternal standing with God....
We exist to...Glorify God through lives transformed by the Gospel...in Christ-Centered Community....
Tag-team preaching is not the norm. At best, it is a once-in-a-long-while way to present a unified front to a congregation and expose them to the entire pastor/elder leadership team in concentrated form. In the month of May at Grace Orange you'll hear our team preaching our new vision....
What are we doing? Why are we doing it? How are we communicating it?...
Here's my story of why my mailbox reminds me daily of something really important, a ministry that is often ignored, looked down upon and thought unimportant or just impossible. ...
Why should Jesus Christ be the focus of a Christian marriage? Actually the real question should be how can any marriage be considered Christian if it isn't focused on Christ?...
Believers Must Beware, Believers Must Share...
I know that some people celebrate and condone sin. But most people I know, and most people that would show up to a church, feel more condemned for their sins....
Are you serving the clock and the dollar, or are they serving God's good gospel purposes? What's the reality in your life? Would you like to know how you can break free?...
Malachi 2:17-3:6 is all about a faithful Father (God) graciously dealing with His foolish children (His covenant people)....
God's Grace in Christ regenerates us and gives us new life. We desire Christ and He keeps His Word. All who come to Him will never be cast out. Here is a poem that explains in prose the process of acknowledging sin and turning to Jesus....
The very bright and powerful hope of the gospel is that lasting life change is really possible. The finished work of Christ at the Cross means that restarts can and actually do happen by the miraculous working of God. ...
Do you think 'born again' Christians come across as obnoxious, self righteous, hypocritical and weirdly fanatical about non-essential things? I do too. I am one and am guilty of all those things and more. ...
What do born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ really really want?...
God is the giver of life. We must stand for life....
One of the things that the gospel does in transforming our lives is give us the best possible reason to give our lives in service to God and others....
How is it that praise to God for His saving acts on our behalf can so quickly turn to complaining against Him because we do not get what we want? How quickly God's people forget. How quickly the idol factory gets back to business. ...
How is a Christian to view death? It helps to start with how a Christian is to view life....
We are on the brink of a brand new year. We are about to turn the page on the calendar and add a new number to the date. We are one moment closer to Jesus' return or our promotion. We are another second, minute, hour, day, month, and year closer to closing up shop here on earth. We are one step closer to Home. ...
No one is talking about the condition of your soul, except marketing directors and ad execs of course....
People I know at Grace Orange want to know what I'll be preaching next. It's a fair question. It reflects anticipation, hunger for God's Word and a humble-bold learner's mentality. So what is next? I will be unveiling that in coming weeks. ...
What do you do with a life filled with pain and misery? How about the person who expresses no need for God? How about the one who like a train to nowhere wanders aimlessly; or the one who recycles trouble like a continuous loop, an unbroken circle of missing links? Where do you point the person, the couple, the family, or even the church or community that seems to have lost their way, seems like they have hit a dead-end?...
Going to the Cross Jesus' life was innocent, devalued and hated. We were guilty, puffed up and self-absorbed. ...
The faculty of hearing is a precious gift only truly cherished by those bereft. The rest of the population take it for granted. It is the way of the depraved. Not until we are deprived do we realize what we had. ...
Ten things that, if practiced , will transform your life. ...
Judas found no place for repentance; Peter did. We all sin, but we aren't all being saved. ...
Jesus, Judas, Betrayal, Sin. It's easy to condemn Judas. God does. Think about it. He was a weed among the wheat, a wolf among the sheep, a fake among the real, a pretender, an imposter, he was acting. He wasn't the real deal. A pawn in Satan's hand. Jesus pronounced Woe on him. "The Son of man goes as it has been decreed, but woe to the one by whom He is betrayed." (Luke 22:22). ...
Cost-cutting measures don't fit into God's sovereign plans. ...
What can you do out of a heart of loving devotion to Jesus?...
God made evil boomerang on itself at the cross. It was forced by man but foreordained by God. ...
I don't know what you should do but you should do something to bless someone. ...
Some people get disillusioned and say this Jesus thing doesn't work. It's because they are walking around with only half a gospel. ...
Repentance is ongoing heart work. It is a way of life enabled by the Holy Spirit. ...
All people should turn from their sins and trust in Jesus Christ. ...
The gospel of the grace of God in Christ is drenched in mercifully provided repentance that not only restores vitality of faith but health in Christ's body the Church. It is something for which we must pray and rejoice when it comes. It is needed like air, on a moment by moment basis. For the flourishing of Christ's Bride and for the nations to be made glad in God (Acts 5:31; 2 Tim. 2:24-26)....
God's people need to be commended more often! This is one of those times. ...
Sometimes it is easy to be so fixated on the task at hand that we miss the bigger picture. Myopic, we microscope on minute details and miss the boat, train, plane, automobile; whatever it was on the horizon that we were supposed to keep one eye on. A deadline, a curfew, a due date, a marker point where we were supposed to be ready. We get diverted, rerouted, or derailed. We miss something significant or important....
Every Christian needs to know with assurance that God is in control. ...
Pain is a part of every life and God gives believers an amazing story to tell. . ...
Every Christian has gospel work to do. And every Christian is called to do that work in the Church and the world....
Christians love Jesus and must long for His return. ...
Christians must be eagerly awaiting Christ's return while remaining engaged in gospel opportunities. ...
We should take time to grasp and savor the true significance of Easter. ...
What's happening in South Africa? Check it out!...
Jesus opens unseeing eyes. He did it for the physically blind. ...
God blesses the humble meek who may be bold as a lion but know where their true power comes from. ...
Many Christians lack assurance of salvation, while some unbelievers live with false assurance. How can you know for sure if you are saved?...
Jesus' Word to Door Closers...
Knowing if you have peace with God and the peace of God is of extreme importance. ...
Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor who tells us what we need to hear. ...
Ask yourself what is best for the Kingdom of Jesus, not what is best for you. ...
Matthew 22:23-33 continues an unfriendly trend. Next in line to try to trip Jesus up with a whopper of a question? Enter the Sadducees, lesser-known counterparts of the more numerous Pharisees. different yet similar, control freaks in love with their own ideas....
Bonhoeffer said, "The follower of Jesus is the imitator of God". So the rejecter of Jesus is the mocker of God. In Christ enemies become friends, and mockers imitators. ...
Everyone loves encouragement. Everyone needs it too. I want to commend you for the many things I see you doing right, the things the Holy Spirit is doing in and through you....
Why is Believer's Baptism so Important for Christians? Why do Believers Wait So Long or Never Get Baptized? What Level of Commitment and Understanding is Necessary for Baptism? Why do Unbaptized Believers Need to Be Baptized As Soon As Possible? Are you convinced yet? I hope so. If so, what should you do?...
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