Tag: Christian Life
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Human Flourishing
As my son goes off to college in a matter of weeks I am seeing my influence, in the form of authority and control, dissipate with each passing day. I hope I will always have some influence in his life. To have no influence is to have no relationship. Further, I hope that over the…
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The Least We Can Do
If Jesus could rise from the dead, we can at least rise from our bed, get off our couches and pews, and respond to the Lord’s resurrection life within us, joining Jesus in what he’s up to in the world. We call on others to join us—not in removing ourselves from planet Earth, but to…
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Sola-Bootstrap
Overheard this from Scottie Smith on Facebook: “Too many Christians try to live the Christian life by the equally destructive principles of ‘Sola-bootstrapsa’ (I must keep the law in my own strength and effort) and ‘Ego-nomianism’ (I am able to keep the law).” – Bryan Chapell Both of these contradict the gospel, by minimizing our…
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Lord Dissolve My Frozen Heart
Lord, dissolve my frozen heart/ By the beams of Love Divine;/ This alone can warmth impart/ To dissolve a heart like mine. O that love, how vast it is!/ Vast, it seems, though known in part;/ Strange indeed, if love like this/ Should not melt the frozen heart. Chorus: The love of Christ passes knowledge./…
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Graceful Break-in
“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome…” -Tim Keller
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Re-Gridding Revisited
A few days ago I penned a post suggesting that we consider the Christian Life through a different paradigm than what I believe is ordinary. I suggested the the fundamental gauge ought to be Humble vs. Proud, rather than Good vs. Bad and/or Right vs. Wrong. I have received several positive responses, and I have…
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Re-Gridding the Christian Life
Not long ago, while a friend of mine was preaching in my place at Walnut HIll Church, I had somewhat of an epiphany. I understood something that had been nagging at me for a long, long time, but that I had never before been able to express – even to myself. I realized: We have…
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Grace Will…
I was blown away as I thought about the paradoxes of the Gospel as it was described by Paul Tripp in his book, Broken-Down House. Don’t just read through quickly. Stop and consider the contrasts: Grace is a story and grace is a gift. It is God’s character and it is your hope. Grace is…
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Salt & Light
“The true Christian cannot be hid, he cannot escape notice. A man truly living and functioning as a Christian will stand out. He will be like salt; he will be like a city set on a hill, a candle set upon a candlestick. But we can also add this further word: The true Christian does…
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Crazy Love
I don’t know Francis Chan, but I think I like him. I know I like what I see so far. A friend, who is also an Elder in our church, introduced me to Chan a few months ago. He had just finished reading Chan’s book, Crazy Love, and said that Chan was teaching the same…
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Worldliness in Prespective
I recently finished reading the short book Worldliness, edited by C.J. Mahaney. Each chapter is written by different men from the Sovereign Grace family. I found it very insightful and practical. I appreciate that the writers did not merely resort to the worn out separatist “Us vs. The World” rhetoric. Instead they wrestled intelligently, theologically,…
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Recharging a Spiritual Battery
Unfortunately I’m going to miss it. Our church is hosting a seminar tomorrow. After scheduling the seminar I received notice that a committee I am on that serves our whole denomination meets the same day. So I am sitting here writing from my hotel room in Atlanta. I would not have even considered missing the…
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Grace of Repentance
Today is Ash Wednesday. That does not mean much to many in my theological circles. But for many other Christians it is a day that launches the Season leading to Easter – the Season of Lent. This day is designated Ash Wednesday because of an ancient practice of marking believers with ashes as a symbol…
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Hard Grace
“Even though we are now in faith, the heart is always ready to boast itself before God and say: ‘After all, I have preached the law, and lived so well and done so much that surely He will take this into account ‘. We even want to haggle with God to make Him regard our…
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The A-to-Z of the Christian Life
“The gospel shows us that our spiritual problem lies not only in failing to obey God, but also in relying on our obedience to make us fully acceptable to God, ourselves and others. Every kind of character flaw comes from this natural impulse to be our own savior through our performance and achievement. On the…
