Christianity is rarely found pure. Apart from Christ and His inspired apostles probably no believer or company of believers in the history of the world has ever held the truth in total purity. One great saint believed that the truth is so vast and mighty that no one is capable of taking it all in, and that it requires the whole company of ransomed souls properly to reflect the whole body of revealed truth. The [...]
[1] (10-minute read). When I was at Bible College a few years ago, I had the opportunity to drive Philip Yancey and his wife to their hotel room with a friend from the Church. I quickly mentioned that I was a huge fan and had read almost all of his books up to that point. Unfortunately, I did not have any books for him to sign, but I felt a deep sense of calm when [...]
Some Christians are eager to defend sound doctrine. Well, and good. But is the unity of the body of Christ one of those doctrines we jealously guard? .... the unity of the church is one the objects of Christ’s death (Eph. 2:14). This, as much as anything, is what the New Testament calls us to cherish and uphold. Therefore, our zeal for theology must never exceed our zeal for our actual brothers and sisters in [...]
You are looking for ways to meet Jesus. You are trying to meet him not only in your mind but also in your body. You seek his affection, and you know that this affection involves his body as well as yours. He became flesh for you so that you could encounter him in the flesh and receive his love in the flesh. But something remains in you that prevents this meeting. There is still a [...]
And there it is, Jesus declares that we shall be empowered to be effective witnesses when the Spirit shows His activity in us. Luke the Physician accounts (Acts 1:8) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” There seems to be a desire to see God move amongst His people [...]
What is labeled as Worship in our Churches today can take many forms. From pulsing lights to massive sounds and groovy beats to standing up straight orderly, focussing on a hymnal as we hear our fellows sing. Often people associate the quality of their Worship as they stirred their emotions or motivated themselves. Other times we associate the success of our offering with how it resonated with our appeal. Even though liturgical styles and musical [...]
(2 Minute Read). Biblical Scholar Bart D. Ehrman describes the Gospel of Matthew as; “one of the most highly treasured accounts of Jesus' life among the early Christians. This may explain why it was given pride of place as the first Gospel in the New Testament canon.”[1] Central to all the Gospels is the recorded life and memories of Jesus as the coming Jewish Messiah (Matthew), the Saviour of the World (Luke), Son of God [...]
The Devotional author Richard J Foster wrote; "Real prayer is something we learn". Unfortunately, we do not find ourselves to be masters of prayer at the onset of our religious experience. For some prayer, as a vocation is a daunting one, and as a pastor, I have encountered so many people that find it hard to pray. Usually, we do not have time to sit at the feet of a devotional master of prayer and [...]
Do you really believe what you say and think you believe, and how can you know? The answer may at first brush appear obvious — “of course I believe what I say and think I do,” you might say. If you didn’t, after all, why would you be spending so much time engaged in the intellectual defense of it? This raises an interesting question: Can you believe that you believe something which you do not [...]
Recently someone posted and asked which aids I would suggest for Spiritual Growth and Formation in my personal life. In this post, I endeavor to give a few resources that I have read repeatedly to align my posture in my devotional time with God. It is in no way a very exhaustive list but I think these few books might give you an indication to allow the sovereign God to guide, commune and direct you. [...]
