If you are facing temptation today, these words of challenge from John Piper which I have edited just a bit are sound, biblical counsel. Your temptation may be to grasp for power when you feel vulnerable, or to succumb to lust, or to despair when something doesn’t work out like you had hoped: Here is … Continue reading Strategies for Our War Against Temptation
Jesus
Love Stoops to Conquer – Worship Reflections for John 13
The foot washing episode of John 13 serves as “a rebuke to the disciples’ ambitious strife, far more powerful than words could have spoken: Such a rebuke that never again do we see a hint of the old question, ‘Who should be greatest?’ It was Christ's answer to their unseemly conduct, and a lesson to … Continue reading Love Stoops to Conquer – Worship Reflections for John 13
Maundy Thursday and the Mark of a Christian
The Mark of the Christian (John 13:31-38) The text upon which this teaching outline is based is normally assigned to Maundy Thursday. The Latin word for commandment is mandatum. This commandment that Jesus gave was the old commandment with which Moses himself summarized the whole law, but Jesus made it new by highlighting three things: … Continue reading Maundy Thursday and the Mark of a Christian
Reflections for Palm Sunday Worship
No word in my vocabulary expressed deeper hatred than the word interference. And the Bible placed at the center what seemed to me a Transcendental Interferer. — C.S. Lewis Glorious as Jesus is in Himself, as a conqueror over death, and hell, and the grave, the Son of God is still ‘meek and lowly of … Continue reading Reflections for Palm Sunday Worship
Palm Sunday and the Transcendental Interferer
When C.S. Lewis came to faith, he wasn't happy at all because the first thing that happened to him was the realization that God was God and that he was not. Jesus Christ was a transcendental interferer, barging into Lewis' life and saying, "You're not God, I am." In his own words, he describes his … Continue reading Palm Sunday and the Transcendental Interferer
A Well-Ordered Heart
“What does it mean to have a well-ordered heart?” To have a well-ordered heart “is to love the right thing to the right degree in the right way with the right kind of love.” Christopher Hall, Living Wisely with the Church Fathers (p. 221). Westmont, IL: IVP Academic. Quoting John Ortberg in the book The … Continue reading A Well-Ordered Heart
Transforming the Fearful into the Faithful – A Prayer Guide for John 20:19-23
Praying Scripture | John 20:19–23 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his … Continue reading Transforming the Fearful into the Faithful – A Prayer Guide for John 20:19-23
A Burden-bearing God!
"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" (Psalm 68:19). How wonderful it is to know that our God is a burden-bearing God. What is the burden you are carrying today? By prayer, you can cast it upon the Lord who promises to sustain you (Psalm 55:22). Jesus invites … Continue reading A Burden-bearing God!
Are you spiritually weak and vulnerable right now?
Here is a lovely thought if you find yourself spiritual weak at the moment:Matthew 12:20 - "He won't break a bruised reed, he won't quench a smoking flax." What are we to understand by the bruised reed and smoking flax? The language of the prophet no doubt is figurative. What is it that these two … Continue reading Are you spiritually weak and vulnerable right now?
Prayer of Confession of Sin – Luke 24:13-35
Almighty God, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, we are unworthy of Your pardoning grace. For we have not believed Your promises, nor trusted in You, our Living Lord. Through worldliness of spirit, we have not discerned Your presence with us. Through discouragements and disappointments, our hearts have not burned within … Continue reading Prayer of Confession of Sin – Luke 24:13-35
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