God's Perfect Timing

 "Timing is everything." It's an old adage, and certainly guilty of overstatement. Yet, the Bible affirms the benefit of timing things well. For instance, Solomon reminds us that "A person finds joy in giving an apt reply - and how good is a timely word!," (Proverbs 15:23). Think of how good, "Will you marry me?" fits when it is spoken to the right person at the right time.

As good as humans can be at saying or doing the right thing at the right time, God is infinitely better. While God is not limited by time or space, He is by no means unfamiliar with the concept of time. He invented time, and the progression of moments serves Him and His purposes.

Talking About God - A Family Devotion Series from Psalm 105

How do we talk to people about God? Why is it important? Psalm 105 helps us sing to remember the many ways God made promises and kept promises to Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. Specifically, God did amazing things to give the Israelites the land He promised.

To access the "Talking About God" family devotion series on Psalm 105, click HERE.

"Happiness" by Randy Alcorn Book Review

 "I spent far ore time seeking happiness and longing for it than experiencing it," (4).

Can you relate? If you are a Christian, your next internal thoughts might go something like this: "But, in this life I am not promised happiness. To pursue happiness is worldly and wrong. Instead, I should pursue joy in Christ." After that self-rebuke, perhaps you roll up your sleeves to make it through another day. You likely are not sure what joy is, but you are determined to pursue it instead of fleeting happiness that is based on circumstances. However, part of you longs, still, to be happy. Secretly, in dark thoughts, you may wonder if becoming a Christian means you forfeit happiness, at least for this life.

Enter the very helpful study on "Happiness" by Randy Alcorn. This is a substantial volume in which Alcorn marshals Christian writers throughout history, especially Puritans, original language word studies, as well as modern research to support his main idea: Christians can and should be happy because God is happy and wants us to be happy. 

The Unchanging God

God, I am looking out the window into the sky and see clouds moving across the panorama.  Megan told me that the clouds are constantly changing shape because the dust and moisture rise and fall.  Even the heavens change, but You remain the same.  Your love, Your grace, Your mercy, Your forgiveness, Your promises, Your faithfulness, Your justice – none of these changes.  You do not veer.  Your promises do not rust.  Your justice never erodes.  Your forgiveness never scrapes bottom.  God thank You so much for not only Your eternality, but Your consistency, Your immutability.  What if You did change?  I could not cling to Your promises. My hope in You would waver. Even the very existence, the air I breathe, would be tentative.  What if the earth titled away from the sun?  What if you no longer graciously forgave sin by the blood of Jesus?  You would not be God.  There would be none to worship.  Life’s meaning would vanish.  Hope would become myth.  Thank You, God, for not changing at all for any reason across all time.

Baptist Faith & Message Catechism

A New Baptist Catechism

Based on the Baptist Faith and Message[1]

Instructions:  A catechism is a simple summary of what we believe using questions and answers.  They have been used throughout church history for instructing Christians.  This catechism is based on the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.  It is recommended that both the answer and the corresponding Scripture be learned and memorized.  May God bless you as you use this to grow in your knowledge and love of Jesus.  May God also bless you as you help others to do the same.  For an easy to print version please click HERE.

What God Loves and Hates

There is much the Bible reveals about those things that bring God pleasure and conversely his anger.  God has the attribute of personhood and is therefore emotional.  His emotions, though are right and are always in right proportions.  In what not be wrong to say that God's joy and hatred are beautiful.  Moreover when we worship God or when we seek to live wisely one method is to learn what He hates and what He loves and prayerfully seek to adopt these outlooks for our own.  What follows is a rough but likely helpful list of what God delights in and what He hates from both the Psalms and Proverbs.

God, Grant Us Repentance

Have you ever been tempted to sin, reasoning that "well afterwards I will just repent and God, because He is so merciful, will forgive me"?  Oh fellow pilgrims, may we consider briefly how we repent:

Clear Winter Nights Book Review

Book Review
Author:                 Trevin Wax
Title:         Clear Winter Nights: A Journey Into Truth, Doubt, and What Comes After
Publishing Company: Multnomah
Copyright Year: 2013
Pages:         162
Difficulty Level: Beginner
Topic(s):          Apologetics, Evangelism
Rating (out of 10):  6/10

Behold the Lamb of God

"Behold the Lamb of God" declared John as he baptized by the Jordan and saw Jesus.  What follows is a short story retelling the events of John 1, Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3.  The aim of this story is to help us think clearly and warmly about this precious historical event in the life of Jesus Christ.  Enjoy!

God's Not Dead and I Love You Enough to Say So

Daniel Dennett is a professor of philosophy at Tufts University and an atheist.  His great life project has been to prove that evolution alone explains human consciousness.  According to Al Mohler, “Dennett suggests that the persistence of belief in God is not all it is often thought to be, because if you scratch just beneath the surface, you find that fewer people believe in God than may first appear.  Instead of believing in God, he says, they believe in belief,” (Mohler, Atheism Remix, 47).  

The Kingdom of God and the Already - Not-Yet Tension

In thinking about the Kingdom of God, there is an apparent and necessary tension between the Kingdom having come with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom to come when He returns.  Below is a series of verses that show the tension.  Afterwards is a very brief discussion of why this tension must be maintained.

The Kingdom has already come:
Luke 17:20-21: “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, “Here it is,” or “There it is,” because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’”
So, when Jesus came to the earth, it was right for Him to tell others wherever He is, the Kingdom of God is.

The Kingdom is yet to come:
Luke 21:25-31: “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.  On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity...Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
However, until Jesus returns a second time, the kingdom of God has not yet come in its fullness.  Thus, it is right for Jesus to say that even as the signs of the end times begin to unfold, the Kingdom of God has not yet come,  but is near.

The King's Banquet

During this week around 2,000 years ago in Palestine, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and began teaching quite openly about the kingdom of God or heaven.  More particularly, Jesus taught on who and how to enter the kingdom of heaven, and his teaching encouraged the poor and downcast and unnerved the religious leaders.  One of his public speeches included a parable about a king giving a wedding feast for his servant.  In Matthew 22:1-14, his audience included both followers and opponents, as well as a general crowd made up of curious Jews.  In the parable the kingdom of heaven is compared to a feast that is ready to be attended and enjoyed.  However, the guests not only rejected the invitation summons, they beat and killed the king's messengers.  Thus, the king sent the messengers to all the commoners that could be found to fill his hall with guests. 

Weakness, Temptation, and Sin

"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin," (Heb 4:15).

Have you ever taken the time when reading a familiar verse like this to slow down long enough to marvel and to learn?  I am convicted that many times I read so fast I am not opening my heart and mind to the Spirit's work.  From a passage like this, He pricked my mind to wonder, "what is the relationship between weakness, temptation, and sin?".  What follows is a bit raw, but I hope both candid and helpful.  Men, this one is aimed at us.  Women, if you read it, please pray about how to help your husbands and/or Christian men fight temptation.