And it came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled … More “By the mercy of God”
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. —Ephesians 6:4 (ESV) John Piper on “Raising Children Who Hope in the Triumph of God” Paul says, “Don’t provoke your children to anger.” What does he mean? He doesn’t mean don’t cross their will. He … More Show your children something great to live for
Pastor Coty Pinckney in a sermon, “The King and His Kingdom” comments: So what did Jesus mean when He told the people of Nazareth, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”? In order to understand the New Testament, we must understand the “already/not yet” character of the Kingdom. As Jesus proclaims here, the … More Kingdom promises: already/not yet
Past 7 of Sam Storms’ commentary on Psalm 119: What blessings and benefits accrue to those who by God’s grace and energizing presence actually ingest his Word? What may those expect who fix their faith on obedience to what he has revealed? Here’s a sampling: they are declared: “blessed” (vv. 1-2), they “shall not be … More Blessings of ingesting God’s Word
And a great and strong wind was rending the mountain and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire [or lightning], but the Lord was not … More Does God always operate in thunder and in lightning and in power?
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be … More Marriage: Imaging Christ and His Church
Coty Pinckney makes this very interesting observation regarding Luke 3 and 4: Most written accounts of a person’s life would put the genealogy right at the beginning – like the Gospel of Matthew. Again like Matthew, most often the genealogy will start with the ancestor and work forward to the subject of the account. But … More Adam and second Adam: what a contrast!
Part 6 of Sam Storms’ meditation on Psalm 119: (6) The psalmist is also determined to undertake the discipline of meditation. He often speaks of “fixing” his eyes on the commandments of God and laboring “never to forget” them (see vv. 6, 15, 16, 23, 27, 48, 61, 78, 83, 97, 99, 141, 148, 176). This … More His Word Taking Root in Our Heart
John Piper says, One way to describe the Christian life is to say that it is made up of paradoxes. That means that there are things in our lives that don’t seem to make sense, don’t seem to fit with other things in our lives. And yet we Christians have seen enough of God’s power … More Christian life is made up of paradoxes
When lost, it might be embarrassing to stop to ask for directions. However, when reading the Bible, John Piper suggests that we SHOULD stop and ask questions about the text. Here is a quote from the introduction of a sermon, “The Baptism and the Genealogy of Jesus”: You can learn more from a book if you stop … More Stop and ask questions
