The Gospel—A Friend to Sinners
In sharing the gospel there is a delicate balance between being a “friend of sinners” while still being against sin. On the one side of the scale is your friendship and on the other side is the...
More Death in My Life
The Scriptures are full of what I term “natural paradoxes” that are, in fact, spiritual truths. A few examples: to be first you must be last; to live you must die; to be great you must serve....
Detest and Abhor: Learning to Hate Our Sin
When it came to the idols of Canaan, which stood alone and wanting after the destruction of their worshippers, Moses had an ardent word for Israel: “You shall utterly detest and abhor it” (Deuteronomy 7:26). Detest: to have...
Lead Me Not Into Temptation
When instructing the disciples to pray, Jesus said, “…lead us not into temptation.” It is interesting that Jesus would say such a thing. Why would he say that? Why would he say, “lead me not...
Mine Iniquity: Protecting Ourselves from Ourselves
“The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were...
A Very Short Story: Grace Is Willing
What would ultimately be the most well-known sermon in the history of the planet had just been completed. The mountainside crowd was captivated and buzzed with testimony. “Never a man spoke like this man,” bounced from person-to-person while...