For a while now I’ve thought about doing a special discipleship group or evening presentation about some of the songs we sing and what they teach us about God, the church, and the gospel. I’ve written once or twice about what songs communicate, and I’d like to look at another one that many of us have either heard on the radio or sung in church: Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin. Video | Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin Verse 1 This verse is made up of just a few short statements, each of which tells a fundamental truth of the gospel. The words themselves are drawn from 2 Corinthians … [Read more...] about A Look at Jesus Messiah
Devotional Posts
The Lord’s Prayer, part 3: The Requests Concerning Us and Conclusion
This is part three of a study on prayer I wrote for my church. You can read part one here, and part two at this other here. Part Three :: The Requests Concerning Us (6:11-15) As with all things in life, prayer is primarily about God. Yet, prayer also has benefit for us. After establishing the first set of three requests concerning God, his name, kingdom, and will; Jesus gave a second set of requests concerning God’s work in our lives. In these requests we do not merely ask for things to happen or go well in vague and general terms, rather we ask God to work in our lives in particular … [Read more...] about The Lord’s Prayer, part 3: The Requests Concerning Us and Conclusion
The Problem of All or Nothing
This post originally appeared at my personal blog. God is holy and perfect and commands us to be "perfect as He is perfect." Perfection: it is a standard that we all know we cannot keep. Those who spend a great deal of time thinking about it are in real danger of driving themselves crazy. It is this insistence of perfection that drives the "wretched urgency" that Michael Spencer, AKA the Internet Monk, used to opine about back in the day. But we humans have a hard time with not taking this the other direction entirely. Since we know we can't be perfect, we have developed whole … [Read more...] about The Problem of All or Nothing
The Lord’s Prayer, part 2: The Requests Concerning God
This is part two of a study on prayer I wrote for my church. You can read part one here. Part Two :: The Requests Concerning God (6:9-10) This first section of three requests begins with a direct address to God, specifically God “our Father in heaven.” This is significant in three main ways: Prayer is personal. Prayer is reverent. Prayer is corporate. First, prayer is personal. The Bible fills our minds with great and glorious thoughts about God. He created all things; he is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere-present; he is awesome and fearful; he is holy; his ways are … [Read more...] about The Lord’s Prayer, part 2: The Requests Concerning God
Are you pursuing God?
I have a question. Are you pursuing God? I mean really striving after him? That is a question for you whatever your season in life. God’s desire is that we pursue Him and that as a result of that pursuit, we find our joy in Him and Him alone. I’ve been thinking about the different places in life in which several people I know are. Some are facing a time of uncertainty, wondering how the present circumstance they are in will turn out. Some are in a time of suffering, going through a difficult situation because of physical or relational crisis. Some are in a time of transition, seeking God’s … [Read more...] about Are you pursuing God?
The Lord’s Prayer, part 1: Introduction and Commandments about Prayer
Recently, I put together a study for my church covering the Lord’s Prayer. It is something we will we doing this spring at Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study. I figure if we’re going to have prayer meeting, it is probably good to talk about prayer! This is the introduction and part one… Introduction In Scripture, we have two accounts of Jesus teaching what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” The first, and most well-known, we find in Matthew 6 where Jesus taught on prayer during the Sermon on the Mount. The second, Luke recorded in 11:1-4 of his Gospel. Luke tells us Jesus was … [Read more...] about The Lord’s Prayer, part 1: Introduction and Commandments about Prayer
Lord, Move Us!
It was our second day in Asia. The night before, I had experienced my first “English Corner” – an opportunity to meet students, speak to them in English, and share with them my culture, my experiences, and most of all, my faith in Christ. In our initial English corner, I was the first one Ellen chose to tell that she had become a Christian. Her joy was contagious! Others in the group had not yet believed. “I believe in myself,” one girl offered, but went on to describe her frustration that she could not reach her life’s pursuits. Another agreed, “I want to go forward, but I can only go right … [Read more...] about Lord, Move Us!
Remember Who You Are
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19 Flee. Run. Hide. Seek. Turn. Emerge. Rinse and repeat? For too many people, life has become an extended game of playground freeze tag. There they stand, scattered around like trees in winter, fixed and flash-frozen either as they have been proclaimed to be by someone more righteous, or as they in their brokenness project themselves to be, perhaps in a state of readiness to run at the first approach . . . or in … [Read more...] about Remember Who You Are
We have ADS on this site?
In the wake of the latest set of arguments about whether Calvinists have been here, are being here, or evermore shall be here, I was reading a few blog posts on the issue. Naturally, I read here, since I am supposedly a contributor here and will get co-blamed for anything that happens at this site. Then, I moved on to read a few other Southern Baptist blogs to catch up on any other view point. I clicked over to Peter Lumpkins' website at SBCTomorrow and noticed something in the comment stream after one of his posts. An individual brought up an advertisement they had seen here at SBCVoices. … [Read more...] about We have ADS on this site?
The Life We Can’t Erase
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” – Revelation 21:5 I wish -- though I don't believe in wishes -- that I could take a number two pencil and write down on a blue-lined piece of three-hole-punched notebook paper the moments of my life, label it "draft," study it a bit, and then turn the pencil around to the pink side -- the eraser -- and smudge away forever a line here and there . . . many lines, major smudges. Study it a bit more, swipe away with my hand the little black rubber crumbles, dirty from the mix of pink eraser and pencil lead, onto the … [Read more...] about The Life We Can’t Erase