I Can Do Anything for Six Weeks — 2 Corinthians 4:17
Almost all of us have faced something that was unpleasant but needed to be done. For those who have served in the military, an example of that would be basic training. Usually around six weeks long, we knew that it was going to be physically and mentally challenging. For most of us it was the […]
Drums and Cufflinks — Galatians 4:12
Recently, my daughter and I attended a Bible conference. We attended it because they had a high view of the inspiration of the Bible and were premillennialists. Since we those things in common we thought it would be a constructive time. Unfortunately, the conference did not spend a great deal of time on either inerrancy […]
Can Satan Devour True Christians?
A friend emailed me a message by Dr. John Piper called, “Can Satan Devour True Christians?” It is a sermon and transcript from 1994. He was speaking on 1 Pet 5:8-9. This message was posted on the DesiringGod.org website on July 13, 2016. His answer may surprise you. Here is Piper’s answer to his own […]
Taking Things for Granted
I think it is human nature to take things for granted. When things are going well, we often don’t think about how fortunate we are. Even when we go through a difficult time, once that difficulty is gone we become complacent and often times forget what it was like when we went through a tough […]
What Is Philippians 1:6 Saying?
I received the following question in response to a blog I wrote on Walking in the Spirit: Bob, I like the explanation but how does Philippians 1:6 apply here? Paul says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ […]
Basics of Apologetics: Self-Defeating Propositions
If you want to see the importance of logic in real life, watch Judge Judy. Here’s a clip of a man losing his case in twenty-six seconds. A woman claimed that two men stole her purse. When she listed an “earpiece” among the stolen items, one of the accused helpfully interjected, “There was no earpiece […]
Fan the Flame
I am trying to learn how to be a better preacher. So is Bob. We’re both competitive that way— trying to better than we were before. We know the grim statistics, that just 12% of people say they usually remember the message (Schultz J and Schultz T 1994: 189). When we preach God’s grace and […]
Jesus Was Bearing and Baring the Sins of the World at Calvary
I just read a blog by a friend about Jesus’ death on the cross. In the course of his discussion he said, “Darkness covered the whole land at noon (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44). For the next three hours Jesus was baring the sins of the world as a substitute for all of us.” […]
Your Maintenance Plan
Do you know the difference between repenting of your sins and confessing your sins? Here’s an illustration. In Texas, there’s about two weeks during the spring and about two weeks during the fall when no one complains about the weather. For those brief moments, the weather is perfect. It’s sunny enough not to need your […]
Anybody Can Be a Christian for Five Hours or for Five Years
My friend Don Reiher sent me an audio link to a message by Dr. R. C. Sproul on his Renewing Your Mind broadcast from a few weeks ago. It is entitled “Dying in Faith.” It is part of a series entitled “Surprised by Suffering.” You can listen to it by clicking here. Sproul’s big idea […]