Posts (Page 37)

I am notoriously bad at remembering anniversaries, and last year it was quite a surprise to discover that 2008 marked the fiftieth anniversary of my ordination to the Christian ministry. Not that the occasion was other than memorable. Indeed it was a very special day for many reasons. But I am bound to say that the truly unforgettable part of a moving service was one of…

Satisfaction in God By Cotton Mather Our continual apprehension of God, may produce our continual satisfaction in God, under all His dispensations. Whatever enjoyments are by God conferred upon us, where lies the relish, where the sweetness of them? Truly, we may come to relish our enjoyments, only so far as we have something of God in them. It was required in Psalm 37:4,…

One would think that Christians would live in constant expectation of Heaven. But the fact is, often we are too wrapped up in our present existence to give it much thought. In his classic devotional book titled The Saint’s Everlasting Rest, English Puritan pastor and author Richard Baxter (1615-1691) wrote: ‘Why are not our hearts continually set on heaven? Why…

THE CONSCIENCE is the automatic warning system by which we become aware of spiritual and moral danger and by which we sense our guilt. It is the innate ability to sense right and wrong. It entreats us to do what is right and to refrain from doing what is wrong. The Puritan Richard Sibbes wrote in the 17th century that it is ‘the soul reflecting on itself.’ It is privy to…

For John Calvin, prayer was like a priceless treasure that God has offered to His people. Calvin’s first rule of prayer was to enter into it with a full awareness of the One to whom we are speaking. The key to prayer is a spirit of reverence and adoration: “Let the first rule of right prayer be, to have our heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into…

‘Now He calls us to follow Him, to give ourselves completely and unreservedly to His service.’ That is the closing sentence of John Stott’s book ‘Basic Christianity’.  And it is a good place to start this New Year which God is giving to us. ‘Now’ – knowing whom we follow, our great God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Now’ – in the light of all that He has done…

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;    11 strengthened with all might, according to…

Many Christians today have an understanding of Christ that, according to Sinclair Ferguson, ‘is more informed by Santa Claus than Scripture.’ He speaks of the Santa Christ – and he is not nice but naughty. Sinclair Ferguson identifies 3 ‘Santa Christs’.

The holiday season is upon us! For some, this means more days off work and more time with family. And if you have unbelieving family members, the joy of celebrating Christmas can be mixed with anxiety and hopeful expectation—this is perhaps the best time of year to talk about Jesus.

One of the common clichés of the modern evangelical church is that the church in the past has been too heavenly minded and we need to focus on creation and claiming it for Christ – whether we conceive of that as art, movies, politics or whatever. As an aside, it always interests me that such people generally only talk about claiming interesting things for Christ –…