Who are the happiest Christians? Who are the happiest missionaries? And what is it that makes them so happy? This is a question Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves answer in their book What Fuels the Mission of the Church? Here’s what they say… If someone were to ask us, “What is God like?” the answer…
Here is a question worth asking: Outside of the Bible, what is the earliest prayer we know? Of all the Christians who lived after Christ, who was the first to have a prayer recorded that has endured through the ages? The answer, it seems, may well be Clement of Rome. In the new book Fount…
We’ve all heard it said that no one has ever seen a hearse towing a trailer. We’ve all been challenged to consider that we leave this world as we entered it—with empty hands. As Job exclaimed in the depths of his misery, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” But…
We all know people who don’t know the Lord and, therefore, we all know what it is to plead for their salvation. This prayer by Philip Doddridge is drawn from Tim Chester’s new collection Into His Presence and gives words that can perhaps guide you in your prayers of supplication. Almighty God, with you all…
We must always preach the gospel and always do so with some measure of urgency. De Witt Talmage was particularly adept at preaching with urgency as this excerpt from one of his sermon illustrates. He tells of the sinking of the ship Arctic and the heroic actions of one young man who was aboard it.…
Does a story have to be true to serve as an illustration? I don’t think so! And neither did Spurgeon, apparently. I found this illustration in a volume of his sermon notes and rather enjoyed it. (A note in the text says that he drew the illustration from John Spencer.) The Jewish rabbis report (how…
We pray that God will deliver us from our trials, but sometimes he does not. We pray that he will relieve us of our burdens, but sometimes they remain pressed hard against our shoulders. Why? J.R. Miller provides a helpful answer in this brief quote. Some think that whenever they have a little trouble, a…
We pray. We pray because God tell us to. We pray because we need to. We pray because prayer matters. But do we pray with confidence that God is pleased with our praying? Do we pray with confidence that God is pleased with our praying even when he does not grant our petitions? Charles Spurgeon…
Sometimes custom causes us to neglect beauty. Sometimes we are so used to doing or saying something that we forget the sheer wonder of it. Such may be the case when we end our prayers with the words, “for Christ’s sake” or “for Jesus’ sake.” Don’t miss what De Witt Talmage has to say about…
I have long appreciated the poems of the 19th century American poet Hannah Flagg Gould. Among them I found this sweet work which reflects on the beauty of breaking free from “this prison of clay” to be with the Lord. I hope it proves an encouragement to you as it has me. May I in…
We have a natural tendency to attempt to understand what we don’t know by extrapolating from what we do. This works well in much of life, but not so much when it comes to theology, for God comes before comparisons and supersedes them all. When it comes to Christ, he is more unlike than like…
Though we profess that God is all-seeing and all-knowing, that he understands not merely the actions of our hands and the thoughts of our minds but even the intentions of our hearts, still we sometimes feel as if we need to hold back from telling him all that we have thought, all that we have…
Christian husbands are given a particular responsibility—they are to love their wives in such a way that they help them become more like Christ. As Chad and Emily Van Dixhoorn express it in Gospel-Shaped Marriage, “husbands are to love their wives in a Christlike way and to help promote the purposes of Christ, in a…
I had quite a number of opportunities this week to think and speak about death. And as I did so, I found myself drawn to these precious and poetic words from F.B. Meyer in which he reflects on the abolishment of death in the death of Christ. What hope we have in the gospel! Death…
Wherever there is Christian community there is bound to be scolds and critics. This is true today and this was true in days past. Here’s a great little excerpt from one of De Witt Talmage’s sermons from the late 1800s in which he expresses his concern about such individuals. There are in every community and…
I’ve got marriage on my mind today as we prepare to gather this evening to celebrate Abby and Nathan’s wedding. One little gift I have given them is a copy of J.R. Miller’s The Wedded Life, a sweet little book he wrote for just such an occasion. This particular copy was given to a couple…
Those who have lost a child, or who have lost another loved one, inevitably face the pain of separation and the longing for reunification. In my own sorrows I have often been comforted by some sweet words written by Thomas Smyth, a man who on one day laid two precious children in the very same…
One of the most intimidating things Jesus taught was that, as his followers, we should expect to be persecuted. And one of the most surprising things he taught was that, when we encounter such persecution, we should face it with joy. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they…
We hear a lot about “deconstruction” these days and a lot about “exvangelicals.” And though the terms may be new, the reality is as old as the church itself—some will profess faith for a time and then fall away. There was a time when Christians referred to such people as “infidels,” those who had come…
Easter is a day of acceptance, a day of completion, for on Easter God validated Christ’s atoning sacrifice by raising him from the dead. Yet despite the sufficiency of Christ’s work, we can so easily slip back into an old mindset in which we become convinced there is still something left for us to do.…