I am prone to melancholy. I’m not sure why. It’s just one of my struggles. I guess that’s one of the reasons I so easily identify with another preacher who struggled with it as well. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a pastor in England from the 1930’s-1960’s. When I read his book Spiritual Depression, I was both…
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We’ve been looking at the topic of emotions. We’ve been doing so because emotions possess a tremendous influence on our spiritual maturity. Over the years, I’ve become convinced one of the reasons it’s possible for people to attend solid Bible-teaching churches, but not make much progress in maturity, is the issue of emotional maturity. I…
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Emotional immaturity is a barrier to overall spiritual health. This notion needs to be pondered and ultimately accepted if Christians are going to make progress in “living a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph. 4:1). Last time we looked at two unhealthy emotional approaches to avoid: disregarding emotions and granting emotions sovereignty….
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One question often discussed among pastors is this: how can people attend solid Bible-teaching churches and not seem to make much progress in their growth as Christians? I’ve been mulling that one for a decade. I think an answer that deserves repeated attention is simple: emotions. Emotional immaturity is a barrier to overall spiritual health. So…
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“Just believe.” How often has a well-meaning Christian said that? “Don’t overthink it, just believe.” I find that statement simplistic. Which is why the Christmas story is so encouraging. In the Christmas story, we have one of the most famous Christians admitting the math doesn’t add up. When the angel appeared to Mary to let…
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I’ve been working my way through a book, that for me, is the best book I’ve read in 2017. It’s entitled, This is Our Time, by Trevin Wax. It’s all about helping us spot the longing and the lie in every story society tells. In one particular chapter, Wax camps in the arena of politics. It’s…
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In Acts 17:11-40, Luke records how three different people experienced the saving power of Jesus Christ. My belief is that Luke records them one after the other because he’s showing us how it is people come to saving faith. The bottom line: people get saved in different ways. The first is Lydia. Paul wanders down…
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I don’t know that any society has had more options available to them over the course of human history than we do in the U.S. in 2017. As I scan my home office where I’m writing this, I see a door knob (attached to a door), a backpack, my phone, the computer I’m writing on…
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God encouraged risk-taking. When you stop to think about what God was asking Abraham to do in Genesis 12, it really is unreasonable – according to conventional wisdom. God tells Abraham to leave home. Home represents everything that is familiar and comfortable. God says, “leave it behind.” That would be hard enough, but it gets…
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In the famous story of Noah, we are confronted with divine judgment which is a problem for many people. Modern people often find the notion of divine judgment distressing and even primitive. Miroslav Volf is a Croatian. As you can imagine, being from the Balkans, he is intimately familiar with injustice. Volf writes this, “Violence thrives secretly nourished by…
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