​Whenever someone comes to me for counsel regarding some spiritual struggle they are dealing with, the first question I always ask is: What is your daily Bible reading like?  To my amazement they most often respond with an answer like, ‘Not very good,’ ‘sporadic’ or ‘nonexistent.’  Even though Jesus made clear that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4), many Christians rarely engage in daily Bible reading.  But if we understand the importance eating physical food every day to maintain good physical health, then it stands to reason that we should be consuming spiritual food (God’s word) every day to sustain good spiritual health.  No one would think to eat just two or three times a week, so also we must not read God’s word just two or three times per week—but daily.  Everyday we need to be reading, meditating on, and memorizing God’s word.  The Bible tells us that God has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us” (2 Pet. 1:3).  Everything we need to know for living life in this world and for godliness; i.e., for preparing for the next life, comes to us through the “knowledge of him who called us;” i.e., through the knowledge of God.  So also, the Bible tells us that all scripture comes to us from God and is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”--complete and equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  Yet, even those who do read their Bibles every day, often skip around, reading their Bibles in bits and pieces, here and there, as though the Bible were a potpourri of wisdom saying without any rhyme or reason to their order.  However, the Bible is designed to teach us about Christ and tells the story of redemptive history from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.  Thus, the Bible should be read in order.  Not necessarily from cover to cover, but at least from the end of one book to the end of that same book.  I recommend new believers read the gospel of John first, one chapter at a time.  Then they should go to the beginning of Matthew and begin reading one chapter at a time, reading every day, through the entire New Testament.  Then when they are done with the New Testament, they should start in Genesis, but not read the entire Old Testament straight through, but read two books from the Old and one from the New; i.e., Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, Leviticus, Numbers, Mark, and so on and so forth.  But whatever method one employs, entire books of the Bible need to be read from start to finish, the Bible needs to be read every day, and one should spend more time in the New Testament than in the Old.

​More and more I come across Christians who have been believers for years and yet have never been given basic discipleship instructions.  The result is that they flounder in their faith, struggling to grow in their sanctification, never moving beyond infantile Christian maturity.  They have been walking with the Lord for years, and yet they live as though they got saved just last week.  Thus, today and over the next four days, my daily thoughts will cover some basic discipleship principles.  And it’s not complicated or difficult to grow in one’s sanctification.  There are really only four basic principles to follow.  Like the four basic food groups (meat, grains, dairy, fruits/vegetables) which keep our physical bodies healthy when consumed in a balanced manner, so also there are four basic spiritual food groups which need to be taken in equal proportions to keep our souls spiritually healthy and growing.  These are God’s word, prayer, fellowship, and serving.  We will talk about each of these over the next four days, but the basic premise is this, when God saves us, when we become born again, we are given new life (John 3:3-8).  Like a newborn babe, we need to eat in order to feed our souls and grow healthy and strong.  But we also need to eat a well-balanced diet.  An infant who is only given milk and is never eventually introduced to proteins, grains, fruits, vegetables, etc., will not grow healthy and will not survive very long.  So also, the baby Christian who only engages in one of the four basic spiritual food groups, to the neglect of the other three, will not be spiritually healthy and will never reach spiritual maturity.  This is what the author if Hebrews discusses when he writes, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (5:12-14).  It is fine to start with milk as baby Christians, but eventually it is necessary to move on from that in order to reach full spiritual maturity.  

​We live in a day and age when Christians can really struggle with submitting to our government.  This is especially true in the United States where the government is becoming more and more anti-Christian and more amoral every day.  I hear Christians talk of refusing to pay taxes, of refusing to wear Covid masks in places where signs are clearly posted, of refusing to register their firearms in states where it is required, and a host of other subtle forms of rebellion.  Yet, the apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:13-14, “Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”  What is interesting is that Peter writes this during a time when the Roman government was actively persecuting Christians (see 1 Peter 1:1).  What is also interesting to note is the reason he gives they should be willing to submit to the Roman government— “for the Lord’s sake.”  This is because the fruit of the Spirit, the evidence of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the evidence of the transforming power of the gospel, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23), not hate, anger, rebellion, intolerance, hostility, rudeness, insubordination, harshness, and divisiveness.  When Christians think and behave the way the world thinks and behaves, it brings dishonor to God and discredits the gospel.  Thus, Peter goes on to say, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”  That is, honor the current President of the United States.  Honor the current Speaker of the House.  Respect and submit to the government God has placed over us.  We do this “for the Lord’s sake.”  

​So often when we go through difficult times in life our first instinct is to react, to do, to begin figuring out how to solve the problem.  Yet when David found himself going through turmoil, through some sort of tribulation, he writes things like Psalm 62:1, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.”  His soul waits in silence for God.  He remains still.  He focuses on God.  He goes to God in prayer and through his word.  He finds rest and peace and comfort in knowing that his salvation, his rescue, comes from God.  It’s the imagery of be out in the middle of the Pacific, stranded on a boat whose engine has died leaving you adrift at sea.  But then being told over the radio the U.S. Navy knows your location and is on its way.  The fretting and worrying would immediately cease.  You might even decide to make lunch, lay out on the deck.  There is nothing to do now but simply relax and wait for them to arrive.  David is so confident that God is looking out for him, that God will take care of him, that he simply “waits in silence.”  How is this possible?  “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken” (v.2).  David sees himself as standing on the Rock of Gibraltar while the storm rages around him.  Yes, there is a storm raging, the wind is howling, the sea is pounding, but David is standing on the solid rock who is God.  Thus, he will not be “greatly shaken.”  He might be a little shaken, as much as we would be if we were standing on the Rock of Gibraltar in the middle of a raging storm.  The wind is sure to move us some and make it difficult to stand, but so long as we are standing on that rock we will survive the storm.  Thus, so long as we are standing on the rock of God, the winds of life may pummel us and push us around a bit, but we will survive the storm.  

​In the book of 1 Peter, the apostle is writing this letter to Christians who have been persecuted and are suffering for their faith.  They have had to flee from their home cities and so he addresses them as the “elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1:1).  But whether we are experiencing suffering for our faith or simply because we live in a fallen world and thus are experiencing the suffering of pain, disease, death of a loved one, financial ruin or anything else, suffering is never easy and always unpleasant.  Yet one benefit from suffering is that it vindicates and fortifies our faith.  This is the point Peter is hoping to get his readers to see when he writes, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (vv.6-7).  Peter encourages them to rejoice in their suffering because when the genuineness of their faith is tested by fire and shown to be pure and true, it will “result in praise and glory and honor” to Christ.  Thus, when God brings us through difficult times, when he brings us through suffering, and we cling to Christ and remain faithful and true to him, and we do not abandon him, and he brings us through on the other side, the result is twofold: (1) it proves the “genuineness of your faith” and shows that you truly belong to God, and (2) it brings “praise and glory and honor” to Christ by showing to the world that God is real and faithful and true.  

​There is an interesting story found in 2 Chronicles 33, and it’s the story of Manasseh ascending to the throne of Judah (southern Israel).  We are told there that Manasseh was a horrible king, very wicked.  He did everything he was not supposed to do, and nothing he should have done.  “He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (v.2).  The result is that we are told that God caused the army of Assyria to invade the kingdom of Judah and capture Manasseh and lead him away in chains to Babylon.  But then we are told that when Manasseh “was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.  He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God” (vv.12-13).  God brought physical misery and suffering into his life and Manasseh humbled himself before God, turned to the Lord, and came to recognize that the LORD is God.  While suffering in this life is not always the punishment of God for sins (e.g., Job), suffering always has the effect of turning our attention toward God.  It causes us to look within ourselves and ask the question, ‘Is there something wrong in my life?’ ‘Is there some sin I need to repent from?’  Asking these sort of questions is never a bad thing.  We should always be examining our own lives and seeing whether or not we are walking in line with God’s word, whether we are walking with the Spirit or resisting the Holy Spirit.  In short, suffering is really a blessing, be it spiritual, emotional, or physical anguish, because it forces us to look outside of ourselves, to look to God for aid, comfort, and strength.  Without suffering we would have no need for God.  

​Pastor John MacArthur once rightly said, “A proud self-esteeming ego is easily angered.”  This is the reason we tend to get so easily angered when others insult us, offend us, say hurtful words to us, or simply speak to us, look at us, or treat us in a way or with a tone we don’t think we should be treated with or want to be treated.  Most, if not all, people have an overinflated opinion of themselves.  We believe we deserve to be treated or spoken to in a certain way, and we are not only offended when others do not treat us or speak to us in the way “we know” we should be treated, we are offended they do not hold the same lofty opinion of us that we do of ourselves.  Thus, James says “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (1:19).  But why?  “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  In the Bible we see God getting angry on many occasions, but God is holy and pure and righteous and just.  Thus, when God gets angry, it is always for a good and just reason.  Humans, by contrast, are unholy and sinful and wicked and unjust.  Thus, when we get angry, it is almost always for sinful, ungodly, unrighteous, and unholy reasons.  This is why James says the “anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  Nothing good rarely comes from the anger of man—the anger of sinful humans.  “Therefore,” he goes on to say, “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”  Anger almost always stems from filthiness and wickedness in our hearts, and we need to put these things aside and humbly bow before God’s word and receive God’s word in our hearts.  To deal with anger, we need more of God’s word.  

In James chapter 3, he spends most of his time talking about the tongue and how it needs to be controlled. Yet he is not just talking about cursing people, though he is certainly including that (v.9). He is also talking about using our tongue, our speech, our words, to lash out at people, to hurt people, to gossip about or slander people. He rightly says “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness” (vv.5-6). The tongue is a volatile, dangerous, and powerful weapon. In fact, much of the chaos and turmoil we are witnessing in the world today is the result of an untamed tongue. All wars in the history of the world, and all social and cultural unrest have been brought about by the communication of ideas—ideas which cause division, create enemies, and promote violence. Thus, James says that “every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (vv.7-8). This deadly poison has become even deadlier in the age of social media and the internet. Now every person with a smartphone has the potential to reach millions of people with their divisive and hurtful words and ideas. But before we think this blog post does not apply to us because we don’t ever get on social media, how often do we hurt those closest to us, those within our own family or homes, with our tongue, our hurtful words and ideas? We need to keep in mind what James is reminding us of, that when we hurt others with our words, we are hurting those “who are made in the likeness of God” (v.9). To insult or hurt with our words those who are made in the image of God is to insult God himself.

​I meet people all the time who tell me they are Christian, that they said the “sinner’s prayer” and were baptized.  And yet, after getting to know them, it becomes evident that there is little to no evidence of the transforming power of the gospel in their lives.  There is no discernable difference between how they live and how the rest of the world lives.  But Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind,” and then he says in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  Love for God manifests itself in a life lived out in obedience to God’s word.  This does not mean that we earn our way to heaven.  Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  No good works are necessary.  However, as the Reformers were so fond of saying, “Salvation is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.”  If we have truly acknowledged our sin to God, if we have truly experienced remorse for our sin and have repented from those sins, and if we have truly believed and embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ for ourselves, then we will have a natural heartfelt desire to study God’s word, to know God, and to live in obedience to God’s word and for the glory of Christ.  Once we comprehend what Christ has done for us, the true believer cannot help but desire to pour himself or herself out in service to Christ.  

Today there is a lot of talk about racism and anti-racism and Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality and the problem of racism within the church and what is to be done about it.  How do we as the Church deal with it? Where do we find the answer to root it out?  Do we need to go outside of scripture?  The Bible and the Church have been around for a long time and yet racism has not been eradicated, even within the Church.  Some argue this is because the Bible does not explicitly deal with the problem of racism.  Or, does it?  In James chapter two, scripture says, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.  For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”  While James is using as an example the problem of showing preferential treatment to those of higher economic class and treating with disdain those of poor economic standing, this is just an example he is using.  What cannot be missed is that as believers, within the church and outside of the church, we are commanded to “show no partiality” and to make no “distinctions” among people based on economic status, education, race, ethnicity, gender, or appearance (i.e., tattoos vs. no tattoos, coat and tie vs. casual clothing, clean vs. dirty, etc.).  The second Great Commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.”  Thus, to violate the second Great Commandment is to violate the first Great Commandment.  In other words, you cannot truly love God with all your heart, mind, and soul if you do not truly love your neighbor as yourself.  

​We don’t have to live long before we begin to realize that life is a constant uphill climb.  We talk about mountain tops and valleys but for many, life in the valley is the norm and mountain top experiences are the exception, and becoming a Christian does not always change that.  Quite often becoming a follower of Christ can increase the number of valleys we go through and the length of time we spend there.  To be fair, there are times when these valleys are man-made, when we create the hole we are in.  Nevertheless, the struggle is real; the hole is deep, and the future looks bleak.  These are the times when holding to a high view of scripture matters.  Because if scripture is not the authoritative and trustworthy word of God, then there is no place to go, no place to turn.  But if it is--and it is—then we can go to places like James 1:2-4 and find great comfort and encouragement for living life in the here and now.  There we are told to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”  The Greek word for 'steadfastness' is an interesting word as it is the word hupomoné and carries the meaning of strength, perseverance or endurance.  Thus, like the long-distance runner, the more we run, the farther we run, the stronger we become and the farther we are able to keep going.  But getting in shape to be a long-distance runner takes time and suffering and pain.  Ultimately this is what God is doing in us.  He is strengthening our faith and trust in him so that we can go further and endure more.  And thus, we are told to “let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  By “let steadfastness have its full effect,” James means that we should not resist or murmur against what God is doing in us and through us and for us, so that we might be “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  

​We can all struggle with bouts of depression from time to time. Falling into a time of grief or sorrow or depression or discouragement does not necessarily mean a person lacks faith. Throughout the history of the church there have been great and godly men who have had bouts with depression from time to time (e.g., Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon). We even see examples of this in the Bible among the saints of God’s people. Psalm 13 is just such one example. There David writes, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” We can’t know for certain what David was struggling with, but one thing is for certain, he feels as though God has forgotten him and he is wondering how much longer this will go on. How much longer must he take counsel in his own soul or have sorrow in his heart? He then cries out to God and says, “Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,…” David fears he is slipping into a dark place from which he may never return. So what does he do about it? What is his response to this dark place he finds himself in? “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me” (vv.5-6). Three things he will do. First, he will trust in the steadfast love of God. Regardless of what he is going through, he knows God still loves him and is looking out for him. Second, he will rejoice in the Lord’s salvation. If nothing else, he knows he can be thankful that this life is not all there is, that when this life is over, whenever that is, he will spend eternity in the presence of the living God. And third, he will reflect on the many ways God has dealt bountifully with him. He will count his blessings. He will choose to focus on the positives God has brought into his life and not focus on the negatives.

​​Life can be described as moving from one challenge to another.  It has often been said that just when you think you are getting ahead of the rat race…the rats get bigger.  The result is that life often seems like a vicious cycle of ups and downs, eb and flow, mountain tops and valleys.  We read about having joy and contentment in the Christian life, but somehow these things always seem illusive to us, always just beyond our reach.  This is where Psalm 1 can be so incredibly helpful.  There the psalmist writes, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  In other words, blessed, happy, joyful, content, is the man who does not live like the rest of the world, who does not try and keep up with the Jones’, but instead immerses himself in God’s word “day and night.”  When he does this, the end result will be that he will be “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”  That is, even when the driest of life’s droughts come our way, when life seems to be leading us through the Sahara Desert, in the midst of life’s dry and cracked barren land, those who meditate on God’s word both day and night will be “like a tree planted by streams of water.”  Lush, green, and healthy.  We will stand tall and firm, with our roots sunk deep into the promises of God from which we cannot be moved.  

​We live in a world and in a nation where our government is becoming increasingly more evil at a blinding rate of speed.  They advocate for and are pushing through legislation which promotes the murder of over a million unborn babies every year in the United States alone, laws which seek to protect and promote abortion clinics, which promote and push for the homosexual agenda, desiring to teach homosexuality in schools to the youngest of children, laws which create racial tension rather than heal it, laws which seek to suppress religious freedom rather than protect it.  The result is that it is becoming more difficult for Christians to support our government through loyalty and finances.  It’s times like these that make Jesus’ words even more poignant.  In Mark 12 we read the story of the Pharisees coming to Jesus and asking him if they should pay taxes to Caesar or not?  Keep in mind, in first century Israel the Roman army was an occupying force who were using the Jewish tax dollars to maintain their army in Israel, to desecrate the Temple, and to stifle Jewish freedoms.  And yet Jesus says to them, “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it” (v.15).  When they do, he asks them whose “likeness and inscription” is on it?  They say to him, “Caesar's.”  And then Jesus says to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”  He does not tell them not to pay taxes.  He does, however, essentially tell them they should worry less about their tax dollars, and be more concerned about how they spend their time and how they live their lives.  Give the government their taxes, as it has been instituted by God (Rom 13:1) and give God the whole of your life as you have been created in his image.  

​Life can be described as moving from one challenge to another.  It has often been said that just when you think you are getting ahead of the rat race…the rats get bigger.  The result is that life often seems like a vicious cycle of ups and downs, eb and flow, mountain tops and valleys.  We read about having joy and contentment in the Christian life, but somehow these things always seem illusive to us, always just beyond our reach.  This is where Psalm 1 can be so incredibly helpful.  There the psalmist writes, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  In other words, blessed, happy, joyful, content, is the man who does not live like the rest of the world, who does not try and keep up with the Jones’, but instead immerses himself in God’s word “day and night.”  When he does this, the end result will be that he will be “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”  That is, even when the driest of life’s droughts come our way, when life seems to be leading us through the Sahara Desert, in the midst of life’s dry and cracked barren land, those who meditate on God’s word both day and night will be “like a tree planted by streams of water.”  Lush, green, and healthy.  We will stand tall and firm, with our roots sunk deep into the promises of God from which we cannot be moved.  

​Why is the Christian life so difficult?  Why is doing the right thing, living a life that is pleasing to God, so incredibly hard?  Sin.  The old person dies hard.  And sin, temptation, is a powerful attraction.  I am not just referring to the big grievous sins, but to the subtle sins we battle with, the emotions and thoughts we struggle with that cause us to treat people in ways we inevitably regret.  Why is it so hard to not be selfish, to not be self-centered, to not think what we want is more important than what others want?  Why is it so difficult to place ourselves in other people’s shoes and see things from their perspective?  Sin is blinding.  It is debilitating, paralyzing, and causes us to think and behave irrationally.  This is what Paul describes in Romans 7:15-19.  “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”  How many believers experience this almost constantly?  The very thing they don’t want to do, the way they no longer want to treat people, the very thoughts they no longer want to entertain, are the very things, behavior, and thoughts they keep on doing.  They want to live for God and yet they keep doing the very things they do not want to do.  So what do we do about this?  We keep doing all we can to mortify the sin that indwells us and we remember the words of Paul: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (vv.24-25).  In the end, we thank and praise God that Christ has done it all for us!  He earned the perfect righteousness for us which God’s law demands and he died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins which God’s justice demands.  And in that we find great comfort and peace.  

​Praying consistently and fervently can be difficult for many Christians.  We can sometimes wonder if our prayers ever reach beyond the ceiling.  But in Luke 18, Jesus provides us with a parable designed to encourage us and to spur us on in our prayer life.  In fact, Luke introduces the parable by saying that Jesus “told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”  He then relates how Jesus goes on to tell the story of a persistent widow who goes to a judge “who neither feared God nor respected man.”  Thus, this judge is a wicked person who cares only about himself.  And so, this widow knows that if she is ever going to get this judge to respond to her pleas, it is not going to be by appealing to his mercy or sense of justice.  Thus, she keeps hounding him and bothering him and asking for justice.  Finally, after a while, the judge says to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”  This wicked judge who cares nothing about anyone or God gives her what she wants because of her persistent asking.  Then Jesus says, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.  And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?  I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.”  In other words, if an unrighteous and wicked judge is willing to grant this woman’s request because of her continual asking, how much more will God, who is righteous and just and holy, grant the request of those who come to him consistently and persistently?  Keep praying.  Never give up. 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10)
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​When we think about sanctification and our struggle with sin in the Christian life, often our greatest dilemma is not so much that we lack faith or self-control or self-discipline, but that we lack fear.  It may seem odd to say that, but fear is truly what most Christians do not have, or at least do not have an adequate amount of.  Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”  When we think about our lives and the struggle that we face in life, when we think about our churches and how we can improve them, minister to the saints more effectively or reach the lost with the gospel, in essence what we are looking for is wisdom and insight.  How do I fix my marriage?  How do I help my children?  How should we do worship?  What kind of music should we sing in church?  Yet, the key to wisdom and insight, according to the Proverbs, is “the fear of the LORD.”  But this is precisely what many Christians lack--fear.  Very few Christians truly fear God.  This is evident from the number of Christians who munch on donuts and drink coffee during the worship service.  While we say we attend church to worship the King of kings, we worship and approach God more like the Burger King we might hire for a kid’s birthday party, rather than the king of the universe.  The Burger King would expect us to eat and drink while he entertains us, but we would never think to eat and drink and dress causally while meeting with the king of a nation within his throne room.  We speak to people and treat people in ways we know are displeasing to God.  We fail to share the gospel with people when we know we should.  We fail to serve others and put the needs of others before our own, all because we do not truly fear God.  We know we are going to heaven so long as we have faith in Christ and believe he died for us, and for many Christians that is all that really matters.  Our behavior may be displeasing to God in many ways but so long as we are still going to heaven, then displeasing God does not really matter all that much to us.  We don’t fear God.  

​One of the greatest problems we are having within society, and even within the church, is that there is this greater and greater tendency to create God in our image.  This is because if God is like us, if he is just one of us, then we don’t have to listen to him.  We don’t have to respect him, and we certainly don’t have to fear him.  It reminds me of that 1995 song “What if God was one of us?  Just a slob like one of us.  Just a stranger on the bus.  Tryin' to make his way home?”  Unfortunately, this is how many think of God, that he is just like one of us.  Therefore, God does not really care about how we live or what we do or how we treat each other.  If it seems right and it feels right, then it must be right, and God must be OK with it.  But it is to this kind of thinking that God speaks to humanity in Psalm 50, “For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.  If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.  You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.  You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.  These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself” (vv.17-21).  And therein is the grave mistake that so many make both inside and outside the church, we think that God is “one like yourself.”  This attitude is reflected in the way we behave, in the way we treat others, and in way we do worship.  We are fond of all things casual and relaxed.  And since God is just like one of us, then he must like our worship to be casual and relaxed.  Surely, God likes what we like because he is just like one of us.  Or is he?  

When I was in seminary, my professor for biblical counseling was fond of reminding us that if you cannot follow your own biblical counsel, then you have no business giving someone else biblical counsel.  In other words, if your marriage is a mess, you have no business trying to help someone else with their marriage.  If your kids are a mess, you have no business trying to help someone else with their kids.  It’s all about walking the walk and not just talking the talk.  This is biblical advice and a biblical principle we see David articulating in Psalm 51.  There David is confessing and repenting of his sins and prays, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (vv.10-12).  But then notice what he says next, “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.”  David says that once God has created within him a clean heart and renewed his spirit and restored to him the joy of his salvation, then he will teach transgressors God’s ways.  He understands he is no position to teach others about God when his own life is a mess.  Thus, he confesses and repents of his sin and prays for God to restore him, so that he can teach others about God.  David’s prayer is one we should all be praying.  

​Within the church there is this trend that continues to get worse every year.  This is the idea that women can be pastors within the church or, minimally, they are biblically permitted to be Sunday school teachers or Bible study leaders for co-ed groups.  However, the Bible is quite clear in places like 1 Timothy 2:12 where God says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”  To be clear, this text is not saying that women are not permitted to teach science or math or literature to men.  The book of 1 Timothy is written by Paul to Timothy giving him instructions on how to organize and govern the church.  Thus, the context is within church ministry and life.  However, some argue that so long as a woman is not teaching men the Bible while at the same time holding an authoritative office or position, then she is biblically permitted to teach men the Bible.  But notice the text does not say, “I do not permit a woman to teach AND to exercise authority over a man.”  It says, “I do not permit a woman to teach OR to exercise authority over a man.”  It’s either/or, not both/and.  But why is that?  Is it because men are smarter or more capable than women?  Not so.  Notice the Bible gives two reasons for this in the next two verses, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”  Thus, the reasons given are that Adam was formed first, in the position of leadership with Eve being formed for Adam, to be his helpmate.  And secondly, Eve was deceived first, not Adam.  Thus, that women are not permitted by scripture to teach the Bible to men has nothing to do with intelligence or ability, but has to do with order of creation and culpability.  Women are just as intelligent, just as capable, and just as valuable to God as men are.  

​When we go though difficult times in life or when we blow it and make mistakes, it is nice to have a friend come along side us to comfort and encourage us.  However, it’s one thing to have a friend there beside us to sympathize with us and encourage us, it’s quite another to have a friend there beside us who will not only sympathize with us and encourage us, but has also walked in our shoes, who knows what we are going through because they have been there themselves.  This was the role of priests in the Old Testament (OT).  We are told in Hebrews 5:1-2 that “every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.”  OT priests were appointed to “act on behalf of men in relation to God” and to “deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.”  In other words, the priest was to go before God on behalf of the people and plead on their behalf for God to be merciful. And he was good at doing this because he was a man himself and knew just how hard it was to live in a fallen world.  But then we are told in v.5, “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’”  Christ was appointed by God to be our priest and to stand in the gap between God and men and continuously go before the throne of God the Father and plead for us and intercede for us saying, ‘Be merciful and compassionate.  I know how powerful temptation is and how difficult it is to live in a fallen world.  Besides that, I paid for their sins.’  For believers, Christ is our high priest “appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God.”  What a comforting truth. 

​One of my favorite stories in the Bible is from John chapter 6 where we find Jesus teaching some really difficult things.  But we have to set the scene in order to really appreciate the impact of Jesus’ words.  At the beginning of the chapter we are told that Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish to be able to feed a crowd of over five-thousand men, women, and children.  The next morning, when the people wake up, they realize Jesus has gone to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and so they all climb into boats and follow Jesus to the other side.  When they arrive, Jesus tells them plainly that they are not seeking him because they believe he is the Messiah, “but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (v.26).  Nevertheless, Jesus has a captive audience and so he intends to use this opportunity to teach them about himself and his purpose.  Thus, he says to them that he is the true bread that has come down from heaven and that anyone who eats this bread will live forever.  But as if that were not confusing enough, he then goes on to say, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."  This really began to upset the Jews who exclaimed, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"  Jesus continues: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”  Jesus continues with this line of teaching until we eventually read in v.66, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’  Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’”  In an instant, Jesus goes from having a following of five-thousand to standing there with just the twelve disciples.  What we learn from this scene, in the words of theologian Michael Horton, is that “it is far better to have twelve disciples than to have five-thousand consumers.”  

​What is the church?  Where does it exist?  Is the church a building?  Does the church exist inside of believers?   Does it exist inside of every believer?  These are important questions to ask because these days, and because of the Covid pandemic, the whole idea of church has become muddied and very confusing to many people.  Though the ban on gatherings has been lifted in many states, many Christians continue to “do church” at home and watch the church service online.  The argument goes that church is wherever we worship God and “where two or more are gathered”, there Jesus is in our midst (Matt 18:20).  First, while we can worship God anywhere, anywhere we worship God is not church.  Second, while all believers compromise the Church of God, not every believer is the Church in and of himself.  Thirdly, Jesus makes his statement in Mathew 18:20 within the context of church discipline, not corporate worship.  Rather, the author of Hebrews tells us that “Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope” (3:5-6).  Christ is faithful over God’s house and “we are that house.”  Notice he does not say ‘each believer is the house of God’, but that “we [collectively, corporately, the gathered saints] are his house.”  The very word “church” implies the gathering together of all of God’s people in a single location for worship.  The word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is a compound word comprised of ek = out or outside + kaleo = to call.  Hence, ekklesia literally means ‘those who are called out or outside,' those who gather outside of their homes.  Those who are called out from their homes to gather.  The invisible Church is comprised of all believers around the world and throughout the ages.  However, the visible church is comprised of local believers gathering together in one location for corporate worship.  

​In recent years, the institution of marriage has come under greater attack both from outside and from within the church. For example, a false view of divorce that is gaining popularity within evangelicalism is that divorce is permissible on the grounds of physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect. In other words, if a woman constantly berates her husband, cuts him down, constantly tells him how fat and worthless and lazy he is, after enduring this emotionally abusive treatment for an extensive period of time, he would have grounds to divorce his wife. The argument that this constitutes grounds for divorce goes like this: Jesus permitted divorce on the grounds of adultery (Matt 5:32; 19:9). However, adultery at its core is not just about sex. It’s about a deep-rooted selfishness. It’s about deception. It’s about breaking trust. It’s about engaging in behavior that is mentally, emotionally, and psychologically harmful to your spouse. Adultery breaks the marital covenant of trust and does harm to the spouse, and the Bible says that is grounds to legally end the marriage. Thus, there are other behaviors, other than sexual intercourse, that also break the marriage covenant and harm a spouse that constitute grounds for divorce.

While on the surface this all sounds like it makes sense, it is illogical and unbiblical because it is an argument of equivocation. An argument of equivocation occurs when the definition of an important word is changed in the middle of an argument. In this case, adultery is equal to breaking trust, selfishness, deception, and emotional/mental abuse. However, while breaking trust, selfishness, deception, and emotional/mental abuse all result from adultery, adultery is not breaking trust, selfishness, deception, and emotional/mental abuse. In other words, lying to your spouse is not act of adultery. Saying something incredibly damaging to your spouse is not an act of adultery. The word Jesus uses for “sexual immorality” is the Greek word porneia which means ‘physical sexual contact with another person.’ Thus, Jesus literally says, “Everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of [physical sexual contact with another person], makes her commit adultery.” Physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect are not grounds for divorce.