Patience is often referred to as something that can be lost – as in “you are really causing me to lose my patience.” But how would it sound if you were to say “you are really causing me to lose my love for you?” Those words would be devastating to hear. You see, love is intimately defined as patient by the Holy Spirit. So if love is patient, then “losing” patience can be equated to losing love. In other words, it is impossible to truly love without being patient. Said this way the idea of losing patience is not a pretty one. A working definition of patience is living in the expectation of God’s care. This means living each day […]
Yearly Archives: 2019
153 posts
Happiness, trust in others, joy, and peace come with the fear of the Lord. This sounds like a contradiction. How can peace come from fear? Because the fear of God means that we grasp his greatness and holiness and are humbled in awe of all that he is and all that we are not. This leads to a holy, healthy fear that orders our lives in joy and peace. The Psalms are built on one great foundational truth: God rules over the earth. Blessed or joyful is the man who turns away from the world and delights in the law and fear of God. The Psalms also teach that the appropriate fear of God must always come first. The fear […]
As you may have noticed, we are making some changes and updates to our website in order to speed up the site and improve your experience here. While everything should be working as normal, it’s possible we haven’t worked out all the glitches yet. If something doesn’t seem to be working correctly, feel free to let us know. Thanks! —Everyone at Shepherd Press
“Keep us from evil.” It is a prayer that many pray by rote. But one way God answers this prayer is with the men and women who would offer their lives to keep us from evil. The photo above is a church in Germany, within sight of the concentration camp at Dachau. The peacefulness of this scene attempts to mask the demonic face of evil. Whether it is with the evil within or with the enemies of freedom, fighting evil comes at a high price. I took this photo driving away from Dachau. I was with two of my closest friends. We were stunned at the horror of what we had just seen: Man’s inhumanity to man! This church looked […]
Children quickly learn that tears are powerful motivators. Tears bring sympathy and comfort. However, tears also bring the opportunity for manipulation and deceit. Learning to discern the difference is a huge challenge for parents. For example, a young child wants to play with a toy that his brother has. He feels sorry for himself and tries to grab the toy. When his attempt fails, he begins to cry. Amazingly, the tears allow him to possess the coveted toy. This little boy has just learned a lesson he will not forget. “Tears can bring me what I want.” Then he learns that tears will get him out of responsibilities that are unpleasant to him. Finally, he completes the trifecta by learning […]
Paul Tripp comments on Psalm 51 about what brings us our greatest hurt. While we look to blame people and situations, the one greater reality that we must face when looking to sort out the true source of our hurt is our own heart. Paul says is it this way: It is your fault! Sin is a matter of the heart before it’s ever an issue of behavior. Sin is a matter of what lurks in us before it’s ever an issue of what happens to us. It’s the evil inside me that connects me to the evil outside me. So we must confess again today that we are our biggest and greatest problem in life. You and I don’t […]
Pictures of infants and toddlers are adorable. These pictures appear to represent everything good about life: joy, beauty, innocence, vulnerability, potential. They fill us with hope that this sweet, precious child will somehow not be scarred by the hard things in life. Yet, there is danger in these photos. These captivating images can blind us to the hidden reality of the natural darkness of the heart. The deceptive innocence of the pictures is one reason we are stunned by that first lie, that first blatant act of ugly selfishness. Where did that come from? The temptation is to say who did this to my baby?!? To be sure, outside influences are significant. But there is another, more significant source of […]
There is only one thing about tomorrow that you can know with certainty. God will be faithful to you. You can plan for tomorrow, and that is a good thing. But tomorrow may not go according to your plan. World events may radically change your life. Your car may not start. Your kids could get sick. Your financial situation could change. Your pet could go missing. The uncertainty of tomorrow is the constant reality of your life. The way you anticipate tomorrow will impact the way you do life today. Worry about tomorrow comes from the lie that humans are in control of your life. This gives us reasons to do something other than to seek treasures of God’s kingdom […]
Which friends can you trust? This question has haunted humans since the beginning. Abel trusted his brother, Cain. Cain asked Abel to go out to the field with him. Abel was apparently unaware of the building hatred that his brother had for him. Despite Abel’s trust, Cain attacked and killed his brother. Psalm 62 speaks of this hidden, selfish agenda of deception and hatred. Speaking of his enemies, David says: They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts. The darkness of the human heart doesn’t change. What can we learn from David and the narrative of Cain? There are at […]
Each year questions arise about participation in Halloween. Is it really the Devil’s holiday? Well, it is in the sense that every day where he rules in the hearts of unbelievers is his day. But it is also true that Christ has triumphed on the cross and brought defeat to the dark enemy of our souls. So it is important to look a little deeper if we are going to find a satisfying answer. At its best Halloween is time for creativity, joy, friendship, and fun. At its worst, it is about death, fear, darkness, and the celebration of evil. Again, for the Christian, this is like every other day. Each day we are to choose between life and death, […]