Your children were designed by God for honor and glory. They were designed for a rich, full, satisfying relationship with God. They were designed for purity and significance. They were to designed to serve and not to be served. They were designed to delight in God and to have all of their deepest needs met in him. They were designed to work hand-in-hand with God to spread his dominion over the planet. They were designed to enjoy the gift of sex in the safety of marriage. They were designed for beauty, joy and wonder. But, then, sin crashed the party. Adam’s sin, your sin and your children’s sin combine to fuel the cravings of the flesh. The beautiful design of […]
Worldview
586 posts
What about tomorrow? People live as if they know that tomorrow will come. However, God has not promised that tomorrow will come for you, for your children, for your country, for your planet. Yet, we live on, acting and believing that tomorrow will come. The truth is that the arrival of tomorrow is connected to the purpose and plan of God. Here is what Jesus says: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:25-26) Notice Jesus says we are unable to do a very little thing like adding an hour to our lives. Amazing. At the direction of the […]
A conversation between a mom and her 12-year-old daughter. “Hey, Mom.” “Yes, Erin.” “You have a minute?” “Sure, what’s up?’ “I watched another program on the Science Channel that was talking about how life began on earth. I’m good with what you and dad have told me, but I just want to make sure I have it down. Can you help me by going over things again?” “No problem, glad you asked! You remember that there are really only a few ways that modern science thinks how life could have begun?” “Yeah, uh, one is that over a long time, like billions of years, stuff that was all organic…” “Erin, I think you mean inorganic.” “Right, inorganic, that means not […]
You tell your friends that your main focus for 2018 is to make holiness more a part of your lifestyle. It would not be surprising for the response to be, even from your Christian friends, “how boring is that!” Boring? This is the way the enemy of your soul wants holiness to be understood – as drab, boring, and uneventful. Our culture has totally bought into this lie. If you are holy: you can’t enjoy life, you can’t enjoy sex, you can’t have fun, you will be intolerant and self-righteous, you won’t have any friends, your life will be boring! It is no wonder holiness is not an appealing character quality. Even if you don’t believe these things, don’t be […]
God’s first priority is not to make you and me happy. What impresses us is not what impresses God. Perhaps nothing demonstrates this more clearly than the incarnate life of his Son, Jesus. Christ’s birth was that of a peasant and his death was that of a criminal. He was born in the company of animals in a stable. He died in the company of thieves on a cross stained with his blood. The political leaders of his country tried to murder him as a baby. But it was the supposed bible-believing religious leaders who finally succeeded where Herod had failed. His friends fled from him at his trial. His family fled to Egypt when he was a toddler. This […]
Mary was a teenager. There was nothing remarkable about her. The first time we see her is in the first chapter of Luke when she is greeted by the angel Gabriel. To say that she was startled and taken aback would be an understatement! But Gabriel comforted her and then with a few words turned her life upside down. She was going to become a mother. She was told her child would grow up to take the throne of King David and that his kingdom would have no end. So far, so good until she learns who the baby’s father would be. This was no ordinary conversation. Gabriel was no ordinary visitor. Her baby would not be an ordinary son. […]
What if you knew that this Christmas would be your last one on earth? Would it make a difference in how you celebrated, in the gifts that you give, and in the meaning of the day? Obviously, the answer would be yes. But how would it play out in your life? Of course, you can look at things from a statistical perspective and conclude that this will probably not be your last Christmas. But the truth is that the length of our lives is not determined by statistical probabilities. The number of your days are set by the will and plan of God. (Psalm 139:16) We live at God’s pleasure and purpose. Thus, it is not idle speculation to consider […]
Joy to the World: A Biblical Worldview (A Four-Part Series) Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part 4: He Rules With Truth and Grace Verse four of “Joy to the World” completes the biblical worldview contained in this Christmas hymn. This last verse is a dynamic testimony to the power of the gospel. The King who was anticipated in the first verse, celebrated for his rule in the second verse, and viewed as the Savior of this sin-cursed world in third, now is depicted as the One who will bring a just judgment to this broken world. Life often appears to be unfair and unjust. Will evil people prevail? Corruption and perversion are everywhere. The […]
Joy to the World: A Biblical Worldview (A Four-Part Series) Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part 3: Far As the Curse Is Found “Joy to the World” is a Christmas carol that proclaims a biblical worldview. This is the third post on Isaac Watts’ famous hymn which is based on Psalm 98. The lyrics of this hymn reflect a biblical worldview, a worldview that brings honor to God in all that we do. The first part of this worldview has to do with the joyful anticipation of Christ’s rule. The second part encourages us to delight in the ongoing reign of our Savior. This third element of the worldview acknowledges that there is much […]
Joy to the World: A Biblical Worldview (A Four-Part Series) Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part 2: The Savior Reigns! The second verse of “Joy to the World” builds on the theme of the first verse, where Isaac Watts anticipates the coming king. Now he exults in the current reign of Christ. This is the next foundation stone in constructing a biblical worldview based on this hymn. This truth is simple, yet profound – if Jesus is reigning, it is a good thing. Here is the second verse: Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy… All that […]