Paul contends in Romans 1:18-22 that, although God is invisible, his works are a visible proof of his actions and existence. Everyone realizes, in their heart, that there is a God; but many try to suppress this knowledge even from themselves.
God of the Runaway
The same Jesus who teaches us to pray our Father in heaven tells us God runs to meet his children who come to him by faith. So even as you run to God today, when you do, Jesus says you will find that God is running to receive you. Take the parable of the prodigal son. In the beginning, the son wants what he can get from the father:
Green Pastures In Painful Times
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. (Psalm 23:2) While it is true that we all have experienced what we might call “a good day” — when the children are behaving, the sun is shining, our body is healthy, our spouse is agreeable — these blessings from our benevolent God are not unique to believers who have Christ as their shepherd. Even unbelievers can enjoy these things.
You Are With Me
The psalmist famously writes: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Francis Schaeffer, in his book The God Who Is There, references a tragic poem found with the body of a 23-year old young woman and drug addict who had committed suicide. The note read:
How Can the Dead Be Raised?
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies (1 Corinthians 15:35-36). Paul, in discussing the truth of the general resurrection of the dead, anticipates some possible queries and objections. Someone might ask, for instance, “How are the dead raised?” This is a good question! Christian, linger here and learn from the heretic.
God Is Good to Bring Afflictions
It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes (Psalm 119:71). The psalmist David had felt the deep pain of real affliction, and through it he had come to know God better, through his Word. The cost of coming to know God better was his own comfort, but David says it was worth it, it was good. From the beginning to the end of the Bible, God holds himself up as the treasure of the universe, of surpassing value.
Why Pray Without Ceasing?
Paul briefly exhorts in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 for believers to “Pray without ceasing.” Yet some of us might ask the question: “Why?” Why pray without ceasing? That seems a tall order for busy people who have many life obligations on their plate already. But consider the biblical inducements to prayer by asking yourself a few clarifying and self-examining questions:
I Shall Not Want
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). In less than ten words the psalmist David expresses the great confidence and sweet security of every believer: first, that Yahweh alone is Lord; second, that he guides and provides for those who put their trust in him; and, finally, that those who are thus cared for shall not want for any good thing.
The Way, the Truth, the Life
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Nothing could be more purely practical than this passage, this claim by Jesus! Yes, it is a theological claim, but it should be far more than another point of orthodoxy for us as Christians.
Your Faith, Multiplied
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you … your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything (1 Thessalonians 1:8). Paul, writing to the church at Thessalonica, commends them for their “acoustics.” The message they had received was being reverberated throughout their community, and beyond.
We Love to Talk About the Things We Love
The following is an excerpt from The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen Christ, written by English pastor Thomas Vincent over 300 years ago. I quoted this passage in a recent message I preached, entitled “What Do You Do When You Leave Church?” The truth is, too many Christians in our day live lives that are spiritually disjointed.
Is Christian History Relevant Today?
From a negative standpoint, the neglect of Christian history reflects the incorrect assumption that we have all wisdom in our day and there is nothing to learn from wise men of the past – in effect, that the Holy Spirit has been inactive for the last 2,000 years. Our generation is among the worst when it comes to what C.S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery,” infatuated with the newest thing and suspicious of anything that is old.
Greet One Another With a … What?
Greet one another with a holy kiss (1 Corinthians 16:20). Before we titter nervously like preteen school boys at Paul’s exhortation to kiss, consider this: a kiss in New Testament times was used as a warm greeting between those of the same sex. Many countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East still kiss on the cheek or on the forehead as a part of greeting one another affectionately. How is this exhortation still relevant to us today, in America?
Righteousness Like the Mountains
Your righteousness is like the mountains… (Psalm 36:3) My family and I traveled to Denver, Colorado some time ago for a series of preaching appointments. During our stay, our generous host took us around to see some of the nearby sites, including several parts of the majestic Rocky Mountains. There is something all at once breathtaking, terrifying, and exhilarating about the mountains.
Is True Faith an Act of the Will?
True faith is an act of the will, in the sense that God gives us a new will in the new birth, along with faith (John 1:12-13; Ephesians 2:8). God does not make us robots; he successfully woos our hearts. Faith is not merely an act of the will, because it is also the act of the Holy Spirit in our souls, drawing us to Jesus Christ, and bringing us to trust in him as he is revealed in his Word (James 1:18).