Knowledge Makes Me Accountable
The other day, I was hurrying across the parking lot at church to teach a school class when a man approached me holding his forehead. With a look of pain he explained, “I was just stung by a bee. The hive is right over there by that sidewalk…” My first thought was not, “Oh poor...
What if…?
The Holy Spirit has been teaching me so many things lately, I hardly have time to process them all. Right now, it’s 3:00 in the morning and my mind is racing with questions. Here they are, with some of the scriptures that prompted them. What if we really took God at His Word, face value?...
Why You Should Marry For More Than Looks
Zsa Zsa Gabor, famous actress. Proverbs 31:30: Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Did Paul Quote David Out of Context?
Last night I was reading Psalm 5. When I came to the second half of verse 9, something sounded familiar. Here’s the verse: their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. Do you recognize it? It’s from Romans 3:13: Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. “Huh,” I thought. It...
Some Thoughts on Depression
Lately, I’ve been studying the issue of depression …for two reasons… 1) My biblical counseling class required that I pick a topic for a case study and 2) I personally have down days (I struggle with what the Puritans called melancholy, not so much with depression). My thoughts below are by no means comprehensive. Hope...
Critical Thinking
We believe in the inerrancy of scripture. To explain why is not the purpose of my post, but the inerrancy of scripture is an important foundation to understand in light of what I am going to say about the discipline of critical thinking. We should read the Bible historico-grammatically; that is, to say, within view...
Jesus in Isaiah 59
I’ve recently taken a break from my chronological reading plan to camp out in Isaiah a while. My pace of life right now doesn’t allow for me to keep up the pace of my reading plan, and I’ve been taken in by the freshness and beauty of God’s words through the prophet Isaiah. I just...
Assurance of Salvation: The Method
I’ve been teaching an assurance of salvation class at Cofer’s. Tonight is our 4th week together. I have really enjoyed it, and those in the class are very engaged and seem to be chewing on what I’m trying to get them to eat, so that’s good! I shared a little bit from the first session...
Assurance of Salvation: Our Foundation
If you want assurance of salvation, you need to start with the right foundation. What is the source, root, or grounds for your assurance? Is your assurance based on something you’ve done or felt? Or is it based on what God has said? Using the wrong ground for assurance can lead to many religious people...
The Sufficiency of Scripture
This week I have a paper due on the history of the Biblical Counseling movement. In my research, I’ve found a few quotes from those who have a high view of Scripture and those who don’t. Enjoy! Scripture is useless “Our knowledge of the historical worth of certain religious doctrines increases our respect for them,...
Six Questions On Pastoring With Jeff Manning
Jeff Manning is pastor of Unity Free Will Baptist Church in Greenville, NC where he has been serving for the past 21+ years. He graduated from FWBBC, Bob Jones University (MDiv), and SBTS (DMin). I sent him a direct message on Twitter yesterday asking if he would mind answering a few questions for us wanna...
The Father and Our Atonement
Having to be precise in what you mean by the word “God” is a benefit of living in a pluralistic society. Today Christ followers must make sure people understand they do not mean the same thing as Hindu’s, Deists, or Muslims when they speak about “God.” I am thankful to be living in an age where believers must...
Recent Comments