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Politics, Messes, Blindness, and Such Stuff
My friend, Joel Watts, is always trying to “out” me as a liberal. I love his effort. It’s futile, but it’s noble. I am a fiercely political creature. I grew up talking politics and in my young adult years listening to talk radio. I still listen to political news, but with much more sarcasm than before. The days of an…
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The EXPERIENCE of God
Scripture invites us to the experience of God. Psalm 34:8 — Taste and see how good the Lord is! Psalm 45:8 — All your clothes have the pleasing scent of myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. John 10:27 — My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. Psalm 63:2 — Yes, I’ve seen you in the sanctuary;I’ve…
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Clinging
8 My whole being clings to you; your strong hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:8, CEB) We are so self-sufficient. Our rugged individualism sets our course. We don’t want room for errors. We certainly don’t want room for failures. We need a faith beyond what we can plan! We need a faith that tenaciously clings to the Savior. We need to…
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Throwaways
The death of Junior Seau will cause some debate on concussions again. Good. But beyond that I’ve been reflecting on athletes and entertainers and our culture of idols. I don’t want to take away from personal responsibility. Athletes and entertainers need to learn how to live life beyond the big stage. So many do it well. Yet, we have a…
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Fire in Our Bones
19 Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the holy of holies by means of Jesus’ blood, 20 through a new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, which is his body, 21 and we have a great high priest over God’s house. 22 Therefore, let’s draw near with a genuine heart…
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At the End of Ourselves
2 God said, “Take your son, your only son whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him up as an entirely burned offering there on one of the mountains that I will show you.” 3 Abraham got up early in the morning, harnessed his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, together…
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Repenting of Sin? Or Sorry You Got Caught?
To fear the Lord is to hate evil.I hate pride and arrogance,the path of evil and corrupt speech. (Prov. 8:13, CEB) “Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God…
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God Waits to be Wanted
15 Moses replied, “If you won’t go yourself, don’t make us leave here. 16 Because how will anyone know that we have your special approval, both I and your people, unless you go with us? Only that distinguishes us, me and your people, from every other people on the earth.” 17 The Lord said to Moses, “I’ll do exactly what…
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A prayer for my students
Before a final exam I prayed, “Lord, what is there in their memory, let it be retained. What was never there in the first place, let it stay away.” Ironically, some students did not appreciate that prayer.
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Pastors and Theologians
A good post on pastors leading their congregations theologically. But coming from the Gospel Coalition (with Piper’s image prominently displayed on the page), I have a question about one of their points: 9. Independent churches shouldn’t run their own seminaries. Ummm… what is Piper doing at Bethlehem Baptist? Just wondering. (I don’t know how I feel about the point, but…
