When Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem in Matthew 21, he did something very odd. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling pigeons. And he said this: “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (Matt. …
There is so much wrong with the world. Everyone can see that. There are issues with the environment. There are geopolitical issues. Wherever you live, the government needs to make hard decisions and often (in our opinion) ends up making the wrong ones. Our boss is unreasonable. Our spouse is causing us problems. Our friends …
Ahab and Jezebel and their family ruled Israel as tyrants; we read of their exploits in the latter part of the book of 1 Kings. They were not satisfied with setting up an alternative religion to Baal instead of worshipping the true God. They went much further than this, seeking out God’s prophets to kill …
A couple of weeks ago I spent two days at a conference with 170 or so other gospel workers. It was the Perth Gospel Partnership annual pastor’s conference. The PGP is an association between those who affirm a reformed and evangelical view of the Scriptures. (You can find out more about PGP here). Good conferences …
Many single Christians, at some stage, will wonder if it is really that bad to marry someone who doesn’t trust in Jesus. After all, that nice guy or girl we know ticks almost all of the boxes we are looking for! They have their lives together, they are so nice and fun and interesting, and …
Does your sin bother you? I think it is very easy to get into sinful habits and not be all that concerned about it. After all, we might reason, Jesus has forgiven all of my sins. I don’t need to worry that my sin will separate me from God if I trust in Jesus! Yes, …
Have you ever tried to convince a sceptic that God is real and that Christianity is true? You can end up with all kinds of deep philosophical points. You can look at the complexity of the world, our internal need for purpose, or natural law. Yet there is one piece of evidence that has been …
How much information do you receive every day? If you are anything like me, it is a lot. Much of it is kind of incidental; we learn things from speaking with people and going about our day. We absorb information from social media and the news; far more information than people of most previous generations …
All people are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). The offer of salvation through Jesus is available to everyone (John 3:16-17). All people in the church family are also seen as equal, regardless of their gender or social status (Gal …
In my recent Sabbatical, I had the marvellous opportunity to read more than normal. While some of the books I read were disappointing, these ones made me think and encouraged me in worship of the true God. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (Puritan Paperbacks) I had been meaning to read this …