Romans 8: No condemnation
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:1 Few lines of Holy Scripture have been used more by God to encourage assurance and comfort in my own heart. In my own Bible,…
Tag Christian Life
The Ten Words: The Third
Names. We all have one, or two or three, maybe even four or five! Names identify us, don’t they? At least to some degree. Yet, we recognize that we are more than merely our name(s). My parents could have decided…
Augustine, Justice & the SCOTUS
Last night I finished my pilgrimage through Augustine’s City of God. Considering it took Augustine almost a decade to finish book nineteen after starting I would say that I made better time on the reading than he did the writing.…
Christ the First Fruits
So many people live and work for the moment at hand, pushing any idea of eternity out of their minds. They squander their time, money and resources without a glance at their Creator. They seek satisfaction, security and significance in…
Let’s Study the Beatitudes! Part 2, The Poor
There’s a bright thread of connection between the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the way the sermon on the mount begins. The tree stood as a perpetual sign for Adam and Eve to rely upon and…
Let’s Study the Beatitudes! Part 1, Introduction
Some passages of Scripture are better known than others. How can they not be? The Lord’s Prayer is recited across the landscape of Christendom along with the Twenty-third Psalm and the Ten Commandments. But there are others. In fact, it’s…
The East African Revival
The East African Revival As many other events in global church history, the East African Revival is still fairly unknown in America. And yet, it spread rapidly through most of east Africa and lasted over 50 years, leaving a profound…
Augustine of Hippo Against the Slave-Trade
Augustine of Hippo Against the Slave-Trade When we think of Christians who opposed the slave trade, William Wilberforce or John Newton may come to mind. But they were certainly not the first. Back in the fifth century, Augustine of Hippo…
The Supremacy of Christ
What thoughts are first and foremost in your mind these days? Do you awake only to be overwhelmed by thoughts of your sin and shame? Are you paralyzed by thoughts of your suffering? When you go to bed are you…
Transformed Memories
Anecdotally at least, it seems that bad memories of our past sins afflict Christians more than many other issues. It’s this difficulty that accounts for a large portion of the circumstances that bring Christians and non-christians to the aid of…