The Dangers of Doing Business with “Christians”
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“ ‘Pastor, pastor—I just met my surgeon, and guess what? He is a CHRISTIAN!’ I must bite my tongue in the moment, but I’m thinking to myself, ‘But is he a good surgeon?’” - P&D
A Theology of Friendship
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“Though this survey does not include every angle from which to view friendship (e.g., the ‘one another’ passages), this survey does provide a fairly good idea of the Bible’s theology of friendship.” - P&D
Discussion
Myths of Faith #3 - It's Being Sure of What God Will Do
When my dad was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer years ago, I experienced a faith-collision. On the one hand was the strong likelihood that glioblastoma was going to take his life within two or three years. On the other was the fact that “with God, all things are possible.”
Of course more than one of us asked God to heal Dad. We asked God to use the medications, to lead us to some undiscovered cure, to make surgery more effective than it normally is for this disease.
Discussion
How to Live a Life of Gladness and Joy–Psalm 90
In my office I have an old grandfather clock that was given to me by my grandparents. On the face of the clock it says, Tempus Fugit, Latin for “time flies.” It’s so true, isn’t it? So, how can we make sure that we don’t waste our lives, but instead live for the Lord with joy and gladness? Moses instructs us in this psalm.
Discussion
Did God Call Me to My Work? Is Calling a Christian Notion?
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“It’s immediately obvious how to write books, adjudicate laws, or teach students in distinctly Christian ways; it’s less obvious how to cut grass or tighten a pipe fitting in ways that move society towards further righteousness.” - P&D
Discussion
Myths of Faith #2 - It’s About the Amazing and Unexplainable
“If you can explain what is going on, then God isn’t doing it.”
It’s a great sound byte. Several respected Christian leaders have taught it. And it certainly feels true. In many congregations it would be a reliable “amen!” line. However, not only is the statement itself false but it reflects a damaging and unbiblical way of thinking about faith and Christian living.
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A Process for Wisely Deciding How to Educate Your Children
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“some of the most difficult decisions parents will ever make are the decisions about how to educate their children, since for most parents, they will have to regularly revisit the matter as their lives change, as their family grows, and as different options become available or unavailable.” - Challies
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Conspiracy and the Christian
Editor’s note: Posted first here in 2022, but relevance has only increased.
by Bob Stevenson
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Will We Trust in God’s Character and His Care for Us?
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“Nanci sometimes felt anxious throughout those difficult years, but she instructed herself by God’s words, and the anxiety was replaced by peace and hope and rest in the great God she knew to be her Father.” - Randy Alcorn
Discussion
Myths of Faith #1 - You Have to Have Much
Sometimes the most basic topics in Christian teaching are home to the most abundant confusion. Perhaps faith is one of those topics. Several misunderstandings are commonly heard in preaching and teaching on the subject. A short list would include the following:
- You have to have much faith to experience the power of God.
- Exercising faith means seeing God’s hand in the dramatic and unexplainable.
- Healthy faith is believing that God is going to act in a particular way.
- In prayer, faith is believing that God will certainly grant the request.
Some of these notions have the benefit of superficial biblical support. But if we strip away what “everybody knows” about faith, table our fond sentiments, and look at what Scripture actually says about these ideas, what do we find?
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