Monthly Archives: March 2015

Tuesday, Mar. 31 I’ve often wondered why so many hymns seem to worship the Lord’s name rather than the Lord Himself. “Blessed by the name of the Lord” for example. Meditating on this, it came to me that names often … Continue reading →

Monday, Mar. 30 All of God’s promises are limited to certain conditions. Take Rom. 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” … Continue reading →

Sunday, Mar. 29 Prayer is one of the most intriguing things in my Christian life. I’m in communication with the eternal God, the Creator of the universe, the Holy One, the Judge. It’s awesome. Yet I can be so glib … Continue reading →

Saturday, Mar. 28 “God is Holy.” We normally think of holiness as being sinless—absolute purity. God surely is that. But holiness has another facet that may be even more pertinent. R. C. Sproul says that the primary meaning of holiness … Continue reading →

Friday, Mar. 27 “Your value does not decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.”— Pam Lotz. This statement is loaded with issues that call for clarification. I’ll give it a shot. First of all my concern should not … Continue reading →

Thursday, Mar. 26 “If you enjoy someone, you get the joy; they get the glory.”—John Piper. This statement deserves some meditation. Enjoying someone is relative. We often do not enjoy being with a particular person. Sometimes we really dislike being … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Mar. 25 “. . . I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” Gal. 6:17. I find it interesting that Paul does not say that he bears the marks of suffering for Christ (although he did suffer for … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Mar. 24 “We’re more interested in social security than eternal security.”—Tom Thieme. This is not just a cute saying; it’s a crucial mind set that pervades and dominates one’s whole life. There are exactly two paths from which to … Continue reading →

Monday, Mar. 23 “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” 1 Tim. 2:8. The words “holy hands” caught my attention. This is a rather rare expression, but it has significant meaning. How … Continue reading →

Sunday, Mar. 22 Eph. 4:11-13 speaks of the church body being built up, that is, becoming mature. The context is that the church would then be able to function properly in terms of reaching the lost. Paul then turns to … Continue reading →

Saturday, Mar. 21 “The greatest thing that God can give us is Himself.”—Doug Burch. This statement in the midst of a study by John Piper really grabbed me. We constantly refer to all the riches poured out on us at … Continue reading →

Friday, Mar. 20 “An idol is anything that we turn to for help and security rather than trusting God.”—Tom Thieme. This was true for the Israelites of old and it’s still true today. Most of us don’t set up little … Continue reading →

Thursday, Mar. 19 God’s ways are past finding out. Job 11:7: Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? Ecc. 8:17: Then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Mar. 18 God’s gift to the church is critical to its success. As I meditated on this, I wondered what the Church would be today without those leaders over the span of the Church Age. I shudder to think … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Mar. 17 Leaders in the church are special gifts from God. Paul spells this out in Eph. 4:11-13. He carefully identifies three specific ministries. Each of the three is preceded by the word “some” which indicates that they are … Continue reading →

Monday, Mar. 16 “It is not God’s Word because it works; it works because it’s God’s Word.”—Howard Hendricks. God’s Word ALWAYS works. If it doesn’t seem to work, we don’t really understand it. We either are not interpreting it correctly … Continue reading →

Sunday, Mar. 15 Gal. 6:2-5. The second way we can help a brother is to help him carry a burden. Paul doesn’t identify the burden, but I suppose it could be a death in the family, physical disability, a wayward … Continue reading →

Saturday, Mar. 14 In Gal. 6:1 Paul speaks about how a spiritual brother can help another brother. I used to be bothered by the “spiritual brother” part. I tend to connect it with conceit. This does not fit with Paul’s … Continue reading →

Friday, Mar. 13 Part of the redemption process is making us holy. God is not through with us yet and wants us to be more like Christ. This involves a good deal of change. As you look back on your … Continue reading →

Thursday, Mar. 12 “The battle’s not over, but the victory’s won.” Whether war or a football game, we are normally doing our best to win. The team that is better talented, better trained, better motivated should win, but we are … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Mar. 11 “Judgment revealed is grace in action.” It is human to think of being judged as a negative thing. Even if we consider that being judged is fair, that we deserve to be judged, it is not something … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Mar. 10 “If I come to God in prayer with no sin to confess, I’m thinking of myself higher than I ought to think.” The reason this is true is that I am NEVER not sinning. I say that … Continue reading →

Monday, Mar. 9 I spent three years in a seminary and just recently learned the root meaning of the word “seminary.” It comes from the word “seed” or “semen.” It is the starting point, a training ground for something in … Continue reading →

Sunday, Mar. 8 “Duty is good, but delight is better.”—John Piper. Should we do God’s will out of duty or out of love for God. This has largely been triggered by John Piper. If I understand this quotation, it is … Continue reading →

Saturday, Mar. 7 In Eph. 4:1-4 Paul gives four Christian traits that, when practiced, lead to church unity. One of the biggest problems in Paul’s day was the centuries old antagonism between Jews and Gentiles. Paul often speaks of how … Continue reading →

Friday, Mar. 6 Paul had a tremendous understanding of God, His Word (the Old Testament), the whole panorama of history, God’s agenda for this world, and his calling to reach the Gentile world. When I read Romans or any of … Continue reading →

Thursday, Mar. 5 When people want to do something special such as go Disney Land or Denali Park, they usually spend a lot of time planning the trip. If it’s a place they’ve never been before, such as a cruise … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Mar. 4 Most of us know what a euphemism is. And even if you don’t know the word, you use euphemisms all the time. We say “Grandma passed away” instead of “Grandma died.” You might say we do this … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Mar. 3 “Teach me to know your ways and walk in them.” There’s a lot in this little crumb. First of all, there is an appeal to God for knowledge about His ways. Anyone who sincerely makes this plea … Continue reading →

Monday, Mar. 2 “The degree of your success depends on your degree of commitment.” This is true no matter what your goals are, whether secular goals or spiritual goals. There are two factors here. The first one is having goals. … Continue reading →

Sunday, Mar. 1 Paul starts his letters with a doctrinal section and then follows with an exhortation section. In Ephesians, the doctrinal section is chapters 1-3 and the exhortation section the rest of the epistle. He starts the exhortation section … Continue reading →