This blog is Pastor Jay's weekly musings about God's Word, God's world, and God's call to our culture. We hope they encourage, challenge, and inform you. Sign up to recieve them in your email.
One should not want to give even a whisper of support to an abomination such as prosperity theology. The tradecraft of all such false teaching is the ability to twist and distort the Scripture so that it ends up pointing in the exact opposite direction the author intended (2 Peter 3:16). Let's not forget, however, that the Scripture is being used (though in a wrong way...
Keep ReadingSome things never change: Governments want to tax your money; change is the only constant; and the Cubs are going to lose. These things are a sure bet. The church has one to add to the list; explaining the place of the Old Testament law. With every new generation fresh explanations have to be given regarding the church's relationship with the law. This is not a bad thing...
Keep ReadingOne of the new words in our modern conversation is the word "hack." With the rise of computers came the pursuit of getting around systems or using them for purposes unintended by the original creators. An ever present danger today is that your computer will be hacked and your credit card information stolen. But since the term basically means doing something in an unconve...
Keep ReadingI have a guaranteed way to gather a crowd. String up a wire between two buildings, and people will gather to watch you walk across. Easy enough. Staying on the wirethat is another matter. Add some wind, and a few rocks thrown by spectators, and you have a truly difficult task. Balance is not just for tightrope walkers. It is topic of discussion in many areas of life. Ba...
Keep ReadingWe say it every year. A new year is here; can you believe it? 2016 has arrived and the question on everyone's mind is "what's in store this year? Believe it or not, I think I know, and I am not talking about any election. This year, as there has been every year, there will be another battle for the souls of men and women. I can even tell you what at least one of these ba...
Keep ReadingOver the years, I have regularly heard this comment in evangelical circles, "It is possible for a Catholic to be saved." Now, I understand that context matters. If the comment was made during the heavy exchange of a thoroughly biblical dialog, with two people grappling over the precise doctrines of conversion, such a comment would not be too much of a concern. Sadly, tha...
Keep ReadingOver the past 6 months I have had several scheduled conversations with Jehovah Witnesses who have come to my house. I don't know if my house will be blackballed, but it is possible and therefore I have been thinking about these interactions. I have learned several things about their approaches and hopefully this will help you. 1. Each Jehovah Witness will be different ...
Keep ReadingKnowing God's will is paramount for the Christian. At some point, God brought us to our senses and we found that our own understanding got us into the pig slop of the prodigal or the self-righteous bondage of the Pharisee. But by grace, we tasted the fresh air of Jesus' lordship, wisdom, love, and more. Our short-sighted, sinful take on life was just not going to work an...
Keep ReadingTo wrap up this blog on public rebuke, I want to look at scriptural examples and then try to think through some of the practicalities. Remember, we have a target rich environment, so we need wisdom in the implementation of public warning and reproof. Abundant Example Example and imitation are important parts of discipleship. We are supposed to learn from those who lead...
Keep ReadingWhat do you do in a target-rich environment? If you come to my yard, and I tell you to pull out all the dandelions, you will find yourself in a target-rich environment! But you will soon realize that there are others things that you need to do in life, like eat and sleep and play with children. Your work on all those targets is determined by how much ammunition (or energ...
Keep ReadingThis list of issues and questions was compiled in preparation for a meeting with a Jehovah Witness, and it proved very useful. 1) Is Jesus equal to God? a. John 5: 18 Jesus made himself equal with God in what he said. The Pharisees realized this and reacted accordingly. The same thing happened again in Jn. 10:33 and there Jesus defends it. b. Mark 2:7 Jesus did not re...
Keep ReadingLast week I preached a message on what it means "to have a relationship with God." While we hear that phrase frequently, it really is a stunning thought. My message was from Psalm 21 and it dealt primarily with how God maintains His relationship with us. What I didn't deal with was the whole idea of communication. Communication stands at the heart of every relationship. ...
Keep ReadingLast Sunday night there was a verse in Hosea that promoted a short discussion about the "Easy Believeism" mindset. I thought a few more reflections might be helpful. I think this might be one of those cases that shows us the complexities of discerning between the methods used and the messages conveyed. There is a need to start with some definition. When I speak of "Easy...
Keep ReadingThere are areas of agreement that evangelicals have with Roman Catholics. But there are also massive areas of total disagreement that set the two in opposition. One of the primary areas of disagreement, the one that drives all the rest, is ultimate authority. In every significant discussion on spiritual matters, there will have to be an accepted base of authority. Until ...
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