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.
The apostle Paul was promised a life of suffering, and God delivered on that promise. Few have ever lived such a hard life. Much of what made it so hard was the uncertainty of what would hit him around the next corner. It was like being blindfolded at the receiving end of a dodgeball game where anything was allowed to be thrown. Would the next thing be a rotten tomato or...
Keep ReadingSelf-esteem prattle is for cowards. What we all need is to be esteemed rightly. Paul says in Romans 12:3 that everyone should "not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment" So the goal is not high esteem but right esteem. We need to judge ourselves by the right standard for the right purposes. So what is the right...
Keep ReadingI was pleased the other day when Albert Mohler finished his summer break and returned to his daily podcast called The Briefing. The Briefing is an analysis of news and culture from a biblical worldview. At the end of this blog I will list a few other great sources for news that you might consider. But first, let's think about news and how we are informed. You can't beli...
Keep ReadingNASA held a press conference last week reporting the exciting discovery of the earthlike planet called Kepler-452b. But is this discovery exciting for the church? Are we one step closer to closing the church doors because life is found on another planet? Is this bad news for God? Jeff Schweitzer at Huffington Post says this is absolutely bad news for God and you can read...
Keep ReadingQuality is a great salesman word. We have all learned the hard way that getting more of something that is only going to go bad or break doesn't make for a good deal. Quality is of first importance because something of quality is going to last, it is going to fulfill its purpose, and it is going to be a profitable investment. If you can get quality and quantity then you h...
Keep ReadingIf you fail to plan, plan to fail. Statements like that are clich for a reason. They are so true and so observable in everyday life they cement themselves into our consciousness. We have all seen the need for preparation, even if we are not good at doing it. Regardless, the need for preparation is ubiquitous. Every different activity has its own unique preparation requir...
Keep ReadingThe last couple months we have been going through the Lord's prayer found in Matthew chapter 6. This means that we have been talking and thinking a lot about prayer. This is not surprising because there are all kinds of difficulties when it comes to prayer. In fact, a vast array of doctrines will come up when prayer is the topic. Study about prayer will eventually lead t...
Keep ReadingSome things are capable of carrying tremendous loads. I have seen pictures of a massive ship called the Blue Marlin that is designed to carry disabled ships and other large ocean machines. Not rowboats, mind you, but huge ships like Navy Destroyers as well as oil rig platforms. Google it and be amazed. When it comes to sorrows of the deepest kind, what is it that will c...
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 ReadingUnintended consequences are the thorn in the side of every good intention. Simply because intentions are good, does not mean the idea is good. I have heard of people trying to raise raccoons, only to be mauled by them. George Washington died in large part due to bloodletting, which was a standard medical practice of the day. These and countless other activities have led ...
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