There is a phrase in Psalm 84:5 that arrests my attention. It says (more…)

I imagine that you are like me, and that you regularly face situations in which you are not sure what to do.  Sometimes these are (more…)

Have you ever been afraid? Anxious? (more…)

I was reading Ephesians 5:18 the other day. It goes like this: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”

After reading it I wondered, “What exactly does the word ‘dissipation’ mean?” That word isn’t used in normal everyday English, at least the kind that I’m used to hearing. What does it mean? (more…)

Many a Christian lives a sort of ‘good and bad’ existence. They are forgiven by God and grateful for that, but they are not living with the sort of victory over temptation that they want.  (more…)

You may have noticed what I’m doing in this series of posts. I’m working my way through the six crucial issues, from #1 to #6, and I’m doing it within the book of Ephesians. It’s easy to do. All six issues are talked about very clearly in Ephesians. Let’s look at the third issue - The Filling of the Holy Spirit. (more…)

Let’s face it, one of the basic issues of the Christian life is being able to put down the desires which we feel within ourselves that are ungodly and wrong. We all have those desires. We all follow those desires at times. And we all know that being able to do the right thing even when we feel like doing the wrong thing is a key to the Christian life. (more…)

In my July 20, 2009 posting I talked about how we need to do the means of grace in the power of the Spirit, so that our participation in those means is not done in the flesh, but by the Spirit. (That phrase, “the means of grace” may be new to you. That phrase refers to those avenues through which the grace of God gets into our lives. I mentioned three in the July 20th posting: Bible reading, prayer, and fellowship.)

What I want to add to this discussion is another angle of looking at walking in the Spirit. (more…)

The burden is lifted. You know that you are identified with Christ by God. Christ’s death has purchased your forgiveness - and that forgiveness is complete. Now what? (more…)

Do you think that understanding the intended meaning of the Scriptures is only a matter of being careful to read and study them? Do you think that if you learn the right way to study the Bible then all you need to do is follow those guidelines and the meaning will be clear to you? If so, you are mistaken. (more…)