Posts from 2015 (Page 4)

‘Life is a dirty trick, a short journey from nothingness to nothingness.’ Ernest Hemmingway Kirk Coban, of the band Nirvana, found his dairies upon his death in 1994, they found he had written ‘I am a stain. I am so ugly. I hate myself. I want to die.’

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9) Hosanna is a word used in some songs of praise, particularly on ‘Palm Sunday.’ It is of Hebrew origin and was part of the shout of the multitudes as Jesus entered Jerusalem: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of…

Several times during his public ministry Jesus spoke words of forgiveness and peace, and in the upper room he referred to the communion cup as his “blood of the covenant . . . poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Thus he linked our forgiveness with his death.

How do you counsel young Christians about growing in holiness? First, I explain to them that if they have been saved through Christ they are already positionally holy in Him and so what they must now do is live out what they already are in Christ. I remind them that the Holy Spirit has provided…

Holiness – God’s first priority [cont’d] “Be holy as I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16; Lev 11:44, 45) Are the Ten Commandments important in setting before us the way of holiness? Yes, the law plays a major role in cultivating holiness in us. The law is like a fence to corral us into God’s pathways. I was preaching once in Fort Macleod, Alberta, and when I woke up in the…

Holiness – God’s first priority “Be holy as I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16; Lev 11:44, 45) How are we meant to understand a believer’s growth in holiness? Some preachers in fundamentalist churches describe holiness in terms of women forgoing make-up, low-cut dresses and jeans and they say that men should stop drinking, gambling and swearing. Is that what it means to be…

God’s Garden A holy heart is the garden where God plants the flower of His love. God’s love to His people is an ancient love, it dates from eternity. (Ephesians 1:4)

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shalt be delivered. (Joel 2:32) Why do I not call on His name? Why do I run to this neighbour and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans!

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8) Purity, even purity of heart, is the main thing to be aimed at. We need to be made clean within through the Spirit and the Word, and then we shall be clean without by consecration and obedience. There is a close connection between the affection and the understanding: if we love evil, we cannot…

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)