Paul Tripp in his book Sex & Money shares four things that will cause a Christian’s heart to be controlled by money. They are… Ingratitude. Need Discontent Envy If you are unthankful and convinced that you deserve more, if you have been able to convince yourself that there are things you need that you do…
Proverbs 18:1 reads, “whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” Bruce Waltke in his commentary on Proverbs says this, “the fool alienates himself from society by his self-indulgent pursuit and bares his teeth against the sage’s proficient thinking.” The person who isolates himself can also be translated antisocial…
Paul Tripp reminds us in Sex and Money of an unshakable and hope-giving promise that God gives us His presence in the midst of difficulties. When God called Moses to confront Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler on earth, and Moses was afraid to go, God said, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12) When God called Joshua…
In Titus 2:11-12, Paul expressed both the negative and positive aspects of what grace accomplishes in the Christian life: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to [negatively] renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to [positively] live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Those three…
SAY NO…The grace of God has appeared . . . training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions (Titus 2: 11-12). Grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness. Ungodliness in its broadest form basically comprises disregarding God, ignoring Him, or not taking Him into account in one’s life. It’s a lack of fear and…
John Stott said, “in every step of our Christian growth and maturity, and throughout every aspect of our Christian obedience and service, our greatest foe is pride and our greatest ally is humility.” In light of that truth here are some practical steps C.J. Mahaney submits that Christians should do at the beginning of each day and at…
II Chronicles 16 caught my eye and I wanted to share a little bit of what I learned in my quiet time. In this chapter you have Asa, the King of Judah decide to make a treaty with Ben-Hadad, the King of Syria. In fact, Asa brings silver and gold from the house of the Lord and…
One reason we don’t experience more holiness in our daily lives is that we don’t take some sin seriously. We’ve mentally categorized sins into that which is unacceptable and that which may be tolerated a bit. In commenting on some of the more minute Old Testament dietary laws God gave to the children of Israel,…
What are the long-term results of anger or as Jerry Bridges calls it in his book Respectable Sins: Confronting The Sins We Tolerate, “weeds of anger”? Bridges’ selected the word “weeds” because they seem to be a nuisance that you constantly have to get rid of, with the obvious correlation that the following “weeds of anger” will…
In the Middle of the Mess, Your best relationship— no matter who it’s with— is messy! Stop and think about your most satisfying relationship. (If you are having difficulty, we have proven our point.) Ask yourself these simple questions about this relationship: Have you ever felt misunderstood? Have you ever been hurt by what the…
Theology Along the Way 