Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” But how, Nate? How do I moment by moment “put to death sin”? First, we need to define/describe what putting sin to death actually means. Putting sin to death means to weaken, starve, eradicate, eliminate, kill or destroy sinful desires, words, thoughts, or…
And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:29). I’ve heard prayer defined and described in many ways. Here are several: A dinner conversation with a good friend. A commitment of reliance and a cry for help. Fellowship with our Creator. Listening and responding to God. Adoring, confessing,…
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Pray. Sure, I pray every week but there is more intensity and frequency in my prayer life leading up to Easter. And I pray with more expectancy, too. Invite liberally. I don’t know how many people I invited to our services at Easter, but I’m certain it was more than what I…
Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) was an English non-conformist who was once a Baptist pastor who later turned to the Anglican communion. He has numerous writings available through Banner of Truth here. I recently ran across how Octavius defines prayer and wanted to share it here. “True prayer is the aspiration of a renewed soul towards God;…
Lent is first mentioned in the fifth canon produced at the Council of Nicea (canons were practical directions in addition to the Creed). Nicea took place when the Christian church was unified — before the East/West split of 1054, & before the Reformation in 1517. In this fifth canon, Lent is not explained, just mentioned,…
I can’t overstate the gift that friends have been in my life. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate or value friendships in the past, it’s more of me coming to an understanding that I will not make it without friends. Read that sentence again. I mean it. Friendships are a gift of Jesus that have…
Thanks to Samuel Martins for sharing their work on Unsplash. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What does “poor” mean in this verse? It means… Paupers Beggers Those who live on the bounty of others Those who live by begging Jesus is teaching His…
I have dear friends that are not Christians. The greatest, most on-going pain in my life is the reality that there are people that I love, family members and friends who are in many ways even closer than family, who reject Christ. I have spent hours with them trying to point them toward Christ. Dinners…
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash If you were to ask ten pastors the question of what constitutes success in ministry you would undoubtedly get ten different answers. Each response may have some similarities with other responses but I imagine that the thrust of what each person said would be distinctly different. Is success in ministry proportionate to…
As a husband, dad of four, pastor of a church, and Ph.D student (in that order!), people often ask me how they can pray for me. There must be something in my eyes that cries out, “Help!” Most of the time, my answer reflects whatever is most pressing on my mind at that moment. Busy…
