Gospel Living

27  And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28  But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29  And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30  And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. We saw last time that Jesus headed northward, perhaps to teach His disciples in private when they met this mother.  Because of her encounter with Jesus, her daughter is free from Satan to experience normal life.  Her faith-filled plea is a teaching opportunity, so let’s see what these verses reveal about it. She comes to Jesus with faithful persistence.  Matthew fills in some intervening information; Jesus at first remains silent to her request, and His disciples ask Him to send her away (Mt. 15:23).  He then speaks—to the disciples rather...

21  And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22  Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23  and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24  And he went with him. Jesus, rejected by the people on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, returns to Capernaum on the northeastern shore.  Not much time had passed, so we are not surprised to find this crowd of people awaiting Him.  Indeed, the crowds of the opposing shores represent opposing reactions to the ministry of Christ—one of rejection and one of welcome.  Nonetheless, Jesus didn’t follow just anyone in the jubilant crowd, and we see a hint of the only reaction to Christ that means anything. It’s not enough to simply have a positive view of Je...

“Now John was clothed with camel’s hair  and wore a leather belt around his waist  and ate locusts and wild honey.  7  And he preached, saying,  ‘After me comes he who is mightier than I,  the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.’” Those wanting to grow their churches may want to cover their eyes.  John the Baptist didn’t wear stylish clothing, he didn’t follow advice from church-planting gurus, and he didn’t keep his message light and “inspirational.”  Even so, masses of people streamed into the middle of the wilderness (vv. 4–5) to hear this roughly dressed man preaching sin and repentance.  John the Baptist was a Levite and should have followed his father into temple service.  However, God had other plans.  Gabriel told his parents that John would go before the Messiah “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk 1:17).  John would be the forerunner, the voice in the wilderness (Isa 4...

Here is the video from my sermon on Philippians 4:6-9 at Lynton Missionary Church in Lynwood, CA, on June 17, 2012. Unfortunately, the recorder gave out about thirty minutes into the message, but don't be anxious: you can get the lost fifteen minutes from the manuscript below. od comforts us in the fact that our heroes in the faith are human.  We only need to think of David, who Scripture records was a man after God’s own heart—someone who stood up to Goliath’s bullying with the strength and faith unlike any of his countrymen.  Even so, he was human.  We remember his failures as a father.  We remember his failures in leadership.  We remember his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba.  We remember his murder of her husband.  If after all of this he is remembered as a man after God’s own heart in Acts 13:22, God’s grace provides hope for us all. There is another time when he stumbled in his faith.  Before Saul died in batt...

(HT: DefCon )

If any man seeks to become humble, he must come to the Gospel. No, I don't mean that prayer you prayed once as a kid. Consider Paul’s letter to Colossae. It suggests the Gospel bears fruit and grows among believers (1:5–6). It reminds believers that they were “ hostile in mind ” (v. 21), but then describes the work Christ did on their behalf, meaning the focus of verse 22 is upon God rather than themselves. The same verse also indicates they can be holy, blameless, and above reproach if they “continue in the faith… not shifting from the hope of the gospel ” (v. 23). Hope for overcoming the wickedness of our minds is not in trying to achieve holiness, but in the Gospel provision of holiness. Consider the following: Through the same kind of faith by which we received Christ (a faith without works) we are to walk in Him (2:6).  That faith is Christocentric and produces thanksgiving rather than pride (cf. v. 7).  Our trust is in the cumulative work of the Godhead ...

What is the cure to this cancer feeding on us? Some of us turn to false humility, which manifests in all those who say, “Aw, shucks!” whenever praised. It marks those who seek accolades through humble behavior and those who seek to combat pride through humble behavior. In other words, false humility is present whenever a proud person tries to appear lowly, motives aside. Acting humble, trying to establish oneself as unselfish or unworthy of praise, is empty and not the way to counteract the destructive effects of pride. As C. S. Lewis said, If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing g...