Gaining the Kingdom doesn’t cost us anything. Receiving the Kingdom costs us everything. And it’s a happy trade-off. Everything we’ve ever longed for is inside. In his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Reflections on the For the Church Conference
I just returned from the For the Church Conference hosted by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. It was the best conference, with the best content, I’ve ever attended. Here are three reflections on why.
J.I. Packer's Ten Ways to Know God's Purpose for Your Life
In J.I. Packer's book, Knowing God's Purpose for Your Life, he gives ten statements that help us discern God's call on our life.
Will He Fail You Now?
In all human history, God has not yet failed one person who has trusted in him. Will he fail you now?
The Worst (Best) Part of Holding Memories
We are complex beings. Ancient moments never forgotten shape and mold us into the men and women we are today. The slight grin of others when you were a kid and fell going down the stairs. The disappointment you caused your parents in an unexpected moment of weakness. Like Poe's raven, showing up on your evening doorstep, sins of your past haunt your present, destroying you piece by piece.
How the Kingdom Grows
In Matthew 13, Jesus begins telling parables, explaining what the kingdom of God is like. He begins with the sower, moves on to the weeds, and then, to further answer the question of the kingdom, Jesus gives two more parables. First, a parable of the mustard seed. Second, the parable of the leaven. Each makes the same point with different images. The kingdom of God is growing and spreading, but you can’t see it, and that’s how God wants it.
Can You Listen and Repent?
All Isaiah’s hearers had to do was listen and repent. But they couldn’t. Can you?
Bearing the Marks of Jesus
We may struggle through this life, but the marks we bear on our body will one day match the marks Jesus bore on his. And when we enter eternal life we will find, amazingly, we have the garment necessary for entrance into his kingdom.