Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord.
Lamentations 3:40
Morning
Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord.

Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. § Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. § I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments. § Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat o..

Editors’ note: Last month a unanimous jury sentenced Dylann Roof to death for killing nine black churchgoers as they attended Bible study in a Charleston, South Carolina church. The reaction to Roof’s sentencing has rekindled discussions—even among victims’ families—about whether Christians should support capital punishment. To consider both side of the debate, TGC is presenting personal essays on the death penalty by Matthew Arbo, assistant professor of biblical and theological studies at Oklah..

Editors’ note: Christians in the Wes, face a number of explicit threats to the authority of Scripture. But explicit threats alone don’t weaken our trust in the Bible. Subtle threats—those that creep in unnoticed—also foster skepticism. Writing for Themelios, TGC president Don Carson outlines 10 ways we subtly abandon the authority of God’s Word. Below are some excerpts from his timely essay.

On the danger of appealing to selective evidence:

The most severe forms of this drift [appealing to sel..

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

The Christian church knows this excruciating cry from both the Gospels and the Psalms (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34; Ps. 22:1). But how did Jesus come to inhabit the lament of his royal ancestor, breathing David’s agonized prayer as his own?

After his resurrection, Christ taught his disciples that the Psalms—indeed, the entire Old Testament—had testified about him (Luke 24:27, 44). Christ was teaching that all of Scripture is fulfilled in him—that he walks t..

VerseSamuel took his flask of oil and anointed him [David], with his brothers standing around watching. The Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind, God vitally empowering him for the rest of his life.
— 1 Samuel 16:13 MESSAGE
ThoughtThroughout the Old Testament, God's Spirit would come on leaders for a time and empower them in special ways. David was led and empowered by the Spirit for his whole life after he was anointed by Samuel, although his sinful time with Bathsheba made him..

Work may not be as certain as death and taxes, but it has been around longer. Just read Genesis 1. From the beginning of human existence, it was part of what God made us to do. Work is a blessing—few things are as fulfilling as a job well done. And yet it can also feel like a curse—how many people do you know who hate their job?

Why is that?

If you’d like a better handle on the pleasures and pains of work, a good place to start would be Work and Our Labor in the Lord by James Hamilton, profess..

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends.
John 15:15
Morning
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know
what his master is doing; but I have called you friends.

The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” § It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. § But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep t..

Widows have a special place in the heart of God. To remind us of who he is, God often identifies himself with certain people. He calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to remind his people of his covenant promises (Ex. 3:15-16). He is known as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ so we know that he is Triune (Rom 15:6). Similarly, God identifies himself with widows. He executes justice for them (Deut. 10:18) and spreads his wings over them to protect them (Ruth 2:12). The psal..

Sure, we usually do this selectively. Liberals and progressives, conservatives and traditionalists each have their own favorite sins that they like to denounce, while ignoring those that seem to painful to confront. In the meantime, adultery and complicity in oppression are far too prevalent among us, as we live our comfortable, non-confrontational lives. We are so used to slander and deceit – or even practicing it ourselves – that we stand by as it crashes like a wave through the highest places..