The Discipline of Intercessory Prayer I separate this from devotion, not because they are not related, but because intercessory prayer is so much harder than devotion. Devotion is the oil and wine. Devotion is the joy of communion. The prayer of devotion is praise, adoration, thanksgiving, personal confession and supplication....
The Problem of Discipline However, one of the dangers of emphasising discipline is that it attracts something in us that is proud. There is a certain nobility, a certain strength in disciplined people, and very often, the flesh wants to capitalise on this. If we are not careful, we can...
Proverbs 24:30-34 – I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked...
The least pleasant part of a pastor’s job is Titus 1:9, “to refute those who contradict”. But when I think of all those who have loved me enough to warn me, I’m deeply thankful. I shudder to think where I’d be if they had not done so (Jam 5:19-20; Prov....
Environmentalism has risen to the status of a religion, calling all to believe in its dogma, and obey its commands. Many professing Christians have added their voices to this number, claiming that ‘the kingdom’ includes embracing the environmental agenda. Global warming advocates have raised the temperature of the rhetoric by...
In a country with such a racially-charged history, very little discussion of contentious issues can go on without someone bringing up racism as a motive. Racism is by no means something that died with apartheid, nor is it something that one ‘race’ has the monopoly on. How should Christians think...
The Idea of “Just” War Christians have long held that most wars are immoral and unjustifiable, but that some wars are morally acceptable, legitimate or “just.” The following must be true for a war to be just: • The cause must be just. Aggression, revenge, economic gain or the taking...
When it comes to nations waging war on one another, Christians have advocated three positions. Activism: It is always correct to support or fight in a war waged by one’s government. Arguments: – Government has been ordained by God, and we are to submit to it (1 Pet 2:13-14, Rom...
To understand where Christianity and ‘science’ contradict, we must take the time to rightly define science…(continued) 7) It was Christianity’s assumption that the world functioned according to the orderliness of a Creator’s commands that led to the science of Isaac Newton and others. The scientific method did not develop in...
It’s common to hear people accuse Christianity of being ‘anti-science’, or to hear about the war between ‘religion and science’. In recent years, certain prominent atheists have claimed that reason and science are at odds with religion, which they class as superstition. Is there a genuine conflict between science and...