Archive – 2016

If there’s a part of prayer that few Christians need encouragement to include, it’s supplication. One of the privileges of redemption is our adoption, the fact that our union with Christ grants us the status as God’s sons. As Paul writes: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of…
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One of the common characteristics we find in the apostle Paul’s letters is the number of times he gives thanks to God in prayer. The opening of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is an example of this: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my…
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The familiar phrase, “forgive us our debts,” is probably known to most Christians because it comes from the Lord’s Prayer. When Christ’s disciples asked him how they should pray, Jesus identified the confession of sin as one of the key elements of prayer (Matt. 6:12). I suspect that most Christians…
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I think one of the weakest areas of the Christian life for many is prayer. We seldom spend significant time in prayer unless we find ourselves in a period of suffering or trial. Under such circumstances we might regularly engage in prayer. But if public prayers are any indication of…
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I regularly come upon the phrase, “hack,” and people use it to denote a shortcut or way to bypass unnecessary problems or obstacles. One of my favorite websites, in fact, is dedicated to “life hacks”—articles that show you how to solve many common problems. I suspect that most people look…
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I used to have a regular standing appointment with a widower in my congregation. We’d get together for coffee every Friday morning and we’d chat. I really enjoyed my conversations with this elderly gentleman. He had all sorts of interesting stories to share with me. He told me of how…
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In 2016 Westminster Women's Fellowship asked for a special parting gift to be given to the wives of graduates and graduating women students, a collection of letters from the faculty wives of WSC that would share their experiences as they sought to serve Christ in a variety of ways according…
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When Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez reached the new world in 1519 he gave orders to his men to burn their ships. Why would he do such a thing? Legend has it that he gave the order to burn his ships to motivate his men. There would be no turning back—they…
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In 2016 Westminster Women's Fellowship asked for a special parting gift to be given to the wives of graduates and graduating women students, a collection of letters from the faculty wives of WSC that would share their experiences as they sought to serve Christ in a variety of ways according…
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What’s the best way to build and hone a skill? Daily practice. This is true with many skills in life, but especially true regarding the biblical languages. Students come to seminary, learn Greek and Hebrew, leave seminary, and then forget everything that they learned. From one vantage point, this is…
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