A Grief Sanctified: How Reformed Theology Helps Deal with Death
In June 2018 my wife Paulette died, aged just 65, after an eight-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease; she is in heaven, but I am her 63-year-old widower here on earth.
As I enter widowerhood, knowing Reformed theology doesn’t bring Paulette back—this article is my first without her—but the theology of God that comes with such a view helps me live in the present. One day I shall see Paulette again, but first there might be many years of life on earth to survive. The doctrine... Continue Reading
Dr. Peterson and the Reporters
Peterson brings social science findings to bear on thorny matters of men and women.
What is one to say about a journalist who not only doesn’t bone up on the central subject of an interview, but also doesn’t realize that admitting this destroys his credibility? (Peterson has a rebuttal to the Vox interview here, where he points out the astonishing professional irresponsibility of the professor.) One ingredient in the astounding fame... Continue Reading
Afflictions As Sermons
Chastisements are like sermons that call us to repentance.
When all things go well, it is an easy thing for us to glory in regard to our faith; but in adversity, the grace or beauty of virtue becomes apparent. He that has not been tested by affliction, what knoweth he? “Experience works hope” (Rom. 5:4.). This morning I happend to run across Zacharias... Continue Reading
The Truth Claims of Jesus and Jordan Peterson
Perhaps the deepest mystery Peterson seems destined to grapple with is how the Bible and Christianity apply across the board.
I suspect Jordan Peterson finds himself in a bit of a quandary today in matters of faith, religion and particularly Christianity. By his own admission, he feels boxed in when asked what he believes about God. It sounds like he is still up in the air and not yet ready to come down on one... Continue Reading
William Wilberforce’s Lesser Known Campaign
He became a convinced and a convicted Christian, through the witness of an old schoolmaster Isaac Milner and everything changed.
“God Almighty has set before me two great objects: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners.” By “manners” he meant character and behaviour. We know that Wilberforce spent much time praying that his efforts at the abolition of the slave trade. But his journals show that his private prayers were also... Continue Reading
The Shelter of the Most High – New Year, Old Hope – a Personal Testimony
Reflections on coming close to death and the lessons the Lord taught about living a renewed life.
As I was lying there I began to become aware of just how seriously ill I was. And the fear of death (which I have always had) came back to me. And then I ‘heard’ this. “You will get out of here. You will live. And when you get out you will teach my word.... Continue Reading
Persecution in Turkey – From Polycarp to Fikret Böcek
In Turkey, persecution against Christians has spanned centuries, perpetrated first by the Romans and then by the Muslims.
A 1998 graduate of Westminster Seminary in California, Turkish-born Fikret Böcek moved back to his country in 2001 to plant a confessional Reformed church in Izmir – the ancient Smyrna, the persecuted city of Revelation 2:8-11, where bishop Polycarp famously died for his faith. From the start, Böcek aimed to make his church completely visible and open... Continue Reading
To Parents: Keep Reading Out Loud
A child should read on his own, but the read-aloud habit should continue, too.
A child can understand words read aloud more easily than words in a book. A parent’s voice adds tone, cadence, volume, and other non-verbal markers of meaning, elements a child has to create on his own when he reads. This means that a child can understand a more advanced book with more sophisticated words and... Continue Reading
Jars of Clay
Every one of our temples is returning to dust even if some are further along that continuum than others
“I had my surgery Friday, and though there was a 40% chance that I had more cancer than the original precancerous cells they found before surgery, tests during the surgery showed I did not. We are still waiting the final official word, but it seems I am cancer free in this area at least. I... Continue Reading
A Father Pointing His Dying Son to Jesus
Are you afraid to meet Jesus, my boy?" asked his father. Blinking away a few tears, his son looked up to him and said, "No, not if He’s like you, Dad!"
Jonathan because of his illness lived the last 12 years of his life like a prisoner. While his siblings and friends reached that age where they lived their lives coming and going as they pleased Jonathan was home bound because of his illness. Because of this he was able to see behind the curtain (Wizard... Continue Reading
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