Providence Bible Fellowship

What I Wish I'd Said in Sunday School

noreply@blogger.com (John Botkin) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:20:37 +0000

Last Sunday we jumped into the topics we are going to cover in our class on Christian Ethics. The topic was race, ethnicity, and Kingdom diversity. We had a good conversation in class. But, on the whole, I think many people still have a hard time having open and honest discussions about these things. Most often, this is because our culture pushes one way of speaking/thinking about them. And if you step outside of that one way, you are often portrayed as racist, uneducated, backward, or worse. Some have even been "cancelled" and are unable to show their face on social media for apparently saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

But I hope Sunday was a good starting point to be able to talk about these issues, humbly and respectfully. The Scriptures give us all of the truth we need for a worldview that allows us to address any topic or situation. Sometimes this comes through direct commands or prohibitions. Other times, there are clear implications. Still yet, it speaks through principles that can be applied on various levels to complicated situations. Rather than avoiding controversial topics in fear of saying something wrong or speaking in unhelpful ways about controversy, offending other with great abandon; we should lean into the Bible's teaching and wisely, calmly, and clearly speak to what is most important and essential with love (Eph 4:15).

Like many of our Sunday classes, there always seems to be much more that could be said on any given topic. Sunday was no different. Usually you know that the topic will come up again and you can say more. But after Sunday, I realized that there was something I really wanted to say and just ran out of time to say. Specifically, I wanted to speak about the prevalence of racism in our culture at this moment. One takeaway from Sunday may have been to think that our nation is riddled with racist thinking. And while I do think there are racist and prejudiced people in our country, I also believe they are in the vast minority.

So much of increased conversation in recent years is the result of news media. Comments and actions are often claimed to be racist in an effort to stir up indignation by viewers or readers. There has been a long track record of headlines claiming concerns that are shown to be completely unfounded once more information or clearly context is given. And this makes sense because the media wants attention. Attention brings views and clicks which become ratings and revenue. Getting people mad about something causes people to be more likely to tune in and login. The BBC news service—who is just as guilty as anyone for reporting this way—actually reported on this phenomenon.

So, what did I want to say? Namely this: that we should be very cautious in accepting at face value what the news, a social post, or an individual says about people and events when racists motivations are attributed to people without clear cause. Likewise, be cautious when someone claims that to believe or not believe, to do or not do some actions reveals in you a racist heart. J.C. Ryle is right in that the seeds of every sin lie in the heart of every person, ready to spring up with the right watering. But that doesn't mean that, by necessity, everyone will struggle with every sin. This includes the sin of racism. By all means, we should examine our hearts if we find our conscience pricked. But we need not scrape the depths of our soul looking for non-existent sin so we can repent—even the sin of racism. Ask the Lord for wisdom (Jas 1:5) and discernment of your own heart (Ps 19:23–13). And let no one bind your conscience when it comes to attributions of your motives or accuses you of sin apart from Scripture.

Weighing God's Self-Sufficiency Against Present Sufferings

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:48:49 +0000

In the message Sunday, we considered weighing present suffering against future glory. One way to do this is to meditate on God Himself since He is the great prize of glory. I suggested Isaiah 40-48 that a great place to start. In this article, we’ll take a brief look at one divine attribute showcased in the opening passage of that section: God’s self-sufficiency.

One theologian, Bruce Ware, has defined self-sufficiency this way: “God possesses within Himself intrinsically and eternally every excellent quality in infinite measure.” Man can glorify God and bring Him joy (Isa 43:7; Eph 1:11-12), but we must be careful not to think of God as needing anything from us. This is contrary to our impulse to make much of ourselves. However, God’s self-sufficiency is a precious truth and one that should cause us to long for glory.

Isaiah 40:1 reveals that what follows—a depiction of God’s self-sufficiency—is intended to comfort God’s people in exile.

10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand…

Verses 10-11 foretell the care of God in gathering His people to Himself. In the context of that ministry, the text then begins to show what kind of God this is. The God who will save you is a self-sufficient God.

The depiction of this divine attribute begins in verse 12. Consider: how much water can you hold in the hollow of your hand? Barely enough to wet your tongue. Almost none. The waters measures in the hollow of God’s hand are THE waters. All the water in existence. He’s saying, who is like God who can measure all the water there is the hollow of His hand. Here and in the next few verses it may seem that the point is God’s immensity. Certainly, that concept is present, but He’s building toward the truth that the creation offers nothing the God needs.

…and marked off the heavens with a span…

What’s a span? The distance from one’s thumb to their little finger when the hand is spread wide. Who has marked off the heavens with a span like God? Nobody. The heavens, space, seemingly infinite to us, is nothing to God.

…enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

Here again, he takes things that are immense to us and shows them to be tiny to God.

13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? 14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

These questions imply that just as the all the waters and mountains are as nothing to God so also the counsel of man is nothing to God. He needs no one to give Him understanding.

15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket…

Think about that. What do you do with a drop from a bucket? Nothing. It’s so small and unnecessary that it stays in the bucket. You leave it there. This is where it becomes clear that the point is not the immensity of God, but that the creation offers nothing needful to God. The nations – all of them – all the inhabitants of the earth are so minuscule to God that you wouldn’t even measure them.

…and are accounted as the dust on the scales…

The nations are like the dust on the scales. Imagine you’re buying meat at the deli, and the worker piling the slices on the scale to calculate the price. How would the worker respond if you said, “excuse me, there’s a speck of dust on the scale. Would you mind getting that off? I don’t want to pay for that?” No deli scale is going pick up a speck of dust. That’s the point. The NATIONS are a speck of dust on the scale to God.

To be clear, the nations are a speck of dust to God, but not in terms of how much He cares about them. The point of this chapter is that God cares greatly for His people. Rather, the nations are less than nothing in terms of what they have to offer Him. He needs nothing. They need everything.

…behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

Lebanon was known for its grand supply of mighty cedars. However, if God required a sacrifice equal to what He deserves all the forests of Lebanon would not have enough wood.

17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?

The text then goes on to contrast Yahweh with an idol who needs a man to create him. The idol has needs; Yahweh doesn’t. The next ten or so verses continue this kind of language showing the greatness of Yahweh. In verse 28, we finally get to the main point:

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

He has no needs. He existed long before there was any creation to offer any benefit to him; in all that eternity, He survived just fine. No one needs to fill Him up.

Verse 29 reveals what all this means for His people:

29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

He doesn’t faint; He is the help of those who do. He is an endless supply of strength. He is the source of all things. He strengthens the faint. It is man who needs God and not the other way around.

The bottom line is that God has no needs. He possesses within Himself intrinsically and eternally every excellent quality in infinite measure. There is nothing that can be added to Him. God has no itch that man must scratch for Him. He is completely self-sufficient.

Indeed, what a comfort now that the God to whom we look for all things has no need for anything, but is the very source of all good things. And what a wonder to consider that He is the God with whom we will spend all eternity.

Again, I encourage you to work through the rest of Isaiah 40-48, thinking deeply about the glory of the God with whom we have to do. Put all that in the scale opposite present sufferings.

Isaac Watts' Inimitable Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Odel) — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 14:21:25 +0000

Singing is vital to healthy church life. If this were not so, significant portions of Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 would have to be tampered with. Through singing, we guard gospel centrality corporately. We agree that it is good to be filled with the Spirit, to communicate truth to one another through the means of melody, to strengthen each other away from error, and to urge one another to send thanksgivings heavenward. When the Spirit moved the apostle Paul to address our singing, He would have nothing but hearts arrested in wonder at our triune God.

Apart from Paul, no one has been as influential in directing my attention to these requirements as Isaac Watts. A recent perusal of some of Watts' lesser-known hymns left me struck by his use of the term inimitable. Everyday vernacular doesn't have room for such a word—at least not where most people call home. But it's a good word, an important word. Consider these synonyms, and you'll see how fitting such a word is for describing the Lord Jesus Christ: incomparable, matchless, beautiful, extraordinary, exceptional, unique, excellent, unparalleled, unrivaled, wonderful, awesome, lovely, great, superior, better... The author of Hebrews helps us understand the Son's supremacy:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV

With these things in mind, let's have our hearts stirred to worship the risen Christ with greater intensity and intentionality. Let's wipe off Watts' dusty papers and be reminded of how inimitable our Lord is!

"Christ's Humiliation, Exaltation, and Triumph"

The mighty frame of glorious grace

That brightest monument of praise

That e'er the God of love designed

Employs and fills my lab'ring mind

Begin, my soul, the heavenly song

A burden for an angel's tongue

When Gabriel sounds these awful things

He tunes and summons all his stungs (that is, a short musical phrase)

Proclaim INIMITABLE love

Jesus, the Lord of worlds above

Puts off the beams of bright array

And veils the God in mortal clay

What black reproach defiled his name

When with our sins he took our shame

He whom adoring angels blessed

Is made the impious rebel's jest

He that distributes crowns and thrones

Hangs on a tree, and bleeds, and groans

The Prince of Life resigns his breath

The King of Glory bows to death

But see the wonders of his power

He triumphs in his dying hour

And while by Satan's rage he fell

He dashed the rising hopes of hell

Thus were the hosts of death subdued

And sin was drowned in Jesus' blood

Thus he arose and reigns above

And conquers sinners by his love

Who shall fulfill this boundless song?

The theme surmounts an angel's tongue

How low, how vain are mortal airs

When Gabriel's nobler harp despairs

"The Inward Witness to Christianity"

Questions and doubts be heard no more

Let Christ and joy be all our theme

His Spirit seals his gospel sure

To every soul that trusts in him

Jesus, thy witness speaks within

Thy mercy which thy words reveal

Refines the heart from sense and sin

And stamps its own celestial seal

'Tis God's INIMITABLE hand

That molds and forms the heart anew

Blasphemers can no more withstand

But bow and own thy doctrine true

The guilty wretch that trusts thy blood

Finds peace and pardon at the cross

The sinful soul, averse to God

Believes and loves his Maker's laws

Learning and wit may cease their strife

When miracles with glory shine

The voice that calls the dead to life

Must be almighty and divine

Want more? Click HERE and HERE.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Hebrews 3:12-14

Spiritual-Mindedness

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 16:26:32 +0000

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6

In our Sunday sermons, we’ve just completed a slow walk through the first half of Romans 8. A prominent theme was the influence of the Spirit in transforming the way we think and live.

Some of us may desire to meditate a bit more on the concept of the mind set on the Spirit. A great resource is available for deeper consideration of Romans 8:6: Spiritual-mindedness by John Owen.

This edition’s prefatory note explains Owen’s reason for writing the book:

“He wrote it because he was concerned at the great efforts the world makes to draw the mind and hearts of men away from God and spiritual things…

Another reason for writing this treatise was Owen’s concern with the low spiritual and worldly condition of many professing Christians. This treatise calls Christians away from the love of the world and from conformity to it by uncovering the sin and danger of such worldliness.”

“No thanks, I can’t read Owen.” Anyone familiar with the Puritans will regard John Owen as difficult to read. Like, really difficult to read. However, the version I’m recommending is not your mama’s John Owen. Scholars and pastors have done much helpful work in recent years to modernize many Puritan writings so that they are far easier to read. In this case, Anglican Pastor R. J. K. Law has done a masterful job updating Owen’s language so that it reads like a modern work while retaining the sage wisdom and insight of the original. As I read it, I found myself re-reading sentences…but not because I had no idea what they meant! Rather, I re-read sentences because of their profoundly helpful thoughts. This is a version that has successfully removed the “Puritan language barrier.” Thou shalt not fear Owen!

An excerpt for proof:

“When the mind thinks, it thinks of some thing. It has some object in mind. A worldly minded man thinks of worldly matters and objects. A spiritually minded man thinks of spiritual matters and objects.

Now what we need to know is, what are those special spiritual matters or objects which prove us to be spiritually minded? What does a truly spiritually minded person fix his thoughts on when meditating on spiritual things?” [p39]

Maybe I’m crazy, but I think that’s readable, and it truly excites me that this particular work of Owen’s has been made so understandable.

In typical Puritan fashion, Owen wrings out Romans 8:6 for its meaning and application. He helpfully works through not only the objects that the spiritually minded person ought to focus on, but also shows:

the qualitative difference between the “spiritual” thoughts of the regenerate and unregenerate (how one can be assured that his or her spiritual mindedness springs from true salvation);
the relationship between the thoughts and the affections (how to use the direction of the thoughts to influence the heart);
spiritual mindedness is both a grace (a gift generated by the Holy Spirit) and a duty (an active habit of setting the mind on spiritual things);
what is the product of spiritual mindedness: internal stability, resilience during suffering, and freedom from anxiety.

Now is a great time to read this book because of your very recent familiarity with its subject matter. Owen is concerned to bring broad, detailed, penetrating application to the truths of Romans 8:6. These verses have recently been your mind. And not only that, but the whole flow of thought in which these verses reside is now familiar to you. This will make Owen’s writings all the more accessible to you. So I encourage you, strike while the iron is hot and read it now.

What we do with our minds is of great consequence to the Christian life. This book is a timeless resource for helping us to direct our thoughts and affections toward the Lord. I highly recommend it.

Living Under the Wings of Refuge

noreply@blogger.com (John Botkin) — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite books of the Bible (if I’m allowed to have favorites!) is the book of Ruth. Short but powerful, it tells us so much about God and should encourage an ever-deepening faith in him and his promises.

Do you remember the story? The book begins with Naomi. Through the decision of her husband Elimelech, we are introduced to her and the suffering she undergoes through the death of her husband and two sons (1:1–4). And it is through that hard providence, that Naomi reveals the sinfulness of her heart. She sees her circumstances, not as an opportunity for greater faith in God, but as an opportunity to grow bitter in her outlook on life and cold in her love towards God (1:13).

Though her daughter-in-law Ruth pledges alliance to her and her God (Ruth 1:15–18), Naomi returns to Israel dejected and resentful. When the ladies of her hometown, Bethlehem, gather round her and see the unpleasant change in her heart, they ask, “can this be Naomi?” To this, she responds, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (1:19–21).

Bitter and empty. As far as Naomi could see, this was the fruit of God’s providence in her life. But by the end of the book, Naomi can see with new eyes. Then she could see through the eyes of faith. It was made clear to her that even in the midst of terrible calamity, God had not forsaken his people. As we get to the end the book, we see that God has proved that his loving-kindness never fails. What we see in Naomi is not a bitter, empty providence, but a God who extends his hand upon his people to reveal a sweet and satisfying providence.

God did this through Ruth and Boaz. Both were individuals who trusted the Lord and lived in light of his gracious salvation. Ruth labored to provide food for Naomi (2:1–3). Boaz was generous beyond the law to provide and protect Ruth, even becoming her kinsmen-redeemer. Imitating the Lord himself, Boaz extended his wings to provide refuge for Ruth and Naomi (2:12; 3:9–13). Ruth and Boaz seem to the be focus. But then come the end of the book:

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi” (4:13–17).

Amazingly, Boaz and Ruth fade from the picture and only Naomi and the child are left on stage in this drama! More than anyone else in this story, Naomi is the recipient of God’s gracious blessing. She’s been given new life through the steadfast love of Ruth and the lovingkindness of Boaz who preserves Elimelech’s line (4:14–15). And all know who deserve the glory such a reversal—the Lord himself (4:14)!

When we recall the opening chapters of this book, we clearly see that Naomi did not come back to Israel looking for God. She came back looking for food. While she still held to some degree to right understanding about God—that he was sovereign over all of life, she did not love him—she wasn’t seeking God. In that regard, she was like most of us before coming to Christ. There was no fear of God before our eyes (Rom 3:18).

Yet, God sought after her just as he sought after us! God takes the initiative and begins to call sinners to himself. He sends his Spirit to make the spiritual dead alive so that they may see the work of Christ on their behalf and believe; that they may turn from their sinful rebellion and find their all-satisfying treasure in God himself. What a blessing from God!

But why are we surprised? This was the Lord who showed kindness to Naomi. That is, Yahweh, the God who covenants with his people, Israel. The God who promises to never leave or forsake them (Heb 13:5). It was like God couldn’t get Naomi off his mind! Though bitter and faithless, God worked in the lives of the others to bring her to joyful faith through a redeemer. It’s clear that the Lord is a God who, even in the midst of painful lives, guides us by a sweet and satisfying providence.

And all the more for us today, he continues to do this through our Redeemer, Jesus. By providing for Namoi, God also provide for us—establishing the line that would produce and his greater Son (4:17–22)! So, when we are tempted to endure difficulty, even suffering, in this life, let us never forget the Lord’s kindness and mercy to us. Both in saving us and in sustaining us to the end. Let us take heart and find comfort under his wings of refuge, knowing that, in Christ, there is safety for our soul.

Satisfied

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Odel) — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 21:10:02 +0000

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14, ESV

[The LORD] satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalm 107:9

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."

Augustine, Confessions

"Nothing but Christ can give man satisfaction."

John Flavel, The Method of Grace in Gospel Redemption

_______________________

What satisfies you, believer? Scratch that. What in life attempts to dethrone the Lord in your heart, confidently asserting there is greater satisfaction apart from Him? Is it not daily warfare to resist loving the world and the things within it (1 John 2:15-17)? Is it not difficult at times to maintain that the Lord is and does good (Psalm 119:68)? Let me invite you to return to the Psalms for a moment. They are replete with language of satisfaction and hope. A quick retreat to reunite what is divided in your heart may be just the thing to help you grow, flourish, and endure in your faith until you see your Maker face to face (1 John 3:2).

English translations of the Psalms typically use the words "abundance" and "fullness" to conceptualize satisfaction. There are also many instances of shooting straight and using "satisfied" itself to get the point across. Whatever the term, most uses emphasize God as the source of satisfaction. Some Psalms depict all of creation as satisfied with God's handiwork, thereby attesting to the greatness of his power (Ps 104:13, 16, 28). There are also Psalms that prove the greatness of God's mercy in keeping covenant with his own (Ps 105:40)-a foundational tenet of their satisfaction. God also satisfies by supplying provisions-especially among the afflicted (Ps 22:26, 37:19; 132:15; 145:16; 147:14).

There are a handful of passages that I believe will directly infuse life into a weary heart. Take time to read them slowly, even considering the surrounding contexts. Above all, be sure to read them contemplatively.

Psalm 16:11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 17:15 - As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

Psalm 63:5 - My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

Psalm 65:4 - Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Psalm 90:14 - Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 91:16 - With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

Psalm 103:5 - who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 107:9 - For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Collectively, these passages emphasize at least four devotional truths:

1. Timing. Satisfaction in God will be fully realized in His presence (Ps 16:11; 17:15). Until then, we can expect tribulation (Mt 16:33) as we anticipate glory (2 Cor 4:17).

When are you expecting full satisfaction? What does the Bible guarantee?

2. Teaching. In the flavor of Psalm 42 (speaking to one's soul), Psalm 63:5 is a declaration of confident reception of satisfaction.

What are you saying to your soul about satisfaction?

3. Thanksgiving. We are those who have been brought near by Christ's blood (Eph 2:19). We must be satisfied with holiness, not broken cisterns (Ps 65:4; Jer 2:12-13).

We have the affectionate gaze of Almighty God (Ps 90:14)!

We have eternal life ("long life" or "length of days") and the surety of full deliverance from indwelling sin and a corrupt world (Ps 91:16).

We have abundant provisions to endure hardship (Ps 103:5).

How are you laboring to express gratitude to God for these things?

4. Trusting. Who satisfies the longing soul? God does! God alone does! He is the answer. It's not just that we have glorious resources in our glorious God; it's a matter of having the glorious God of all glorious things!

In what or whom is your trust placed? Is God himself your satisfaction? Is He enough?

"Jesus, I am Resting, Resting" is a hymn written by Jean Sophia Piggot in 1876. (Her brother, William Federick Piggott, was a missionary to China. His work with Hudson Taylor and martyrdom during the Boxer Rebellion is certainly worth studying.) Let her lyrics remind you of the truth of God's Word and fortify your heart's resolve to only be satisfied in God and His Christ-bought, Spirit-applied provisions.

Jesus, I am Resting, Resting

Jesus, I am resting, resting

in the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,

as Thy beauty fills my soul,

for by Thy transforming power,

Thou hast made me whole.

O, how great Thy lovingkindness,

vaster, broader than the sea!

O, how marvelous Thy goodness,

lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,

know what wealth of grace is Thine,

know Thy certainty of promise,

and have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

and Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

satisfies my heart.

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its ev'ry need,

compasseth me round with blessings;

Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me

as I work and wait for Thee;

Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

earth's dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father's glory,

sunshine of my Father's face,

keep me ever trusting, resting,

fill me with Thy grace.

Parenting with Integrity: What Are Our Lives Teaching Our Children?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:33:20 +0000

Proverbs 20:7 reads, “The righteous who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him!” That is, the person who lives a life consistent with what he claims to be true will be a blessing to his children. Rather than merely telling his children the way they should go, he shows them by his own life.

Training our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord certainly includes formal instruction in the truth. At least as crucial is what we teach them with our lives. To the extent that our lives are consistent with our formal instruction, we are a blessing to our children. To the extent that our lives contradict, the formal instruction will likely be drowned out.

Our example and daily rhythm of life is a key part of our parental influence. It ought not be set against formal instruction, but set in concert with it. This serves not only to plot a course for them, but to model the trustworthiness of that course.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 seems to picture this kind of spoken and lived instruction:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This can’t be merely formal instruction. Rather, the Lord intends for love for God and the keeping of His commandments to be the rhythm of life in the home—what we do, what we talk about, what we direct our minds and lives toward. It is not a five-minute lesson, once per day separated by hours of functional godlessness. Rather, knowing and loving God is to be the air we breathe.

Clearly, the Scriptures would have parents to set the tone in this. To raise children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord is to fortify formal instruction with the practical invitation, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1).

With that in mind, it is worth considering occasionally…what is my life teaching my kids?

What is my life teaching my kids…about relationships? We’ve likely instructed our children from passages like Hebrews 10:24-25 regarding the importance of church in the life of the believer. Have we modeled that reality by prioritizing discipleship personally? Are we committed to Home Fellowship Groups? Does our own calendar reveal the conviction that we need other people and they need us? Does Mom meet with women? Does Dad meet with men?

Similarly, we teach our children to reconcile relationships, confessing sin, seeking and extending forgiveness (Jas 5:16; Matt 6:14-15). Have we shown them by our own example what it looks like to persevere through conflict? Have our children heard us express repentance and seek forgiveness? Have they heard us graciously receive a confession and extend forgiveness? In the aftermath of a conflict, have they known us to press into renewed fellowship?

What is my life teaching my kids…about devotion? Many families are quite conscientious about family devotions, reading, praying, and singing together. We’ve instructed our children about the value of walking with the Lord and the universal need for fellowship with Him. But have we modeled devotion outside of family devotions or church attendance? Does our morning routine indicate to them that we truly believe we need the Lord? If we’re pressed for time, what is the first thing that get’s sacrificed—prayer?

What is my life teaching my kids…about service? The natural self-centeredness of childhood provides every parent with ample opportunities to give instruction about serving others. But what do they see us doing? Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Are we the chief servants in our homes? Do we model meaningful church membership for them? When they grow up and leave, will they believe it is the norm to invest time in serving the church, the neighborhood, the family?

What is my life teaching my kids…about worship? Certainly, we’ve told our children there is only one God. But have they seen that to be true in our lives? Or have we modeled a kind of polytheism—formally worshiping the God of the Bible while functionally worshiping lesser created things? In other words, what are our affections, desires, priorities, and choices teaching them about worship?

Based solely on our example, would our children have any concept of informal worship—doing all things to the glory of God? (Col 3:17) Or would they assume there must be a hard boundary between “worship” and “everyday life”?

What is my life teaching my kids…about stewardship? We’ve likely taught our children that God created everything, therefore owns everything, therefore, has the right to do what He will with all things (Psa 24:1-2). But what would our children believe about who ultimately owns all things…simply by watching how we steward what has been entrusted to us?

Do Mom and Dad live as if God owns their bodies, time, money, talents, and careers? Do we take care of our bodies in such a way that it’s clear God owns them? Do we steward our finances in ways indicating that all belongs to Him, not just the offering we give on Sunday? Do we burn time on frivolities, suggesting that the Lord is perhaps not Lord of the hours?

May we be careful to instruct our children in the faith. May we also be careful to live it in front of them. Let us walk in our integrity and so be a blessing to our children (Prov 20:7).

Reflections on a Summer Full of Mission Trips

noreply@blogger.com (John Botkin) — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:34:08 +0000

This summer was the busiest I've ever been when it comes to short-term missions. Two trips to Ghana, with a trip to Central Asia and Baltimore in between. Neither the elders nor I originally planned the summer like this, but the opportunities worked out that way. Still, those trips took their toll on me—missed family time, missed work time, missed sleep, and other health issues (one that still lingers as I write this post). So, one may ask, "Why go that much?" Or, maybe even better, "Is it really worth it?"

Boots on the Ground

Back in 2012, through my previous church and a partnership with workers in Niger, we had some security concerns that delayed our trip. One of the biggest factors in taking the trip was that our ministry on the field could not have been done out of the country. Prayer, encouragement, and financial resources can all be leveraged for global partners from anywhere in the world. And praise God for that! But sometimes partnership can only be done by being on the field. In order to assist them in their ministry, we need boots on the ground getting things done. And such was the case with our trips this summer.

In Ghana, we invested in local church leaders through teaching and fellowship. Relationships have been established, trust has been earned, and influenced gained in just two trips that would not be possible if we were not there with them. In Central Asia, our time on the field meant freedom for multiple global partner families to plan, pray, and prepare for long-term mission work. Childcare seems like a non-essential, but it's hard to get things done with a room full of kids who need care and attention. We also got to encourage our partner family face-to-face across the week! In Baltimore, the kids we worked with who had seen us last year were excited for our return. It was a sign that they were more than a project for our church—we love them and want them to experience the love of God in Christ! In that context, teaching is more than conveying information; it is providing truth through clear word and a tangible, lived-out examples. We can explain the life-transforming power of the gospel and put it on display during the long, hot days and patience toward rascally kids.

First World Problems

To be sure, there some "problems" along the way. Lost luggage, an upset stomach, merciless heat, a nationwide power outage, no hot water for a few days, and scorpion by my bed saying "Good morning" with a menacing stinger all greeted me in Ghana. Central Asia was easier for sure. But there was still the hot planes, long flights and bus-rides, and odd foods to deal with (yeah, we ate horse at least once...). Baltimore was probably the easiest, but there's a wariness you carry with you while walking around the city.

Yet, in all of this, we're really just experiencing the everyday things of life for people in those places! Though they may be real struggles for us to overcome, they are at best "first-world problems" that affect our ease of life, not our long-term circumstances. Biblically, we can think of these small trials as means of learning contentment and joy as God grows our faith (Jas 1:2–5). Like Paul, we are striving to learn to be content in all circumstances, knowing that in the strength we have in Christ, we can endure all things (Phil 4:10–13). Unlike Paul who likely travelled between 10,000 and 15,000 miles by foot and ship, taking days or weeks to get somewhere, we can literally be anywhere in the world within 24 hours. How blessed we are while we engage in missions today, and we should not forget it!

Worth It Every Time

All things considered, this summer was absolutely worth it. I have never come home from a trip and thought, "That was a waste of my time." Certainly, the elders pick trips that are worthwhile. But more than that, the Lord chooses to bless and bear fruit—often in unexpected ways—when his people obey his call to engage in his mission the world (Matt 28:18–20). But why should that surprise us? Even the gates of hell cannot stop the advancing of Christ's kingdom through the local church (Matt 16:18)!

Even in Ghana, we saw this. To be sure, there is still much work to be done. But I was almost brought to tears toward the end of the week when I asked the leaders to make a prayer list for the greatest needs of churches in Ghana. We've only taught two modules, walking through each book of the Old and New Testaments, while offering biblical critiques of commons false teaching among the churches (e.g., prosperity gospel, word-faith theology, syncretism with tribal spiritual beliefs, and more). Yet, here was their list of needs to pray for:

Truly born again churches
Disciple believers—to grow and serve
Leaders with wisdom, patience, humility, dedication, and holiness
Resources for mission (more workers)
Unity in the gospel
Exposure of false prophetic and teachers
Boldness in truth of God’s word
Commitment to love God and obey his commands

Yep. Totally worth it.

"Daddy God"?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:24:25 +0000

Several times in recent years, I’ve been in public settings where someone prayed, addressing God as “Daddy” or “Daddy God.” The looks on people’s faces after the “amen” indicated that many didn’t know what to make of it. Since then I've come across Christian songs with the same thing. I suspect the practice arises from a misunderstanding of one word in our most recent sermon stomping grounds…Romans 8.

Romans 8:15 reads:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

(See also Galatians 4:6 and Mark 14:36.)

It’s quite likely that a number of us have heard that abba is an original language word that a small child would have used as a term of intimate affection for a father. Unlike the more formal “father”, it conveys familiarity, like our modern word, “daddy.” If so, it’s no exegetical leap to understand Paul to be teaching in Romans 8:15 that the Holy Spirit moves us to relate to God in a very intimate fashion. Perhaps, even referring to God in prayer as “Daddy God”?

We should champion the desire to apply the Bible in practical ways…when that application is based on sound interpretation. So, is “daddy” the best way to understand abba? No.

The “daddy” understanding of abba originated from the work of the German New Testament scholar Joachim Jeremias. In the 1960’s, he published a number of works, including The Prayers of Jesus, in which he suggested that the ancient Aramaic word abba (for “father”) and imma (for “mother”) were among the first babbling words a child would learn. He argues that the words were then equivalent to daddy and mommy. Preachers and bible teachers picked this up—it certainly preaches well!—and the idea proliferates in many circles today.

What preachers and bible teachers did not pick up is the virtual tidal wave of scholarship in the following years that overwhelmed Jeremias’ assertion.1 These works collectively present a host of arguments against Jeremias. The most exhaustive of these responses came from Georg Schelbert.2 Schelbert conducted an extensive survey of abba in all known ancient texts. He proved that in no stage of Aramaic literature was abba an exclusive “baby-talk” word or the equivalent of “daddy.” He and other scholars have shown through historical documentation that mature adults used the word abba regularly to address their fathers, meaning the word carried no inherent childlike intimacy with a father. In fact, Aramaic has only the one word for “father”…abba. It communicates neither formality nor familiarity.3 It’s just the word for “father.”

I could find no modern scholars who hold to Jeremias’ view. In fact, the evidence against the view was so overwhelming that Jeremias himself later explicitly rejected the use of “daddy” to translate abba.4 Even still, the theory lives on like something of a hermeneutical urban legend.

But who cares? Why does it matter? Well, as some of these scholars have noted, “daddy” imports a level of familiarity into the text that the word abba doesn’t warrant. Surely, God is our Father, which itself communicates intimacy; but He is at the same time our God. There is room for familiarity, while worship requires also reverence. The understandable objection to the word “daddy” is that it undercuts an appropriate sense of reverence for our God and Father.

This concern is perhaps more easily grasped if we relate it to our relationship with Christ. Jesus is both our King (1 Tim 6:14-15) and our brother (Heb 2:11-12). We can and should hold both simultaneously. Yet, an overemphasis on the familiarity associated with brotherhood will likely diminish the honor deserved by the King. Can you imagine on the last day addressing our King as “bubby Jesus”? No? If that seems inappropriate, I suggest so also is “Daddy God.”

Some may still wonder…if abba doesn’t communicate familiarity or intimacy, why is it used? Well, we don’t know for certain, but we can speculate.5 The word under “father” in each of these texts is Greek. Greek does have the terminology to distinguish between the ideas of “daddy” and “father.” In other words, using Greek alone the NT authors could have conveyed familiarity or formality in the relationship with the Father. On the other hand, you’ll remember that Aramaic has just the one word, abba. Perhaps “Abba Father” communicates that we ought not choose one or the other—familiarity or formality. God is our intimate Father who deserves our worshipful reverence. We ought not regard Him one way at the expense of the other.

For this reason, some have suggested that the best way to render in English the sense of “Abba Father” is to say, “Dear Father.” I agree.

____________________________

1 Such works include: James Barr. “Abba Isn’t Daddy,” Journal of Theological Studies (39) 1988. Geza Vermes. Jesus and the World of Judaism, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1983. Mary Rose D’Angelo. “Abba and ‘Father’ in Context,” Harvard Theological Review (85) 1992. Willem A. VanGemeren. “Abba In The Old Testament?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 31/4, December 1988.

2 Georg Schelbert. Abba Vater. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011.

3 Paul Y. Hoskisson. “Why is ABBA in the New Testament?” Religious Educator 6/1, 2005.

4 Joachim Jeremias. New Testament Theology. SCM Press, 2012.

5 This is the suggestion promoted by Hoskisson in “Why is Abba in the NT?”

The Engine Room: Why We Value Corporate Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 18:41:39 +0000

When visitors asked Charles Spurgeon for the secret behind the vibrant growth of his church, he didn’t point to the preaching, the music, or the building. Rather, he would lead them down a flight of stairs to the basement of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. In that basement, hundreds—occasionally, thousands—gathered every Monday evening to pray. Spurgeon would say to the visitors: “Here is the engine room that keeps the whole machinery going.”1

Spurgeon and the Metropolitan Tabernacle understood a truth that is every bit as foundational today: sermons don’t save people, programs can’t change hearts, and human effort alone won’t expand the kingdom. God does these things. And He does so when His people pray.

Two striking features of the Spurgeon’s prayer meetings were the breadth of member participation and the specificity of the requests. Members would submit handwritten slips of paper with urgent, deeply personal requests:

“A mother asks prayer for her wayward son.”

“A wife requests prayer for her unsaved husband.”

“A clerk asks us to pray for a colleague who mocks the faith.”

Spurgeon would stand in front, read these slips aloud, and invite someone in the room to intercede. These were not rambling, vague prayers, but fervent pleadings for real people with real names and real needs. Such member-submitted requests weren’t a small component of the prayer meetings, but more like a centerpiece. In light of what the Bible says about the efficacy of prayer (Jas 5:16; Rev 8:1-6), it is no wonder that so many souls found respite in Christ through the ministry that one local church.

The Engine at PBF

At every elders meeting, your pastors pray for a growing culture of prayer at Providence. We are encouraged by what we see in this regard. Small groups of people are meeting to pray. People pray spontaneously together at our worship gatherings. Reveille continues to be a staple of our men’s culture. And we are seeing encouraging things at our monthly prayer gathering...

Our July prayer gathering was very similar to the one described above in that we prayed almost exclusively for lost friends, family, and acquaintances whose names were submitted by our own members. We prayed for over 120 lost souls that night. It was a most unique and special prayer gathering. What a blessing it would be to see such meetings become utterly commonplace…

Filling the Engine Room

Our prayer gathering attendance has grown over the years and last month’s gathering was one of the best attended in our history. We praise God for this. There is still room for you! Over the years, we’ve asked our members to prioritize three things regarding the church schedule: both hours on Sunday, Home Fellowship Groups, and the monthly prayer gathering. That short list should indicate how important corporate prayer is to us.

Some people have extenuating circumstances (i.e., second-shift jobs) that prevent this last priority. The rest of us may be inspired by considering again the metaphor of the engine room: “If you visit a factory, you will find it’s the engine room that keeps the factory running! If you stop that engine, every wheel will stand still. It is only prayer meetings we are having? Just so. It is only the engine, but that is everything.”2

Numeric growth at PBF over the years has come overwhelmingly through transfer rather than conversion. This is not for lacking of our sharing the gospel! I hear testimonies publicly and privately on a regular basis indicating that much evangelism has happened and is happening. Perhaps the Lord desires us to tirelessly pray for a harvest from all these sown seeds!

God works through prayer (1 John 5:14-15). We’ve covenanted together to do it. Let’s fill our prayer gatherings! The next one is scheduled for Wednesday, August 5 at 6:30 at Summerhill Drive.

Fueling the Intercession

We solicit kingdom-centered prayer requests regularly. (Don’t know what a "kingdom-centered request" is? Click here.) Last month’s prayer gathering demonstrated we have no lack of such requests…we just need to submit them. Your family members, your friends, your neighbors…send in their names by the end of the Tuesday before the prayer gathering (this time, that’s Tuesday, August 4) and we’ll pray for them. We’re happy to pray for your encouragement, sin struggles, and praises as well. We will always devote as much time to these requests as needed.

Requests can be submitted all month long through the “Prayer Petitions” portal on the church app. You can also email them directly to me (email address is in the directory).

I agree wholeheartedly with the Prince of Preachers, “We shall never see much change for the better in our churches till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.”3 The Lord has blessed PBF greatly in our eighteen-plus years together. I do believe this has largely been due to prayer! At the same time, our capacity for prayer as a church can only grow, and I look forward to seeing how the Lord will work through it.

We’re saving you a seat in the Engine Room on August 5!

_________________________________

1 C. H. Spurgeon: A Biography. W. Y. Fullerton

2 Only A Prayer Meeting, “Fighting and Praying”. C. H. Spurgeon

3 Only A Prayer Meeting, “Only a Prayer-Meeting!”. C. H. Spurgeon

Parents, Don't Forget to Schedule This...

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Odel) — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:24:59 +0000

"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children-how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.'

Deuteronomy 4:9-10, ESV

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

_______________________________________________

According to TV ads and in-store shelving arrangements, we're in back-to-school mode. Yes, this means you can purchase about ten boxes of markers for a dollar. Glue sticks? About fifty for a dollar. Whatever you're looking for, go ahead and stock up. We both know they'll get lost in a box somewhere, only to be found during spring cleaning!

All kidding aside, this is a crucial time for all of us back-to-school planners. If you're like me, you tend to get hyper-focused on school and sports schedules, along with a host of other social schedules. Don't get me wrong: it's great that our kids have wonderful opportunities in life. God has been very gracious to our families at PBF. It's good to have these things in focus — appropriately so. But what I have found in my own life (really, in my own heart-that place of processing life) is that I have underplayed the value of scheduling more important opportunities for my kids. (Scheduling is a key word! Let's face it: for most of us, if it's not set as a reminder on our phones, it's not happening.) So my brief and loving exhortation in this blog is to ensure that parents at PBF give thought and priority to spiritual outings with their kids this school year. This may include larger, church-wide outings, but if I could narrow the scope to just parents and their children, I am advocating for regular meetings with your kids. Even more narrowly, my focus is on fathers and time spent individually with each child discussing spiritual matters. Keep in mind, this would be an additional effort beyond family worship rhythms.

I'm operating in the realm of wisdom here. None of the passages listed above mandate "Testament Tuesdays" or "Thirst for Righteousness Thursdays." There is flexibility in the "how," but rigidity in accomplishing the task: knowing Christ and maturing in Christ.

To help some of you get started and gain traction, can I share with you what I hope to accomplish with my kids between August and October? You may have rhythms and ideas that better suit your kiddos. I just want to offer something to get us thinking. More importantly, I want to offer something that gets us moving.

Pastor Jay's Weekly Discipleship Plan for Easton (age 9) and Bentley (age 6)

Focus: The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7

Timeframe: August - October, 2026

Meeting Times:

Easton, Mondays, noon at a local restaurant
Bentley, Mondays, 3pm at a local snack shop
Weekly alternation of who gets a meal and who gets a snack

Length of Meetings:

Easton, approximately one hour
Bentley, no more than thirty minutes

Method for Engagement:

Easton, COMA Questions
Bentley, defining terms, sharing truths about Jesus' character, reciting the gospel
Both, sharing and praying about life issues

Notes:

Easton is a growing believer
Bentley is learning about Jesus

Weekly Breakdown:

August 3

Both - Read Matthew 5:1-6
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 6

August 10

Both - Read Matthew 5:7-16
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 20

August 17

Both - Read Matthew 5:17-48
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 48

August 24

Both - Read Matthew 6:1-15
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 9

August 31

Both - Read Matthew 6:16-24
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 24

September 7

Both - Read Matthew 6:25-34
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 33

September 14

Both - Read Matthew 7:1-6
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 3

September 21

Both - Read Matthew 7:7-11
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 7

September 28

Both - Read Matthew 7:12-14
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 14

October 5

Both - Read Matthew 7:15-20
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 17

October 12

Both - Read Matthew 7:21-23
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 21

October 19

Both - Read Matthew 7:24-27
Easton - COMA Questions
Bentley - Focus on Verse 24

October 26

Both - Read Matthew 7:28-29
Easton - Sermon on the Mount Reflection
Bentley - Focus on Jesus' authority

By all means, please improve what I've offered. The emphasis is intentionality. The Lord demands it, and our kids need it. As we gear up for another busy school year, let us be sure not to miss opportunities for the word of Christ to dwell richly in us (Col 3:16).

Why Older Couples and Younger Couples Should Spend Time Together

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:11:13 +0000

My wife and I married young. Our first consideration when looking for our first church together was, “Are there any couples here our age?” As we visited churches week after week, it was more and more obvious just how young we were! We finally found a church with one couple our age. We joined and quickly became good friends with them.

To this day, we’re thankful for those friends. At the same time, in hindsight it is clear that we and our church missed a great opportunity: everyone could have benefited from intentional fellowship among couples in different phases of life.

It is typical to gravitate toward those with whom we have the most in common. We inadvertently segregate into demographically-based sub-communities within the church. While the camaraderie that can be afforded by peers is great, a marriage fed only by peers is missing a vital nutrient: wisdom.

Here are four reasons a healthy church will see its older couples spending time with younger couples…

God designed the church to function as an extended family passing life lessons down through the generations. He doesn’t intend for us to figure out life—including marriage—in segregated mini-churches.

2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,

4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,

5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. (Titus 2:2–6)

Do I smell a chiasm? I think I do! To simplify…

Older men

Older women

Train

Younger women

Younger men

We tend only to recognize the component of older women training younger women because that is what is explicitly stated in vv3-5. However, the structure of the verses, with the verb for training at the very center…older and younger women on either side, and older and younger men still further out in the structure…Paul indicates this kind of intergenerational training is not just for ladies.

Shouldn’t surprise us…this model is found elsewhere in the NT (1 Cor 11:1; Phil 4:9; 1 Thess 1:5-6; 2:7-12; 2 Tim 2:2; Heb 13:7). More mature believers help less mature believers to progress in the faith. If that is the broad principle, why wouldn’t it apply to older married couples and younger married couples? Certainly, such mentoring can happen just between men and just between women. However, older couples interacting in front of younger couples can serve as a living playbook for day-to-day obedience in marriage. The older helping the younger is simply God’s design for discipleship.

God intends to use our troubles to make us useful to others who are similarly troubled. What the twenty-something couple is facing right now, the forty-something couple weathered long ago. Those trials are not intended to benefit only self.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 2 Corinthians 1:3–6

We each have many kinds of troubles in the Christian life. Paul teaches through his own example that God allows these troubles and comforts us in them…so that we can later help others who suffer in the same ways.

Let’s face it: marriage is a blessing, but it can be difficult. We’re confronted with our own selfishness in ways that simply do not show up in other human relationships. There is much to learn about ourselves and the Lord in the process. What a tragedy to learn all that, grow from it, come out better on the other side…and then hide it under a bushel.

Marriage books can be helpful. They are not as helpful as two living, breathing humans sitting in front of you talking about lessons learned and how those lessons might coincide with your own circumstances.

Shelby and I learned a lot of things the hard way in our early years, and the Lord was very kind to us in all of it. Still, we would have benefited greatly had we sought or been sought by an older couple who had already learned those things. In our older years, we don’t want to be the ones just watching others bumble around in the dark. Rather, we want to help.

If you are older, what have you learned about yourselves and the Lord that would be of benefit to a younger couple? If you are younger, imagine how great it would be to have a map to help you navigate this early difficult terrain!

God uses those who have gone ahead as examples to encourage perseverance in those further behind. For many Christian couples, when the honeymoon ends and hearts start to be exposed, “til death do us part” sounds a lot longer than it did on the wedding day. Crossing the finish line together can seem like an insurmountable task.

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1–2

The great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12 are the saints of old catalogued in Hebrews 11. They are testifiers to the blessedness of persevering in the faith. Their lives call to us, as it were, championing our endurance in the difficulty ahead of us, encouraging us to find our strength in Christ.

Similarly, it can be tremendously encouraging for younger couples to spend time with older couples who persevered over many years of “sickness and health, joy and sorrow, prosperity and need” and found Christ to be faithful. Young couples can then see with their own eyes that not only should their marriage be a lifelong picture of Christ and the church, but by God’s grace it can be.

God intends for wisdom to be contagious. We all make choices about the human influences in our lives. Not all voices are the same…

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20

While Christian peers are a great blessing and joy, they may not provide the context and perspective that an older couple can. Those in your phase of life are limited to the same field of vision, and therefore, are only able to give counsel based on that limited perspective. Older couples have already been around the corner and know what you’re not seeing. They have picked up the Biblical principles that are obvious in hindsight, but hazy in the onset. They no longer make the mistakes that you’re about to make. Having made those mistakes themselves, they grew in wisdom and found a better way.

Their wisdom is available to you, if you spend time with them. Surely, God gives wisdom (Jas 1:5; Pro 2:6), but the Scriptures indicate He uses means (2 Tim 3:15; Psa 119:98-100), including the influence of the wise (Col 3:16; Pro 13:20). It seems that a way to choose wisdom over harm in marriage, according to Proverbs 13:20, is to choose our company carefully.

So…

To the younger couples: Don’t wait for an older couple to notice you. Recognize the value of older saints’ wisdom and experience, and ask a couple you respect out for coffee, dessert, or dinner.

To the older couples: You don't need a counseling certification. Your history with the Lord is what qualifies you to be helpful to someone else. Recognize how God’s faithfulness has moved you from “Point A” many years ago to “Point B” today, and purpose to share that honestly with others who are just getting started. Don’t wait for an invitation; do the inviting.

How does election work together with evangelism?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:28:05 +0000

For the last several weeks in our Sunday sermon series, we have touched on truths related to God’s sovereignty over the salvation of sinners. We have seen that all people are ultimately dependent upon God’s power to be brought from death to life. We have also heard strong exhortations to proclaim the gospel to the lost. Whether we are new to these things or have studied them for a long time, we may be susceptible either to misunderstanding or misapplying the interplay between election and evangelism. Conversations I had both before and after the most recent message underscored that danger:

“We don’t need to worry about evangelism…God will save His elect.”

“What about the chosen who never hear the gospel?”

I’ve heard these things and others like them many times. I’d like to provide—in the simplest terms I can—a way to understand how election works together with evangelism.

Election is the act of God from eternity past in which He chooses whom to save, not on account of any foreseen merit, but only because of His own gracious pleasure.* I won’t take time to defend this doctrine here. We’ve seen it many times over the years and we’ll get a generous helping in the rest of Romans. My point here is simply that election refers to God’s gracious choice. Election says nothing about the process—how or when people will be saved. God has simply chosen to save them. Surely, no purpose of God’s can be thwarted (Num 23:19; Isa 55:11), so there is every reason to believe that the elect will be saved. But election alone does not tell us how He will do that.

The gospel is the power of God for salvation. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). When one hears the gospel and responds in repentance from sin and trust in Christ, the blessings of salvation in Christ are applied to the believer. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved,” (Rom 10:10). “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ,” (Rom 10:17). God has chosen to save certain sinners (election). The gospel is the how. So, how will all who are saved be saved? By hearing and believing the gospel.

God has entrusted the proclamation of the gospel to His church.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:17–20.

This passage is quite clear if we take the time to follow it. God saves sinners by reconciling them to Himself through the atonement of Christ. That reconciliation is a message—the gospel—entrusted to the church. Therefore, God makes His appeal to sinners through us as we share the gospel. This means that in the salvation of sinners neither the gospel nor evangelism are expendable elements. The gospel is the how; evangelism is the delivery mechanism.

There is no biblical way to say, “Evangelism doesn’t matter; God will save His elect.” We ought rather say, “Evangelism is of paramount importance…it is precisely how God appeals to all sinners, including His elect.”

Will God save His elect outside of their hearing the gospel? Romans 10:14-15 seems to rule that out, as Paul writes, “How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” I am aware of no passage in the Bible suggesting that God has an alternate way of saving outside of gospel proclamation.

God has predestined His elect. This may sound like a redundancy. We tend to use the concepts of predestination and election synonymously. However, they are distinct. If election is the who and the gospel is the how, predestination is the what. Predestination is concerned with “what is the guaranteed ultimate outcome for the elect?” The NT gives us several specifics. Believers are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29). They are predestined to become His inheritance (Eph 1:11). They are predestined to adoption by God (Eph 1:5). In other words, election is God’s determining who will be on the ship; predestination is His mapping out the coordinates beforehand so that the ship safely arrives at its destination.

Romans 8:30 teaches that this predestination is then brought to fruition by God’s calling the sinner, justifying them, and glorifying them. That is, this sovereign God who saves through the proclamation of the gospel accomplishes His predestination by bringing the gospel to bear on His elect.

Therefore, there are no elect people who do not hear the gospel. If they are elect, God has predestined them to salvation. He only brings about salvation through gospel proclamation.

A glorious depiction of these truths comes together in Acts 18. Paul came to Corinth to preach the good news. He was met with opposition and reviling, but “the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people,’” (Acts 18:9–10). The context clarifies that the many belonging to God in the city were as yet unconverted. They had not yet believed, and yet God said, “I have many in this city.” That is election language. “Go on speaking and do not be silent,” said the Lord. Why? God saves through gospel proclamation. Election alone doesn’t save. One must hear and believe the good news.

And did God leave it to chance that those belonging to Him in Corinth would hear the gospel? No, He appeared to Paul in a vision and commanded him to continue preaching there. In other words, God saw to it that His elect heard the gospel that would save them.

God elects. He saves through gospel proclamation. He commands us to evangelize. He accomplishes His predestined work by making sure His own hear His good news.

So what should we do? Share the good news far and wide, expecting that He will bring His own to Himself!

_________________________________

*Grudem, Wayne. 2020. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Resources That Shaped My Marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Odel) — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 20:57:17 +0000

Despite neglectful habits, I believe car maintenance matters. I'm sure I'm not the only one who treats changing the oil every three thousand miles as a suggestion. Don't get me started on wiper blades. As long as I can see through a few cracks in the smudge lines, I'm golden. But I guarantee my car would get better gas mileage and run more smoothly if I kept up with the manufacturer's recommendations.

Far more important than harping on my sputtering Honda Accord, though, is tending to my marriage. Nineteen years ago to the date, I exchanged lifetime vows with my wife, Tabitha. We've weathered many seasons of "for better or for worse," "for richer or for poorer." God has kindly given us a host of circumstances to see how much our marriage depends on His Lordship—every moment of every day. On our scheduled date nights, we often reflect on how unhealthy our marriage would be without God's superabounding grace. We would never claim perfection (Between you and me, my wife is so much closer to the mark!), but we both agree the Lord has used a number of resources to help shape our marriage into what He expects (ref. Eph 5:22-33; cf. Col 3:18). It would be more accurate to say the Lord is still using these resources to help shape our marriage into a relationship pleasing to Him.

In hopes of being helpful to your own marriage maintenance, here are five resources that may serve as a "fuel stabilizer" for your marriage:

1. The Local Church

You thought this blog was all about books, didn't you?

I would argue that, apart from intentional study and application of God's Word, spending time with God's people—especially the seasoned couples at Providence Bible Fellowship (PBF)—has been more valuable than reading any book on marriage. If your marriage needs a tune-up, schedule a dinner with a mature Christ-exalting, Christ-pursuing couple and ask questions such as:

What has the Lord taught y'all about godly communication over the years?

How has the Lord moved y'all through seasons of strong disagreement?

What situations has the Lord used over the years to strengthen your marriage?

What about your spouse motivates you to pursue Christ with greater vigor?

How has your spouse helped you become a better parent?

In the coming years, what do you hope to work on to strengthen your marriage?

2. The Meaning of Marriage: A Vision for Married and Single People Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video

Sometimes one spouse just isn't into reading books together. This resource eases the tension. Based on Tim Keller's book, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God, this video series distills the book's content into a series of videos without cutting corners on biblical insight. For busy evenings or to make the most of time with other couples, this study by Tim and Kathy Keller (and Spence Shelton) is well worth your time and money.

3. Held in Honor: Wisdom for Your Marriage from Voices of the Past

This resource is a book, but it's short. Robert Plummer and Matthew Haste have mined two thousand years of church history to compile fifty gospel-saturated devotionals. It's truly refreshing to see how sufficient the gospel has been for marriages navigating the cultural chaos of the past two millennia. This book may sound a little nerdy, but it will fill your heart with gratitude as you consider God's never-weakening faithfulness.

4. Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs to Make

Add this book to the long list of helpful books by Paul David Tripp! It's readable. It's enjoyable. It's challenging. It's helpful. It's hopeful. Instead of reading a chapter at a time, this book is best digested in sections. This provides months of daily devotional material. Better yet, it fosters months of Christ-centered dialogue. This book has challenged me over the years to strive to be a godly husband, but even more, to become a more gospel-saturated human being. Of all the premarital books I assign, couples tell me this is the one they return to most once the knot is tied.

5. Singing The Song of Songs: How to Love Your Spouse Like Jesus Loves His

Some folks reading this blog may be newer to PBF. If that's you, you may not know that Pastor Greg wrote this marriage book based on a sermon series he preached years ago. Whether you check out the book or the sermons, your heart will be gently prompted to evaluate whether you are looking to your marriage for ultimate fulfillment. In my mind, it's a must-read—it's an obvious choice. By the way, save the date: March 19, 2027. That's all I'll say for now!

Holiness as Usefulness: What kind of vessel does the Lord desire?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:17:41 +0000

How many of us have heard or said, “I want to do big things for God” OR “I just want to be used”? From the heart of a person who loves the Lord and wants to make much of Him, this is a wonderful desire. An appropriate thing to consider is, what will make us most useful to the Lord? If we want to be vessels for kingdom work, to what should we devote ourselves?

Should we concentrate on being as busy about the Lord’s business as we can? Certainly, some would run in this direction and it does make logical sense. If we want to maximize our time on this earth for the Lord, perhaps the best way to do that is to cram as much service into every day as possible. While we obviously don’t want to go in the opposite direction of wasting our time on frivolous things, busyness does not necessary equate to effectiveness. It is possible to be quite busy and yet very ineffective in the work.

So perhaps we should we give ourselves to the honing of a particular skill or gift? This also might make a great deal of sense. If we want to be as effective as possible in the use of our time it would be wise to devote ourselves to one or two endeavors that we will be able to do well, rather than spreading ourselves across a dozen areas where we may be marginal. Additionally, it is just good stewardship to develop what God has graciously given us. However, even in this it is possible to be ineffective and even counterproductive in our work for the Lord. The most gifted and talented among us spending all of their time on the things of the Lord can actually deny Him in all of it if they are missing one critical thing.

Holiness.

Paul explains in 2 Timothy 2:20-22: Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

We might have expected the apostle to write, “If anyone hones his skill in ____________, he will be a vessel for honorable use.” Or, “Get better at what you do and you’ll be more valuable to kingdom work.” Rather, Paul’s focus is not functional expertise, but personal Christlikeness: “if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable...” These verses come in a section of the letter in which Paul exhorts Timothy to be a good steward of his calling. Surely, ministerial skill is useful, but of paramount importance is godliness.

Our work is both proclaiming and living the gospel of the grace of God, which “has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14). When we proclaim this gospel, but have not practical holiness, we speak a gospel with words that we deny with our works (Titus 1:16). The opposite is also true. When we live a life of holiness, the gospel we speak with our mouths cannot be denied.

This is exactly why Robert Murray McCheyne wrote the following words to Dan Edwards upon his ordination as a missionary to the Jews:

“I trust you will have a pleasant and profitable time in Germany. I know you will apply hard to German; but do not forget the culture of the inner man,—I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword,—His instrument,—I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”*

Paul is kind to give instruction regarding how to progress in holiness. For many, his words are nothing new, but reminders are always good…

Flee youthful passions…

Put off those worldly, fleshly desires that wage war against your soul (1 Peter 2:11). What are those desires that lead you toward self and sin even as you engage in ministry? Flee from them. Cut off access to whatever feeds those desires. Make no provision for the flesh in regard to its desires (Rom 13:14).

Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace…

This is simply to say, pursue Christlikeness. Read the Scriptures, focusing on the character of God in Christ. Search the Gospel accounts of Christ’s demonstrated righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Read the epistles’ exposition of Christ’s person and work. Make them your meditation and prayer, morning and evening. Whatever time and resources you were devoting to your sinful passions, dedicate them to learning Christ.

…along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Notice the specificity here. Pursue Christlikeness specifically with those calling on the Lord from a pure heart. “Pure” is the adjective form of the verb “cleanse” one verse earlier. In other words, find fellowship with people who have done what v21 calls for…who have cleansed themselves from what is dishonorable. Want to grow in godliness? Hang out with those godlier than you. Do your heart cleansing in the company of those with clean hearts.

Making ourselves busy about the Lord’s business and honing the skills He has entrusted to us are worthwhile uses of our time and attention. In the long run, they will only be as useful as we are holy. While we give ourselves to these things, may our love for Jesus find expression first and foremost in the pursuit of His likeness, knowing that holiness will make our time and gifts far more effective tools in His hands.

__________

* John R. W. Stott, The Preacher’s Portrait, Some New Testament Word Studies (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 1961), p. 120

"Does that really follow?" Common Non-Sequiturs in the Rejection of Christianity

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 18:33:26 +0000

At coffee with a fellow believer this week, we discussed some of the common arguments used to reject Christianity. As I pondered this later, it occurred to me that these arguments tend to be non-sequiturs.

In formal logic, a non-sequitur is when a conclusion is drawn that does not logically flow from the preceding premises. Non-sequitur is Latin for “it does not follow.”

As we become familiar with the concept of the non-sequitur, we find that they are quite common. Most people make such logical leaps without recognizing them. In the rejection of Christianity, they are quite common. Pointing them out doesn’t prove the truth of Christianity, but does show that such arguments fail to prove it false.

Below are several examples. It’s helpful to be able to recognize and respond to them. Of course, we always want to do so with humility and kindness.

1. “There are a ton of religions and all of them claim to be true.” This is the premise. The conclusion is that Christianity is just one of many religions that are wrong.

This is a non-sequitur because the existence of many contradictory answers to a question does not mean that a correct answer does not exist. How many wrong answers could be given to the math problem, 4 + 4 = ? Let’s just say, a lot. The many possible wrong answers does not jeopardize the existence of the right one, 8.

Imagine we’re doing more complex math, advanced calculus, and no one in the class gets the right answer. That doesn’t suggest there isn’t a right answer or that math itself is a fiction. The right answer exists even if no one knows it.

Again, recognizing this as a non-sequitur doesn’t prove that Christianity is true. It simply removes this argument as a viable reason for rejecting Christianity. The number of religions in existence is irrelevant; one must evaluate Christianity on its own terms in order to determine its truth.

2. “Christians are hypocrites.” The conclusion drawn from this premise is that Christian theology, including the gospel, isn’t true.

This is a non-sequitur because the truth of a worldview rises or falls on the validity of its core claims, not the moral perfection of those who claim to follow it. Further, the Bible teaches that humans are flawed, weak, and prone to hypocrisy (Matt 26:41; Jas 3:2; 1 John 1:8-10). Certainly, the Scriptures indicate that the gospel is transformative, but perfection comes only in the eschaton (Eph 2:8-10; 1 John 3:2). Christian imperfection, while not desirable, coincides with Christianity’s teaching.

3. “Horrible atrocities have been done in the name of Christianity.”* From this premise, the argument concludes that the teachings of Christianity are evil or false.

This is a non-sequitur in that a truth is true no matter how it may have been misconstrued or misapplied. The abuse of a Biblical precept by any human institution does not invalidate the objective truth at its core. This is especially the case when such historical atrocities directly violated the Bible’s explicit commands/teachings.

For example, Jesus commanded us to respond to persecution with love and prayer (Matt 5:44). Similarly, we have been taught that the church grows through the preaching of the gospel (Rom 10:17). The use of force/violence in the name of Christianity for the spread or protection of Christianity is itself a rejection of Christian teaching. Such violence cannot therefore be used as evidence that Christianity itself is evil.

4. “Christianity gives comfort, provides a sense of purpose, and removes fear of death for otherwise hopeless, weak people.” (Amen to that!) Skeptics conclude from this premise that Christianity is a human invention and delusion.

This is a non-sequitur because the psychological benefit of a belief has no bearing at all on its objective truth. One may derive a sense of security from the thought that their bank account is in the black. That feeling alone certainly doesn’t suggest an unlikelihood that their account is full, nor does it suggest a delusional posture. At the same time, the feeling alone is not proof that the account is in fact full. The state of the account is the state of the account regardless of how the person feels.

Non-sequiturs don’t actually deal with the truth of Christianity. To logically reject any worldview, it must be evaluated on its own terms according to its core claims. As we talk to the lost, we should ask ourselves, “does their conclusion follow from the premise they have made?”

At the end of the day, man doesn’t reject God on the basis of logic, but against it. Illogical reasoning, like non-sequiturs, cover up what is really going on at the heart level—rebellion against a known Creator (Rom 1:18-23). As we engage with unbelievers, we should seek to winsomely point out non-sequiturs, so that we can address the central issue—rebellious estrangement from God—and bring the gospel to bear.

*This argument also features an appeal to objective moral standards that cannot be explained by an atheistic worldview. The reference "horrible atrocities" assumes objective right and wrong. How is an unbeliever able to account for this?

Reflections on Reading Hard Books Together

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:30:04 +0000

We’ve recently concluded our Wednesday evening group discussions of Jeremiah Burroughs’ The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. I was encouraged by the broad participation and wanted to share a few reflections on reading this kind of literature.

Most of us can benefit from a challenging read. The general consensus: Burroughs is hard to read. There may be numerous reasons why this is good for us and we should continue to do it. First, as a culture, we’re rapidly losing our ability to think deeply. If things don’t blink, scroll, swipe, or make noise, we lose interest in seconds. In that regard, Burroughs is like bicep curls for an atrophied brain. Second, in my opinion, many modern authors tend to be as shallow as they are easy to read. Some of the most popular Christian writers are like cotton candy—no chewing required. On the other hand, authors like yesterday’s Burroughs and today’s Piper demand digestion. Some of the most beneficial Christian literature we will ever read will require us to read sentences and paragraphs with focused attention...more than once.

There are usually bones to spit out. Did any of us agree with everything in Burroughs’ book? I certainly didn’t. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book other than the Bible that I’ve agreed with 100%. A natural question would be, then why read books other than the Bible?

First, books like Burroughs’ Contentment and MacArthur’s The Gospel According to Jesus are simply biblical teaching. In many cases, they are sermons re-packaged as books. We should read them because the Bible endorses…biblical teaching (Matt 28:19-20; Eph 4:11-14; 1 Tim 2:7; 2 Tim 2:2; Heb 5:12).

Second, we should read books the same way we listen to sermons…with discernment (Acts 17:11). Discernment must be trained (Heb 5:14). That doesn’t mean we regard every teaching we encounter with deep suspicion. Yet, we can assume that even the best of teachers/authors are fallible, and so the Scriptures must be our final measuring stick for any teaching. Reading books like Burroughs’ gives us practice exercising biblical discernment.

Third and related, when we encounter something objectionable in a book, it’s an occasion to determine, “do I really understand the Scriptures on this point?” We may find after investigation that we were wrong about the Scriptures. On the other hand, we may have a greater assurance that we were right. Either way, encountering that “bone” results in a surer grasp of the Word.

So, there are usually bones to spit out, but that’s to be expected and those bones benefit us in the end.

There are usually gems to be discovered. Particularly with the deep-thinking Puritan authors, there is almost always some nugget of gold to be had somewhere in the pages. It is highly unlikely that we will read an entire Puritan work, come to the end, and say, “I had all that nailed already.” Even if there were no completely new truths discovered, as NT believers we need fresh reminders of old ones (2 Tim 1:6; Jude 5; 1 Cor 15:1; 2 Pet 1:13; 3:1). The Puritans tend to render things in exceptionally memorable or striking ways. The time therefore is never wasted.

One gem for me in Burroughs’ Contentment was this: “A gracious heart is contented by the melting of his will and desires into God’s will and desires; by this means he gets contentment” (2.VI.). When my will and desires are conformed to his, my circumstances can change in any number of ways, but I will be content, for I want what He wants.

Reading with others has great benefits. I’ve read many, many books alone, including many Puritans. It’s just better to read with others. Here’s why…

Christian fellowship is a blessing regardless of the format. When fellowship is truly Christian fellowship, that is, when it is centered on our common faith in Christ, the time will be well spent and beneficial.

Others catch things I missed and understand things more clearly than I did. This was especially the case with Burroughs’ book. There were passages I didn’t understand, missed the point altogether, or just didn’t remember. Yet, those same passages were clear and striking to others whose comments made them more helpful to me. What a blessing!

My reading and insights are occasionally helpful to others. We may usually focus on the benefits we receive from such groups, but do we really consider the value added by our own participation? Without any one of the brothers in my group, the Spring wouldn’t have been the same. I trust they would say the same thing about my participation. We all have something to give in such settings, which is why we should always think about our responsibility to participate for the benefit of others.

Relationships always grow stronger. Who among the participants can say they don’t have a greater familiarity and Christian friendship with their fellow readers than before we started? Time invested with other believers is always exactly that…an investment. I know several brothers now like I didn’t before and I’m known by them like I wasn’t before. We’ve prayed for one another and been encouraged by deep discussion of eternal things. Again…time well spent.

In closing, let me encourage you to read hard things, think deeply, and do so with others. Things tend to slow down in the Summer. Why not reach out to one, two, or three others to read something else over the next couple of months? You won’t regret it.

Pilgrims, Patriotism, and Parenting

noreply@blogger.com (John Botkin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:59:50 +0000

Growing up in the 1980s, one of the things we did in school music classes was learn patriotic songs. “America the Beautiful” was one of them. In fact, this song was also more commonly sung in public at the time. But one verse always puzzled me as a kid:

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,

Whose stern, impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law!

I understood the references to “pilgrim feet” and spreading “across the wilderness.” I even understood that the country needed God to mend its flaws. But how was their “liberty in law”? I only understood this as I got older and grew in my understanding of society. More importantly, I really understood it when I better understood the nature of man and the gospel.

From the purely political side, the line is evoking the weight and glory of self-rule. There is no king in America. Instead, the people elect representatives which govern the Republic. Thus, there is a need for restraint and order if this grand project would succeed. Our liberty will not come from chaos by in lawful order.

But on the level of Christian worldview, there is something to learn here as well. Though loved, called, saved, and sanctified by grace, believer still live by rules. These rules do not save us (Gal 2:16). Nor should these rules become a hollow standard apart from abiding faith (John 15). Nevertheless, Jesus and his apostles give believers rules—instructions for their behavior and their heart. Why? To guide them in faith toward true godliness.

And in these rules, there is freedom. Paul will specifically say “you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13–14). As Christians, we are free from legalism of every kind. Yet, God’s rules for our behavior mean our freedom is not absolute. We are not free to sin and hate others. But here is the beauty of it: the rules actually allow us to flourish spiritually. They point us to what true humanity looks like. They allow us to eschew sin and its fallout in the pursuit of righteousness and its blessings, living in light of the gospel.

What does all of this have to do with parenting? Simply this: telling your kids no doesn’t stifle their freedom but promotes it.

Being raised in the 80s brought more than patriotic music classes in school. It also meant I enjoyed a lot of freedom as a kid. “Be home by sundown” was a phrase I heard more than once during the summer months. Some parents in more modern times would only say something like this if they dropped an airtag in their kids’ pocket and circled the area in their car. Others, wanting to push back against that mentality, misfire by letting their kids live and play as they want, seemingly without any rules at all. Neither approach is good.

There was great freedom on the playground and in the neighborhood for me, in part, because I knew the rules. Rules for behavior, rules for curfew, rules for talking to other adults, and more. I knew that how I could play at home was not the same for how I hung out in the church building, walked in the grocery store, or even acted while visiting someone else’s home. Being told no to certain things made the yes all the greater. It also helped me mature through self-control. There was “liberty in law.”

Giving kids rules is about more than the parents’ peace and quiet. It’s about more than a calm household or public decorum (as important as those things might be). It’s about helping shape their mind and heart to know that life is about more than themselves. There is a God who calls us to live in a way that pleases him and serves those around us. We are not the center of the world; he is. At the same time, kids also begin to learn that no amount of good or kindly behavior will save them. They need Jesus for that.

If you want to have well-adjusted, mature, flourishing teens and young adults, give them rules as kids. Help them understand that there are expectations for behavior, which are good for them and those around them. And gives them clear, consistent consequences for not obeying the rules. But what if you’ve already missed this phase and are struggling with teens who seem to reject any sort of correction on behavior? Don’t throw in the towel. Pray for God’s help and work in their hearts. If needed, apologize to them for not giving better instructions when they were younger. Then patiently show them from Scripture what honors God. Direct them to the One who wants to love them as a Father in ways better than any human father ever could, yet who also gives rules for their spiritual freedom in Christ.

When Life Bumps the Anxious Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Odel) — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 05:41:46 +0000

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7, ESV

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Luke 12:25

____________________________________

Life in a fallen world is primed for anxious living. Circumstances are challenging, and people (including ourselves) are complicated. We worry to our own detriment. We fear incorrectly, even illogically. We privately experience and publicly express hearts that spill over with anxious thoughts, affections, and commitments. Anxiety mirrors a worldview, a system of belief: “belief that an unpleasant situation is occurring or will occur in the immediate future.”1 It “usually involves worrying about what could possibly happen. Fear goes a step further and is more convinced that what is dreaded will really happen.”2 Worry, anxiety, and fear—three terms frequently used interchangeably—help describe our sinful responses to less-than-desirable situations. In other words, when life's difficulties bump up against hearts from which all of life flows (Prov 4:23), it is imperative to maintain a theocentric (God-centered) outlook. Failure to do so may lead to bowing to anxiety's demands in at least three ways: functional aseity, functional omnipotence, and/or functional omniscience.

Functional Aseity

Don’t be alarmed. I only use big words every once in a while to fool my colleagues into thinking I’m at least half as smart as they are. Aseity belongs to God alone; it’s an incommunicable attribute. It speaks of God’s self-existence or his absolute independence.

Acts 17:24-25 – The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Psalm 90:2 – Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Romans 11:36 – For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

God depends on no one and nothing to exist or be satisfied. We, however, are absolutely dependent on God for all things. Returning to Acts 17:24-25, everything, including the breath you just took, is a gift from Him. Consider these clear words from Jesus: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5). Nothing means nothing. But without a theocentric outlook, our hearts hijack God’s ownership of independence.

We would likely never intellectually own aseity as solely ours, yet, functionally, our hearts operate as if this were true. Put negatively, when we’re anxious, we operate on the basis of dysfunctional dependence. We forget who is who and who is supposed to be doing what. Instead of receiving help from God when tempted toward anxiety, this dysfunction deceives us into bypassing the very comfort found in God’s independence, either by manufacturing help in ourselves or by finding it in a host of false refuges that, in themselves, also lack independence. The former often adopts a mindset of trying harder; the latter, one that promises better rest and joy somewhere outside of God.

But God is independent, which means he is not bound to gain anything from the situation that stirs anxiety in our hearts. Nor is he sinfully bothered by what seeks to induce anxiety within us. He is steady in all His ways. We simply are not designed to wield independence. But with properly functioning dependence, God is pleased to be our God and to respond accordingly: Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free (Ps 118:5). In God’s independence, we find freedom to depend. In our “independence,” we only find dead-end roads.

Functional Omnipotence

Though God is independent, we are graciously welcomed into His family through Christ (Rom 8:15-17; Gal 4:4-7; Eph 1:3-6). As members of His family, we get front-row seats to spiritual realities. Because spiritual things are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14), the Spirit opens our spiritual eyes to recognize and appreciate God’s omnipotence, or His being all-powerful.

Psalm 33:10-11 – The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the people. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

Jeremiah 32:17 – Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

When anxiety is stirred in the heart, it is very likely that God’s omnipotence is only slightly considered. It may be better to say that God’s omnipotence is often quickly replaced by our functional omnipotence, the deception and display of our power. Put negatively, this is dysfunctional fear. It is failure to stand in awe of God’s holiness (Ps 33:8) and neglect to humbly rest under the shelter of His wings (Ps 91:4). This all-powerful God does all that He pleases (Ps 115:3), and all His ways are righteous and faithful (Ps 145:17). What are our feeble ways in comparison to His perfections? Does our “power” really stand a chance? What are we actually bringing to the fight against anxiety? Have we spoken galaxies into existence? Have we rebuked loud winds and torrential waves into silence? As with functional aseity, our need with functional omnipotence is to cast it off, repenting of the very desire to own it. If you need a reminder of God’s power to deliver His people from distress, spend some time feasting on Psalm 107. His ability far exceeds our collective thinking and asking (Eph 3:20); His power will never fail to give good to His own (Ps 84:11). God’s power, not our own, will keep our faith alive until the end. In fearing God correctly, we must steward time well by focusing on His glory in our responsibilities. This includes, in large measure, our need to serve others. Refuse anxiety by resting in the presence of His power that guides every course of our lives.

Functional Omniscience

Another significant issue to avoid when tempted toward anxiety is adopting functional omniscience. In relation to God, omniscience conveys His ownership of all knowledge and His nature as the standard of truth (John 14:6). No one has ever been God’s counselor (Rom 11:34). He is the divine proprietor of all intelligence. Psalm 139 is a great starting point for deepening appreciation for God’s omniscience. An all-knowing God should be comforting in times of anxiety because He knows exactly what we’re experiencing and exactly what we need to strengthen our faith. What’s amazing is His kindness to us in Christ, even while He knows the anxious wrestling in our hearts (Heb 4:15-16)! Tensions within our hearts that doubt God’s goodness and question His purposes never move Him to abandon His promise to always be with us (Deut 31:8).

When anxious, we tend to function as the creators and managers of knowledge. Put negatively, we exhibit dysfunctional cognition. Once again, we take something perfectly managed by God and treat it as something we can manipulate to satisfy ourselves. But unlike God’s omniscience, we must receive understanding (Prov 2:6). Our cognition depends on our independent, omnipotent, and omniscient God. The experience of our dependence requires us to be transformed by renewed thinking (Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:10). We are stewards of the knowledge we receive. This knowledge is meant to help us understand the beauty of our triune God and how to image Him in this world (2 Cor 3:18; Titus 2:11-14). God’s design is for us to receive the knowledge we need to live for His honor, and it is His delight to provide it as a measure of His divine power (2 Pet 1:3-11). We are dependent recipients of every ounce of understanding (1 Cor 4:7). God’s words give light, not ours (Ps 119:130). May our cries come only before the Lord, knowing He will give us understanding according to His Word (Ps 119:169).

The command is clear: do not be anxious about anything (Phil 4:6a).

The resources for comfort and success are ours: God’s independence, omnipotence, and omniscience.

The need is obvious: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Prov 3:5).

The pathway is mapped out: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Phil 4:8).

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet 1:13-16).

The promise is sure: Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it (1 Thess 5:23-24).

1 Robert D. Jones, Kristin L. Kellen, and Rob Green, The Gospel for Disordered Lives: An Introduction to Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2021), 274.

2 Stuart Scott, The Exemplary Husband: A Biblical Perspective (Bemidji, MN: Focus Publishing, 2002), 354.

"The Bible is silent on abortion."

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:13:18 +0000

A recent podcast clip has gone viral, in which Texas politician James Talarico said, “I trust Texas women to make decisions about their own bodies, to shape their own destinies, in consultation with their family members, their doctors, their faith leaders. I don't believe that's a place for government. I don't believe it's a place for politicians. I don't believe it's a place for the state. And that's a belief I hold not despite my faith, but because of my faith. Jesus never talks about abortion. The Bible is silent on abortion.”

These comments are consequential for the people of Texas since Talarico is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. They are consequential for the nation since any Senator, no matter what state they represent, votes on issues that impact the whole country. They are consequential for Christians and non-Christians...because they have gone viral. Non-Christians may accept them at face value, using them to bolster a religious-like commitment to abortion. Most Christians likely disagree…but may not know why.

Is it true that the Bible is silent on abortion? How might we respond if given the opportunity? The following are not independent points, but build to make a biblical case for the sanctity of human life, including the unborn.

God is the Lord of all creation.

Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 24:1–2: The earth is the LORD’S and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

God created all things, therefore He owns all things, therefore He reigns over all things. He makes the rules for all of creation. All creatures are bound to his standards.

Humans are made in God’s image.

Genesis 1:26–27: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

What it means to be created in God’s image has been debated for a long time. I won’t give a lengthy explanation here. If you’re interested in a full, well-reasoned Biblical explanation, I can suggest nothing better than Peter Gentry's in Kingdom Through Covenant.

To be brief: Our being created in God’s image is our design, our capacity, and our inclination to be fruitful and multiply and to exercise dominion over the earth in a manner consistent with God’s character.

Creation in God’s image imparts value to humans distinct from all other creatures.

Genesis 9:1-6: 1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

Following the flood, God clarified a distinction between man and other creatures. He gave all the animals to man for food. That is, animals may be slaughtered for the good of man. Conversely, God required a reckoning for the life of man. Animals may be killed, but if anything kills a human—including another human—their life must be taken. Why? Man is made in God’s image.

Note two significant points. First, this ordinance is given after the Fall. Man is bent on rebellion against God, and yet man is still described as being made in God’s image. Second, creation in God’s image conveys a level of intrinsic value to humans that the rest of the creation does not possess.

To kill a human is to desecrate the image of God. In the sense intended here, it is called murder. One cannot do it without also paying life for life.

This distinction--between those created in God’s image and those not created in God's image--explains God’s simultaneous prescription of animal sacrifice and abhorrence for human sacrifice. Animal sacrifices were holy to the Lord (Lev 6-7). Human sacrifices profaned God’s holy name (Lev 20:2-3).

Personhood, and therefore the image of God in man, exists from conception.

Psalm 51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Here, David does not address his mother’s sin. The whole point of the psalm is his lamentation over his own sin. This is not to say David sinned in the womb, but rather that he was a moral agent descended from Adam and ruined by the imputation of sin. He was a person in the womb.

Psalm 58:3: The wicked are estranged from the womb… This similar to Psalm 51:5. The Bible sees the unborn as human beings, moral agents, though they have not yet made any moral choices. They are in their father Adam, and therefore estranged from the womb. This assumes personhood prior to birth.

There are numerous cases of God calling people to special service from the womb. For example, the Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5). The language in each of these passages obviously assumes personhood: Samson (Jdg 13:5), John the Baptist (Luke 1:15), Paul (Gal 1:15). (Of course, the unborn Christ, the very image of God, was also regarded as a person; yet there are distinctions between Him and the other cases which I won’t go into here [Matt 1:20; Col 1:15]).

5. The Bible explicitly condemns the killing of the unborn.

“You shall not murder” (Exo 20:13) closes the gap nicely between “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jer 1:5) and a supposed biblical “silence” on abortion. If unborn children are persons created in God’s image and the Bible condemns murdering humans, Talarico’s claim fails.

Yet, there is a passage that explicitly condemns not just the murder, but the manslaughter of the unborn…

Exodus 21:22–25: 22 When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

There are several pertinent points. First, the text refers to the unborn, not as fetuses, but as children, an additional proof that they are humans made in God’s image. Second, “harm” refers to a fatal accident, what we would label manslaughter. So if there is “harm”, that is, the children are accidentally killed, the penalty is that of Genesis 9:6, life for life. Why? The victims are made in the image of God. Third, this protection for the unborn is unique in its severity: manslaughter of the unborn is the only case in the law where manslaughter demands the death penalty. All other cases of manslaughter allow for the perpetrator to flee to a city of refuge (Num 35; Jos 21). This means that God considers manslaughter of the unborn to be as egregious as the murder of anyone else. Should we really hold then that while God would punish manslaughter of the unborn with the death penalty, He would uphold the murder of the unborn as a right?

So in what sense is the Bible silent on abortion? In the sense that you won't find the words, “You shall not commit abortion.” In other words, it is silent on abortion in the same sense that it is silent on murdering pedestrians, mothers-in-law, second cousins, harp players, and charioteers. Yet, we wouldn’t tolerate the killing of these groups. While the Bible doesn’t explicitly condemn the murder of every sub-group of human beings…it condemns the murder of human beings! Mankind is created in God’s image…all mankind (Gen 1:26-27). It is wrong to murder those made in God’s image (Gen 9:4-6). Therefore, it is wrong to murder anyone made in God’s image.

To claim that “the Bible is silent on abortion” is either to reveal a deep ignorance of how the Bible communicates truth or to reveal an intentional attempt to marginalize that truth. Either way, we should recognize how utterly empty the claim is and value human life as God does.

Mission Trip Report - Accra, Ghana (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (John Botkin) — Tue, 26 May 2026 15:36:01 +0000

Thank you for all who prayed—the Lord answered them several times over across the week! Here's my report of how things went and how you can keep praying.

Pastor John

"All Things are Lawful": Discerning Wise Decisions In Areas Of Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:38:52 +0000

“I recognize that just because I am free to do something as a believer doesn’t mean I should. First Corinthians teaches that all things may be lawful, but not all things are helpful. When the Bible doesn’t give me a clear black and white ‘thumbs down' regarding a certain activity, how can I discern whether it is wise to do it?”

This question is a composite of numerous inquiries I’ve received over the years. Most maturing believers are sold that the allowed thing isn’t necessarily the wise thing. So how do we determine what is wise in areas of freedom? Well, even as Paul makes a case for the wise assessment of such freedoms, he also gives some help that we may use to discern where and when we may want to abstain from certain “lawful” activities.

There are two places in 1 Corinthians where the apostle addresses the idea that “all things are lawful.” In my view, the ESV rightly places those words in quotations marks; there is evidence that some of the issues addressed by Paul in the letter are responses to questions raised in an earlier letter he received from the Corinthians (1 Cor 7:1). So, it is possible that in some way the issue of Christian freedom has been posed to Paul, with the idea that “all things are lawful.” It is also possible that the Corinthians have misunderstood earlier teaching from Paul on Christian freedom, have summarized that teaching as “all things are lawful,” and now Paul seeks to clarify and correct.

Before looking at Paul’s teaching in the book, two critical clarifications. First, “lawful” in this context seems to refer to those activities not expressly forbidden or commanded in Scripture. In other words, “lawful” represents an area of freedom.

Second, it is not literally the case that ALL things are lawful. It is not lawful to use our faculty of speech in any way we please (Eph 4:29; 5:4; Jas 3:1-12). It is not lawful to steal (Eph 4:28; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Pet 4:15). There are a host of prohibitions and commands in the NT that direct the lives of believers. However, outside of those commands, there is freedom.

Now, Paul’s two quotations of the words, “all things are lawful” — in ch6 and in ch10 — are like bookends around the discussion. The whole section is worth your close attention. Space requires us to take a briefer look…

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

Clearly, Paul indicates that some “lawful” activities should be avoided because they will not be spiritually beneficial, but may lead to some kind of idolatry or ungodly habit.

In light of this, we would be wise to evaluate a “lawful” activity with questions like:

Will this be spiritually helpful to me?
Might this come to dominate me or has it already?
Will this in some way compromise my calling?

The answers to these questions, when considered with sober honesty, can provide very helpful direction.

Let’s reflect a bit longer on that last question, “Will this in some way compromise my calling?” Throughout Paul’s writings he seems eager to be a good steward of his role as an apostle. This is a godly impulse that we also should adopt. We may not be apostles, but by God’s sovereign hand we each have received roles that do require faithful stewardship. As elect exiles, as spouses, as parents, as employees, as employers, as church members, as citizens…we are expected to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we’ve been called. Each of these roles should influence how we view our engagement in otherwise “lawful” activities.

“Calling” will be multi-faceted for all of us, but may look different for me than for you. I’m using the term here to refer to the totality of a person’s God-given roles. Therefore, my calling is believer, husband, father, son, pastor, etc. I ask myself the above question with those particular roles in mind.

“Compromise” may include a wide range of possible outcomes. It could mean “cause catastrophic failure.” It could mean “set me at a disadvantage.” It could mean “distract me.” Anything that would make it more difficult to steward my roles/calling or that would lessen my effectiveness could be considered “compromise.”

So, to ask “will this in some way compromise my calling?” may be to ask:

Will taking on this lawful hobby make me less effective as a husband?
Will accepting this lawful job set me at a disadvantage as a discipler of my children?
Will devoting time to this lawful TV show/movie/book pour cold water on my devotional pursuit of the Lord?
Will buying this lawful ___________ divert my attention from faithful service as a church member?

If the answer to any such question is yes, that activity can be placed in the “unhelpful, unwise, possibly-dominating” column.

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 1 Corinthians 10:23

I may be able to say about a given freedom, “this doesn’t look like it’s going to dominate me in any way. Nor does it look like it’s going to get in the way of my roles/calling.” That’s good, but it shouldn’t be taken as an automatic green light. In the near context 1 Cor 10:23, the apostle argues that some lawful activities should be avoided because of the ramifications for others.

Therefore, another good question for assessing that same freedom: what will this mean for those around me?

To be more specific:

Will my taking part in this lawful activity influence a fellow Christian to violate their conscience?
Will my participation in this lawful event make my unbelieving neighbor less likely to entertain my conversations about the gospel?
Will my commitment to this new lawful activity allow for fewer resources to engage in discipleship and evangelism?

If the answer to any such question is yes, that activity is almost certainly not one that "builds up".

For those concerned about the mission of the church and good stewardship, the final issue is not, “Is it lawful?” The above questions may help us in determining if a lawful thing is beneficial, edifying, and wise.

A Choir Of Truths About Suffering

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 15 May 2026 19:54:11 +0000

Human suffering—particularly trials in believers’ lives—is a multi-faceted issue. In our desire to deal with it biblically, we may latch onto a single Scripture that deals with one facet, and we pass over verses that address other facets. The result can be an imbalanced and inadequate answer to our own questions.

God is behind this suffering. So…I should be content and trust Him.

Man caused this suffering and is perpetuating it. So…I should pursue justice and cry out to God for rescue.

This suffering is terrible. So…I should lament it.

This suffering is doing me good. So…I should be glad and thankful.

Any of these truths taken as a solo voice may lead to confusion in the long-term. Better to find as many truths as we can and listen to them singing harmoniously as a choir.

The more time I spend in Psalm 119 the more I appreciate its recognition that suffering is not one-dimensional. The psalmist gives an honest view of the whole situation from every angle. The result is a balanced teaching that can be tremendously helpful to us if we incorporate the whole into our thinking. Here are some of the truths it presents in the harmonious treatment of trouble.

The human causes and instruments of affliction are evil. The affliction experienced by the psalmist is almost exclusively due to the actions of those intentionally persecuting him. He does nothing to put a positive spin on their actions. For example…

51 “The insolent utterly deride me…

69 “The insolent smear me with lies…

“Insolence” is elsewhere translated as arrogance, only ever characteristic of the wicked in the Bible. We should all know that derision (v51) and lies (v69) are ungodly ways to treat God’s people, but the psalmist spells out the unlawful nature of these things in v85…

85 “The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law.” In the following verse, he specifically notes that their treatment of the psalmist is a wicked contrast to God’s covenant love. That is, their behavior dishonors the Lord.

Therefore, it is legitimate for us to think—in concert with other biblical thoughts—something like… “what others have done to me or mine is wrong. It dishonors God, and they should not have done it.”

It is right to seek justice. The psalmist doesn’t only recognize the evil of their actions, but calls for its judgment.

84 “How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me?”

This call for justice parallels God’s own heart. It would be difficult to miss God’s commitment to justice throughout the Scriptures. Plus, the following two verses (85-86), which I mentioned above, note that the psalmist’s desire for justice is not personal vengeance, but how these wicked have violated God’s will and dishonored Him.

Therefore, we ought not be ashamed to pray alongside the psalmist, “Lord, please bring those responsible for this suffering to justice.”

(Some might wonder, “Isn’t this contrary to the gospel? Shouldn’t we just want people to come to Christ in faith and be forgiven?” Salvation doesn’t come at the expense of justice but through justice. To pray for God to bring someone to justice is to pray that one way or another their sin is addressed—either recompensed in Christ’s atonement by faith or recompensed in their own judgment.)

The pain and trouble of suffering is lamentable. The psalmist does not offer a detached or stoic assessment of his own trouble. He laments his suffering…

81 “My soul longs for your salvation…”

82 “My eyes long for your promise…”

83 “For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke…”

v83 is particularly expressive when we understand the metaphor. It pictures a leather skin made dry from heat, made to stink from smoke, and stripped of the flexibility necessary to hold wine—a vivid portrait of physical and spiritual exhaustion. Altogether, these and other verses express that suffering is terrible! And the psalmist has come to the right place to express his lamentation…the ears of His covenant God.

Other theological truths about suffering should not make us feel as if we are being unfaithful or ungrateful if we cry out to God in pain or lament the difficulty of our troubles. The psalms are replete with such cries, and to my knowledge, there is no indication that these lamentations are condemned by the Almighty. After all, God Himself laments evil and suffering (Gen 6:6; Ezek 6:9; Jer 48:31-32).

It is fine to seek rescue from affliction. Most of the section I’ve already referenced (vv81-88) represents the psalmist doing this very thing—seeking relief from his suffering. Those cries are echoed later in the chapter:

107 “I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!”

153 “Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.”

The knowledge that God may be doing us good through our suffering may move us to feel as if it is wrong to ask Him to rescue us from it. The psalmist certainly didn’t take that view. He assumes and explicitly acknowledges God’s ultimate direction of His suffering repeatedly in the psalm…even as he cries for rescue from it.

The prayer, “Lord, please take this cup from me,” will not get you disowned by the Father. Such rescue was sought by a far godlier soul than yours or mine long ago (Matt 26:39). And as we will see, such a cry does not contradict other truths regarding God’s sovereign direction of our trials.

The ultimate mastermind of my affliction is the Lord. The psalmist assumes this throughout, but also states it explicitly:

75 “I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

In our Reformed community, we rush to this one because it is such a helpful perspective. What a comfort to know the wicked are not out of control…at least, not out of His control. Evil is not driving the bus. The God who loves me has designed these afflictions for me. In faithfulness, He has afflicted me.

Therefore, I can look to Him, not in suspicion, but in trust. This affliction does not represent a lapse in His faithfulness, but is an expression of His faithfulness. I may not understand what He is doing, but I know that He is doing it.

As hinted above, we ought not direct our thoughts only to this truth…there are others beside it in the same Bible. But we do want to recognize them all in the context of each other.

God wants to do me the good of drawing me to Him and His Word through affliction. We should note how closely the psalmist connects God’s Word to God Himself. In multiple places, He characterizes the Word as coming from God’s “mouth” (13, 72, 88). In my view, this is not mere poetic variety, but reminds us that the Bible is not just an old book. These are God’s own thoughts recorded for us on paper. That helps us to see how personal is God’s good intention in our trouble.

67 “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

In other words, “I was unfaithful to you before I was afflicted, but now that I have been afflicted I am faithful to you.” That verse alone does not tell us how affliction led to this correction, but another verse does shed some light:

71 “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.”

There are truths that are learned most surely in the classroom of affliction. The simplest way to characterize the conclusion one may rightly come to is this: “Oh, God was right when He said this…” God was right when He said sin is bad for me (Rom 6:23; Jas 1:14-15). God was right when He said, “the miseries of those who chase another god only multiply” (Psa 16:4). God was right when He said His love is better than life (Psa 63:3). God was right when He said He is faithful and good (Psa 145:9, 17). God was right. That is, affliction shows us that God is right in everything He says. Therefore, affliction does good for us.

All the above truths are helpful…in concert. In isolation, any one of them likely will leave aspects of my suffering unaddressed. This may be a reason the Holy Spirit inspired so many different truths related to suffering in one psalm…so that we would understand them relative to one another. We can and should simultaneously lament the evil of our suffering and thank God for the good it is doing us. We can and should desire justice for the human perpetrators while trusting the divine designer. We can and should pray for rescue even as we pray for endurance. We can and should incorporate as much of God’s truth into our thinking as possible.

May we think God’s thoughts about our troubles…and be helped.

Suspicion: Perception Gone Askew

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Odel) — Thu, 07 May 2026 14:56:00 +0000

Suspicion is perception gone askew. It involves relentless, irrational thoughts that assume someone is against you. It is parasitic behavior (fruit) that flourishes when nourished by the heart issues (roots) of jealousy, anger, worry, fear, and anxiety—anything that inflates self and deflates God’s glory. Some call it relationship paranoia; others call it skepticism, distrust, or even incredulity. The Bible would have us understand it as a chronic failure to love God and others (Matt 22:37-39; 1 Cor 13:1—13).

Saul is by far the poster child for suspicious behavior in the Scriptures, though the story of King Hanun has much to offer (2 Sam 10:1-5; cf. 1 Chron 19:1-9):

1 Samuel 18:5-9 (ESV) — And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. 7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” 8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.

The Lexham English Bible translates verse 9 this way: So Saul was watching David with suspicion from that day onward.

What was Saul’s perception? He unwaveringly equated David’s success with his own loss of status. Was his perception skewed? Absolutely! Nowhere in the text is David portrayed as vying for Saul’s position. Saul had no evidence to conclude that David had purposed in his heart to oppose him and usurp his leadership. (Keep in mind, Saul was already pretty bitter in his blatant unrepentance, having been rejected by the Lord for unlawful sacrifice [13:8-14] and failing to annihilate the Amalakites [15:1-35]. He knew someone else was being sought out by the Lord to lead.) And so, treating irrational thoughts as truth, Saul gave vent to sinful anger and jealousy. Anticipating a threat (i.e., losing the kingdom), he lashed out in suspicion and, as we’ll see, a connected host of sinful behaviors. A celebration of the Lord’s victory became an occasion for Saul’s heart to be exposed. Instead of humility, he chose to turn his gaze away from the Lord and, worried, turned toward self-interest, self-aggrandizement, and self-preservation. The breakdown wasn’t a temporary flare of emotion, either. It was settled jealousy; it was ongoing, suspicious thinking and behavior. All of this is quite striking, considering that David once found favor in Saul’s sight and a welcoming spirit among the royal family. This shows how blurred perspective becomes when sin grips the heart.

Notice what happens next:

1 Samuel 18:10-16 — The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. 11 And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice. 12 Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

God began to make it abundantly clear to Saul that he was done and David had just begun. But he wasn’t going down without a fight. Two hurls of the spear proved ineffective. Saul’s anxiety intensified. He commissioned David to a military task obviously below his pay grade. David complied and succeeded, for the Lord blessed him. Saul’s anxiety intensified.

The cycle continues to the end of 1 Samuel. (This would be a good time to skim through it.) Saul ruthlessly and irrationally schemes to secure his prominence; the Lord shuts it down, and David escapes with favor from the Lord and a greater measure of Saul’s disdain. Eventually, Saul’s own sword ends his life, and God’s sovereign purposes move forward.

In Saul’s story, suspicious behavior sprouted from the heart-soils of sinful anger and jealousy. It grew from arrogant, rash judgments. It surfaced from failing to see that no one can thwart God’s good pleasure and holiness. It multiplied as a result of attempting to skirt around repentance when the conscience was pricked. It resulted from unchecked emotions. It emerged from self-judgment that lacked sober-mindedness.

Some of us may struggle with similar thoughts and behaviors. We may not be fashioning spears in our garages, but we likely fashion insults and assumptions in our hearts. Sometimes these insults are hurled into conversations that drip with gossip and slander. At other times, our suspicion keeps us spiritually dull and apathetic in exhibiting one of the most basic forms of love across human relationships: believing the best (1 Cor 13:7).

Minds unguarded, and without an honest look at the data, we entertain statements like:

“I just have a hunch that she is _____________.”

“I just know that he is saying _____________ about me.”

“It can only be that they are ________________.”

“They are without a doubt watching and waiting for me to _________________.”

Like Saul, many enter fight mode. Some even form alliances based on unfounded claims of victimization. For others, isolation, trending toward an embittered spirit, charts the course. Many vacillate between the two. Nonetheless, both fall short of trusting God. Both fail to interpret data in light of God’s Word. Both sow discord instead of promoting peace and unity. Both have too much “self” in the mix.

There is a better way. Scratch that, there is a biblical way. Here are just a handful of items to consider:

When suspicious, ruminate on God’s character. He is the template we are commanded to image in the world. He is sovereign over every circumstance and promises to use every each trial—perceived or real—for our good and His glory. It is our joy to faithfully mirror him in all things.

Exodus 34:6-7 — The LORD passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…

Psalm 145:9 — The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Romans 12:19 — Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

1 John 4:7-8 — Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

When suspicious, ruminate on the grace that overwhelmed your sin. When you were unlovable, dead in your sin, God loved you relentlessly in Christ. God’s grace has an extreme dampening effect on our suspicion.

Romans 5:6-11 — For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Ephesians 2:1-10 — And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 4:31-32 — Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

When suspicious, resolve to only interact with the truth. We are commanded to engage truth; it helps us discover error. Emotions are terrible interpreters. When it comes to suspicion, we must interact with actual data, not assumed information. We must also consider whether we have contributed to the situation in any sinful way. For example, the suspicious person's previous behavior may have given someone else good reason to distance themselves. It may also be that we are bearing guilt in other areas before the Lord, which might lead to unsettled emotions and a suspicious posture. Additionally, when considering contributing factors to your suspicion, it’s not outlandish to consider dietary and sleep habits.

Philippians 4:8 — Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Ephesians 4:25-27 — Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.

When suspicious, resolve to believe the best until clarity is obtained. The “until” is key here. Clarity should be pursued as soon as possible. In the meantime, consider the person’s long-term character, not just odd glances and awkward conversations. It could be that the other person is just having a bad day.

1 Corinthians 13:7 — Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Romans 12:18 — If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Ephesians 4:1-3 — I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

When clarity is obtained, spend time praising God for refusing to let suspicious behavior ruin a relationship. It is no small achievement to maintain relational harmony. Thanksgiving is duly in order.

Psalm 34:1 — I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Colossians 3:12-15 — Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

When you are perpetually suspicious, consider seeking biblical counseling. We all have spiritual blind spots. An unbiased evaluation of the variables may be just what you need to gain traction in overcoming sinful suspicion. It’s likely that suspicion is an outworking of a much deeper heart issue. God has designed the local church to sufficiently address the nuances of such matters.

Romans 15:14 — I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 — And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Galatians 6:1-2 — Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Far from approaching suspicion with a take-two-verses-and-call-me-in-the-morning posture, I recognize the torment of experiential variables. There's often a wrestling with what is actually sin and what is healthy behavior — especially when discerning godly anger and good jealousy. You may feel confused, stuck, or even hopeless. I promise God's Word will not fail you.

If these things apply to you, go ahead and sign up for Coffee with a Counselor. Let's talk. Let's pray. Let's seek the Lord together.

"Take Every Thought Captive"...2 Corinthians 10:5 in Context

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Birdwell) — Fri, 01 May 2026 17:50:00 +0000

A common struggle in the Christian life is the fight to control the thoughts. Patterns of thinking associated with the old self need to be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:23). As with every other area of growth, we are right to employ the Scriptures in this fight (Psa 119:9, 11).

Second Corinthians 10:5 is one of the verses most often used to this end. Biblical counseling resources, sermons, and bible studies quite predictably turn to it as a weapon in the fight to direct our minds. The latter half of the verse reads, “…and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Quoted that way, we take it as a very straightforward imperative to render our thoughts in submission to the Lord’s reign.

Back when our podcast was active, we featured episodes entitled, “Does It Really Mean That?”, in which we would consider whether the typical use of a well-known verse or passage was faithful to the context. I was surprised no one ever submitted 2 Corinthians 10:5, asking...

“Does 2 Corithians 10:5 really mean that we should control our own thoughts and bring them into submission to Christ?”

The short answer is that while we certainly should control our thoughts and submit our minds to Christ’s lordship, 2 Corinthians 10:5 does not address that endeavor. We should rather use passages that are intended for that work.

Start with the Context. Context determines meaning. This is a rudimentary principle of communication that we heed constantly in our daily lives. Conversely, when it comes to the Bible, we can be quite comfortable isolating a statement from its context.

In this case, the context suggests that the “thoughts” being combatted are the arguments of Paul’s opponents, not his own unsanctified thoughts. The first section, chapters 1-7, shows Paul defending his ministry. There is tension between him and the Corinthian believers, so he takes time to explain his motives and the nature of true apostleship. In chapters 8-9, Paul pivots to address a practical matter: the collection and delivery of a relief fund for the persecuted believers in Jerusalem. In the final section of chapters 10-13, Paul directly confronts those who had been undermining his authority and leading the church astray via flashy oratory and false teaching.

Consider the verse in context. The popular phrase, “take every thought captive to obey Christ,” comes in that final section (chs10-13) and is found in one long original sentence in 10:3-6:

“3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

Notice first that the phrase in question is not an imperative at all. We typically quote just the last half of v5, “…and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Sounds like a command when relieved of the context. But when considered in context, it becomes clear that “taking every thought captive” is one aspect of Paul’s not-according-to-the-flesh warfare.

(Now, we frequently derive personal application from passages that contain no commands. That is alone is not a problem. I’m just pointing out how different the verse sounds and appears when we simply read it in the context of just the whole sentence in which it is found.)

A second notable feature, which is present throughout the book, is Paul’s distinction between “we/us” and “you.” The flow of thought in the book clarifies that “we/us” refers to Paul and his fellow apostolic servants (Timothy and Titus [1:1, 7:6]). That is, the “we” in v5 is not inclusive of the recipients. “We (apostles)” in v5 is distinct from “you (Corinthians)” in v6. So the apostles are destroying arguments and taking thoughts captive.

A third notable item is the warfare in which Paul destroys arguments and takes thoughts captive. What war is Paul waging? The context is clear: Paul is not waging war against his own thoughts, but against the accusations and arguments of his opponents, whom he sarcastically refers to as “super-apostles” (11:5; 12:11). A major source of the tension between Paul and the Corinthians (chs1-7) was the influence of these opponents.

A ton could be said about the “super-apostles,” their false teaching (11:4), and their accusations against Paul (10:10; 11:6). Suffice to say that the passage at hand deals with Paul’s struggle against them. This is the “warfare” mentioned in 10:3-6. The “arguments” and “lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God” are the lies propagated about Paul and his gospel.

The best contextual understanding of 2 Corinthians 10:5… Paul is not instructing believers to take their own thoughts captive, nor is he describing the taking of his own thoughts captive. Rather, he defends his apostleship, explaining the nature of his “warfare” for the gospel, that it is not fleshly, but of the Spirit. Part of this warfare includes defeating arguments raised by his opponents against the gospel (“knowledge of God”), arguments that might stand in the way of conversions, the “taking every thought/mind captive to obey Christ.”

That is, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 is an apologetic text dealing with defense of the faith rather than a personal sanctification text exhorting control of one's own thoughts.

Why does it matter? If we know that this is a good thing to do—to control our thoughts and bring them into subjection to the Lord—why not use any text to that end? Because the power of Scripture flows through the Holy Spirit’s intent for that passage. When we use a passage outside of its intent, we are essentially misquoting the Holy Spirit, assigning our meaning to His Words.

Can you drive a nail with screwdriver? Probably. But…it will take longer than it has to, you may destroy the tool, the nail likely won’t go in straight, etc. Use a hammer, the tool intended for driving nails. Far safer and more effective.

What are some tools intended for the purpose of controlling our thoughts?

Philippians 4:8 “8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Colossians 3:1–2 “1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Romans 12:2 “2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

1 Peter 1:13 “13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Romans 8:5–6 “5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Proverbs 4:23 “23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

How can we avoid using verses in ways foreign to their contexts? One way is to read individual books of the Bible repetitively. Not once a year, but once in one sitting. Then do the same thing the next day and the next and the next…for two weeks to a month. In the end, you’ll understand the book overall. Further, every time you hear a verse from that book you’ll know exactly where it's from and how it fits into the argument of the book. And most pertinent to this discussion, you’ll be hard pressed to use one verse of that book out of context…because you’ll understand the flow of thought.