The world and the devil would have us believe that God’s commands are tedious, harsh, severe, and heavy to bear. Scripture tells us they are easy, sweet, beneficial, and excellent. In today’s devotional, Thomas Watson gives us 7 statements to help us experience the truth that God’s commands are not burdensome.
Read MoreDr. Snyder and Louis Sacran discuss a biblical perspective on trials. Using 1 Corinthians 10:13 as a starting point, Louis explains that trials are real, and they hurt. They are common to all humanity. He also reminds us that God is faithful and that we have choices during trials.
Read MoreIn today’s devotional J. I. Packer shows us how to make Christian joy a reality in our lives. Joy, both natural and spiritual, will periodically come upon us as a gust or glow of unsought exhilaration, for which we should be grateful every time. But we are not to think of joy as essentially a mood of euphoria for which we ask and then sit down to wait. Joy is a habit of the heart, induced and sustained as an abiding quality of one’s life through the discipline of rejoicing. Joy is not an accident of temperament or an unpredictable providence; joy is a matter of choice. In Philippians 4:4, Paul directs his readers to choose to rejoice because it is through rejoicing that joy becomes a personal reality.
Read MoreThis week on The Whole Counsel, John is joined by Louis Sacran to discuss how to handle difficult problems biblically. Louis has many years of experience as both a counselor and a pastor. John has asked Louis to discuss the most common problems he encounters among believers.
We all, from time to time, face problems that are especially hard for us. In this first episode, Louis offers us wise advice on viewing our problems in light of Scripture and practical insight into how to handle those difficulties. Louis lays the groundwork for a biblical perspective of ourselves. How we view ourselves affects everything. All of us are saints, sinners, and sufferers, and we must keep those views of ourselves in proper balance.
Read More“The very attributes which are full of terror to the King's enemies are full of comfort to the King's friends.” God’s omniscience is one such attribute. “When others say, like Joab, ‘Why didst thou not do so and so?’ and we know or find that full reasons cannot be given or cannot be understood, what rest it is to fall back upon the certainty that our King knows all about it! When we are wearied out with trying to make people understand, how restful it is that no explanations are wanted when we come to speak to Him!”
Read MoreToday’s devotional is from our new study, Kingdom Life by Stephen Yuille. He reminds us: When it comes to God’s power, there is no match, no equal, and no rival. “If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!” (Job 9:19). God never acts without prevailing, never resists without conquering, and never decides without accomplishing. Here is strength when struggling with strong temptations, encouragement when languishing under difficult circumstances, and hope when facing powerful enemies. We stand firm in the knowledge “that power belongs to God” (Ps. 62:11).
Read MoreThis week, we are taking a short break between series and re-airing a favorite episode in which John is joined by a long-time friend and fellow minister, Jordan Thomas. You may recognize Jordan as a contributor to the studies Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically and Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty. John and Jordan spent a few weeks discussing the descriptions of Jesus found in the book of Hebrews. This week's discussion focused on Hebrews 1 and the 34 descriptions of Jesus in those 14 verses.
Read MoreToday’s devotional is a hymn by Charles Wesley that echoes the heart of a believer longing to be like the Lord Jesus. Hymns can be so helpful in stirring our hearts in private worship as well as in public worship. Let your soul sing, “O for a heart to praise my God, a heart from sin set free, a heart that always feels Thy blood, so freely shed for me.”
Read MoreThere is a secret to finding contentment. The secret has been revealed in the Bible, and Christians have proclaimed it for 2000 years. Despite this, humanity seems stubbornly confused about the source of happiness. We are naturally inclined to look for it in all the wrong places. The secret to finding contentment is that you don’t find it by pursuing contentment itself, but by looking for it in Christ.
Read MoreIn ancient times, an actor in a Greek drama was known as a hypokrites, a compound word derived from hypo (under) and krites (judge). The hypokrites would use multiple masks to portray different characters, but the audience never saw his actual face. Moreover, these masks depicted various emotions without necessarily reflecting the actor’s true emotional state. We can easily see how the term hypokrites quickly moved from the theater into common parlance, where it was used to describe someone who pretends to be what he is not—one who literally hides behind a mask. Christ makes it clear that we are to avoid hypocrisy (a desire to please man) and pursue sincerity (a desire to please God). What kind of impact would such an approach to religious life have upon the church?
Read MoreIn this episode of The Whole Counsel, John Snyder and Justin Miller explore why biblical contentment is never passive, indifferent, or spiritually stagnant. Rather than settling for “enough” of Christ, the believer who is truly content finds that satisfaction in Him creates an even greater desire to know Him, obey Him, and enjoy deeper fellowship with Him.
Read MoreThe Prince of Preachers unveils the secret of a happy life found in Psalm 16. If our Lord, who bore all our sins and griefs, could say his lines had fallen in pleasant places, surely we can say the same. Living in God’s presence and trusting in his presence leads to a life of contentment and confident hope.
Read More
