

Paying God Back Is A Bad Idea
He was a man’s man. He was a fighter with a checkered past. He was kicked out of his family’s home by his half-brothers because he was not the son of their mother, and they wanted him to have no part in the family inheritance. He became a thug, associating with other...
What B.B. King Taught Me About Public Speaking
As an aspiring guitarist I would devour every bit of information I could get my hands on, and I listened to anyone who had skill beyond my own. I remember reading about an accomplished guitarist recounting how he had learned to tastefully play blues guitar. He...
9 Steps for Bible Exegesis and Exposition, Step #1: Verify Text and Translation
Once we understand the importance of Bible study, the role of prayer and personal application, and the centrality of interpretive method, we can embark on the exegetical journey. The 9 Steps for Bible exegesis and exposition are: (1) Verify Text and Translation (2)...
“The most effective leadership, management, and efficiency models share traits common with each other, and traits that are ultimately traceable to the pages of the Bible. While these models are often not intentionally rooted in Biblical concepts by those that promote the models, the models illustrate how applying Biblical principles can set a trajectory of success in enterprise and in life. Led By a Lion is designed to introduce some of these leadership, management, and efficiency models, but goes a step further in identifying the Biblical genesis of many of the core traits that fuel the success of these models.”
Does God Cause Natural Disasters?
Question: Is the doctrine of Original Sin correct and scriptural? If so wouldn't it necessitate Mary being given some form of dispensation or else Jesus would have been born into sin? If the doctrine of Original Sin is not correct, does this mean that God is directly...
What Must We Do To Have Eternal Life?
In the third installment of the Indiana Jones franchise (spoiler alert), the guardian of the "holy grail" warned Jones to “choose wisely, as the real grail brings eternal life, the false grail brings death.” Jones proves his wise choice by not disintegrating into a...
9 Steps for Bible Exegesis and Exposition, Part 1: First Things First
Bible study is not the exclusive possession of pastors or seminary professors. All believers are called to know God – in fact, Jesus explains that knowing God is the very core of eternal life (Jn 17:3). Consequently, if we want to live well, we need to allow His word...
“This approach has the advantage of seeking to view all knowledge through the lens of Scripture, and to subject all knowledge to the authority of Scripture. It encourages science and research within the field of psychology. It offers a Biblical balance of description and prescription. Of course, if the Bible is unreliable, then the refractive power of Scripture is distortive rather than corrective, but the epistemological premise of this approach is that God’s word is authoritative and sufficient for our understanding, for our equipping, and for our practice. There are many extra-biblical resources that we can employ, but in seeking out how and when to do that, we mustn’t lose sight of the one reliable constant that God has provided for us – the Bible.” –Chapter 9
John MacArthur: “Jesus Didn’t Pay For The Sins of Judas or Hitler”
John MacArthur holds to Calvinism’s five points, including limited atonement (the “L” in TULIP). He departs from his generally literal hermeneutic in handling 1 John 2:2, arguing that ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου does not refer to the whole world “Jesus didn’t pay for the sins of...
Spiritual Gift Myth #5: There Are Individual Gifts of Pastoring, Apostleship, and Evangelism
In discussing the unity and maturing of believers, Paul describes in Ephesians 4 how God’s comprehensive and unified work results in grace for each individual believer (Eph 4:7). Each of us can rejoice, knowing that God has given us individually the grace we need,...
Is God a Jerk?
Ananias, you sold property to give money to the church. But then you kept some and said you didn’t. Dead. Sapphira – you did too? Dead. Uzzah, you reached out to protect God’s ark of the covenant from falling on the ground. Dead. Gehazi, you wanted some kickback for...
“The Green Tree is an exceptional work…provides a vital tool for every Bible interpreter…Just as the root system is the foundation of a tree and directly impacts the health of a tree, hermeneutic method is at the root of one’s worldview. This illustration demonstrates that the hermeneutic method that an interpreter of the Bible employs will significantly affect the outcome. The tree will either be healthy, or it will not be healthy…The authors provide a unique examination of Revelation, Genesis, and Job that demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is derived from within Scripture, something that other hermeneutical methods fail to demonstrate. This is perhaps the most crucial principle demonstrated in The Green Tree, and it effectively demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is also the Biblical hermeneutic.” – Andrew Friend (Amazon Review)
Spiritual Gift Myth #4: I Can’t Help…I Don’t Have That Gift
Romans 12:6-8 describes eight gifts: prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and mercy. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists nine manifestations of the Spirit: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of...
Top Ten 3:16’s in the Bible, Part 2: The List
While chapter and verse divisions aren’t part of the original text (we discussed last time how the divisions were added), they can be helpful if we don’t depend on them too much. In the last installment we considered the Honorable Mentions of 3:16 verses. This time we...
Desmond Tutu’s Rejection of “Homophobic God” Illustrates a Deeper Theological Problem
Promoting gay rights in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently was outspoken on his prioritization of gay rights issues: “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place…I would not worship a...
Should My Blog Allow Comments?
Comments allow readers to be challenged further by engaging and synthesizing complementary and opposing views. Allowing comments aids greatly in the development of a readership community. Readers have opportunity, by their comments, to participate in the discussion...
Tony Romo: NFL Hall of Famer
I certainly don’t wish to detract from Larry Allen’s well-deserved Hall of Fame moment, as he is inducted this weekend as part of the 2013 Class along with six other worthy NFL personalities. Congratulations Larry, you were the best offensive lineman in the history of...
A Caterpillar, A Snake, Birdpoop?
While working in her garden today, my lovely bride spotted the craziest looking creature with the face of a puppydog, the body of a caterpillar. In an odd sort of way, it reminded me of Revelation 4:7-8 (Four crazy looking creatures proclaiming the holiness of God)....