Holiness Is Not the Same as Forced Solemnity
This article explains that holiness is not a temperament, nor forced seriousness. One can be funny or dull, quiet or loud, and still be holy.
Your Deepest Identity
Is Something Missing in Your Life?
What You Need to Understand about Taking Up Your Cross
What does Jesus mean when he calls his disciples to take up their cross (Mark 8:34-38)? This article explains that cross-bearing is sharing in the suffering of Jesus.
The Paradoxical Pattern of Jesus' Life
Christ's saving work in overcoming the enemy was accomplished through Christ himself being overcome. This article explains that we should reflect in our own lives this paradoxical pattern of the Lord's life, where we overcome through faith while suffering. For God causes all things to work together for our good.
Peace, Not Shame: The Gospel of Luke Ch. 1
What motivates the choices you make? Many people are driven by fear of shame and a need for approval. This article shows from Luke 1, particularly the account of Elizabeth, that in Christ your shame is taken away and replaced with peace.
The Comfort of "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"
What does the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the light of the world, the way to God, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) offer to mankind? Read the article to discover what comfort can be obtained from knowing Christ in this way.
Is Jesus Meeting Your Needs?
Are you asking the right questions to determine whether or not Jesus meets your needs? Many people struggle to see who Jesus is and what he provides because of their materialism. Scripture reveals that Jesus often reshapes our mindset and thoughts so that we may know our real needs that he came to fulfill.
The Normal Christian Life As Portrayed in Romans 6-8
Sharing in His Suffering
Sanctification
This article considers the need to please the Lord, as a fruit of salvation. Ephesians 5:10 is its starting point.
Our Renewed Image
What does it mean that a believer dies to the flesh in Christ and lives to righteousness in Christ? The article addresses this question by referring mainly to 1 Peter 2:24 and Colossians 3:1-11. It then discusses what should be the Christian's response in view of this gracious transformation in his life.
The Truth Will Set You Free!
A Foretaste of the Future
Christ Must Be Preached
Jesus Christ is Life
Christ, the Second Adam
The Three Most Important Words for the Christian Life
What are the most important words you should know for your Christian life? The article describes the three most important words you should know: guilt, grace, and gratitude.
Eight Practical Ways to Love Christ
How can you express love for Christ? This article provides from J.C. Ryle eight ways of expressing love for the Lord.
The Christian Job Description
Biblical Counseling and the Spiritual Danger of “If Only…” Christianity
One of the hindrances to living the Christian life is basing faithfulness and contentment on ideal circumstances. This approach to the Christian life is utopian spirituality: it denies Christ and accepts the lies of Satan. This article shows four ways in which this happens.
Rethinking Biblical Application
How does biblical application work? Applying the Bible is rooted in finding our life in Christ and his story. The gospel itself is what transforms us, and thus we are to apply our lives to the gospel story and our union with Christ.
Regeneration and Conversion
Taking Back Christianese #1: "The Christian Life Is All about Being Transparent and Vulnerable"
Should transparency or vulnerability be a defining characteristic of a believer? This article considers why people say, "The Christian life is all about being transparent and vulnerable," and how it is helpful when shunning hypocrisy, yet unhelpful when it creates a culture that is more about authenticity than repentance.
Success
Calvin on Piety: Practical Dimensions
Four Ways Christ Conquers Our Fears
What are your fears as a Christian? Do you know that the gospel brings peace and confidence that is so much greater than our fears? This article explains four ways Christ conquers our fears.
The Exclusivity of Christ Isn't an Abstract Doctrine. It Will Change Your Life
This article shows how believing the exclusivity of Christ changes the way we live and interact with others. If he is the only way, we must be courageous, we won't detract from the truth, we will promote the Lord Jesus, and we will be thankful.
Location, Location, Location
How does location impact the way you follow Christ? This article explains four ways in which it matters.
True to Ourselves Why the Modern Mantra is so Misleading
Triumph in Weakness The Most Encouraging of Christ's Many Paradoxes
The Heart of Holiness
Are You Serious? Christian Gravitas in a Narcissistic Age
Infinite Worth God’s Esteem is all that Counts – and Christians have it
Bearing the Cross How Readily we Forget that Christianity Means Death
The Practical Calvin: Holiness and the Christian Life
John Calvin taught that the Christian life is rooted in our union with Christ, the inseparable link of faith and the Word, the need for daily repentance, and self-denial.
The Prideful Pursuit of Humility
It is only in Christ that the fight against pride and self-doubt can be won. Why? For in Christ we gain humility.
Response to Your Baptism: Chapter 11 – What Must We Renounce?
Pursuing Discipleship in All of Life
The purpose of discipleship is to make disciples Christ-like. Therefore, discipleship is not just a program; it’s life. This means that discipleship should be formal, informal, spontaneous, and intentional.
Put Down Your Phone, Pick Up Your Cross, and Follow Jesus
Do you struggle with spiritual growth because of all the distractions around you, like technology? There are five things you can do to better your walk with Christ, and all have to do with what you do with your time.
When Gospel-Centred Goes Too Far
When is it that one is gospel-centred? You are gospel-centered when Christ is the centre. Once Christ is lost, the gospel is lost.
Our Reputation Precedes Us
Must Christians care about a good reputation? There are two reasons that make a good reputation crucial for a Christian: Christ and the church. This article explains how.
How Are You to Be More Than a Conqueror?
What does it mean that the Christian is more than a conqueror (Romans 8:31-39)? This article explains that it is by living by faith in Christ, whose resurrection confirmed his victory.
The Normal Experience of the Reformed Christians
As described in the Heidelberg Catechism, the life of the Reformed Christian is characterized by a threefold experience: misery because of sin, glad assurance because of deliverance in Christ, and gratitude that expresses itself in good works and prayer.
Slaves of Christ
This article discusses what it means to be a slave of Christ.
Filthy Rags or Fully Pleasing?
It is possible to please God! This is a truth that many Protestants would object to, and refer to Isaiah 64:6, for example, as proof that everything we do is filth in God's eyes. This article challenges such an objection by pointing to who God is and what his perspective really is toward good works.
The Difficult Life
Jesus Christ described the Christian life as walking the narrow road and entering through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14). What makes this path narrow and how can Christians travel it?
Propagation
This article recalls the great work of the Lord in bringing the sinner to salvation, and from there it encourages vital living as a Christian in this dark world.
Enslaved by Entitlement
The Biblical View of Freedom
True freedom can only be experienced once we are freed from sin and made slaves to Christ. This article shows how such freedom flows to bring freedom in the community.
Christian Orthodoxy Must Lead to Christian Orthopraxis
Perfection
Better Than a Mulligan
The Christian's Semi-Perfect State
The Peace God Gives
The Root of All Godliness
Ambassadors for Christ
As Christians, you are called to be ambassadors for Christ. What does it mean to be an ambassador? It means your whole life is a life of ministry.
The Christian Job Description
Words in Scripture that identify the Christian are "alien," "soldier," and "ambassador." Do these words describe you?
More Than Motions Why Personal Righteousness Matters
Why the Meaninglessness of Life?
Absurdism is the struggle facing humanity. It is the struggle of seeking the meaning of life while at the same time feeling the meaninglessness of life. What is the answer to this struggle? The article explains that the answer can only be Jesus Christ.
Re-Grounding True Identity in Christ
Where do you find your identity? This article makes a call for Christians to find their identity in Christ, and shows how can the church be a community that points its members to the redemption that is in Christ.
Dressing Up as Jesus for Halloween (and Every Other Day)
Practice What He Preached: Imitating the Goodness of Jesus
By imitating the goodness of Christ, the church can be an appealing community. This article explains what following in the footsteps of Jesus actually looks like.
The Heart-Cry of the Christian
Why is it worth longing for the day when our eyes shall see Christ? This article shows that our seeing now by faith and our seeing then by sight differ in at least three ways: now we only see Christ partially but then we shall enjoy a full view; now our view of Christ is mediated, but in the future we will revel in an immediate view of the glory of God in Christ; now our view of Christ is too often disrupted by sinful barriers, but then our view will be uninterrupted.
The End of the Struggle
Coming to Christ puts and end to the struggle for your own righteousness, living by the law, and pleasing people. The article explains.
Christ Is Altogether Lovely
The Freedom God Is Giving You Today
What does freedom in Christ look like? This article explains that freedom is being united to others, is demonstrated in our unity by the Spirit, and is learning to carry the cross with others.
Seven Traits of the Considerate Christian
What traits are to characterize considerate Christians? This article covers seven such characteristics.