…Hope For Imperfect Prayers (This post first appeared as an article at desiringGod.org) Does God really listen to our prayers? Does he really hear us when we cry out to him? Sometimes we pray for a long time about big things, like a health issue or a prodigal child or a difficult work situation,...
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes struggle to trust God – especially when things aren’t going very well. That’s why I was so encouraged when I found in Psalm 9 a beautiful summary of the secret to trusting God. In this psalm of praise to God, King David wrote that “those...
Today as I read Psalm 99, I felt like God gently put me in my place. Verse five says, “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His footstool; Holy is He.” Sometimes I come to God like I know better than Him. Sometimes I come to God like I know...
I’m pretty excited. I just got a reminder that God doesn’t want us brooding over our failings. C’mon. How many of us find our failures distracting, playing them over and over in our minds like some kind of masochistic looping video? But it’s totally clear that God doesn’t want sinners...
Some words are simply fun to say. A good example is the word, inconceivable. Give that one a try, putting particular weight on the third syllable. InconCEIVable! Another word I like is, immutability. Try saying that one a few times. You’ll find it kind of just rolls off your tongue… Immutability....
I was about to read Ephesians 1 for the umpteenth time and I never got past verse 10! What’s up with that? It’s because I was mesmerized by one of the Apostle Paul’s uber-long sentences in verses 7-10. In the ESV and NKJV (two highly literal translations), those four verses...
Elders are not hired or elected, but called and appointed. When Paul left Titus on Crete, one of his jobs was “to appoint (kathistemi) elders in every town” so as to “put into order” the work of God on that island (Titus 1:5). When Paul and Barnabas “appointed elders… in...
This month, we have been looking at eldership in the church, and in recent weeks have discussed the history, meaning, character and function of elders. This week’s topic focuses on an elder’s calling. Paul makes it clear that it is the Holy Spirit who issues the call to eldership (Acts 20:28)...
In these articles we are attempting to present the Father’s perspective on those who care for His flock so that everyone in Gateway can participate in the selection of additional elders to serve our church community. Elders carry weighty duties and responsibilities for which they will give account (Hebrews 13:17). The...
In these articles we are attempting to present the Father’s perspective on those who care for His flock so that everyone in Gateway can participate in the selection of additional elders to serve our church community. Two words are used for “elders” in the Old Testament. The first, zegen, means...
