Creature of a Day, Part 1

Theme: Compelled to Speak

In this week’s lessons we see how David responds in the midst of trouble, which is by taking his cares to the Lord and trusting him to act.

Scripture: Psalm 39:1-13

Life is short. The world does not like to think deeply, especially about such things as life, death and eternity. The flesh is unable to think. The devil does not want us to think, certainly not about spiritual things. Instead, the world, the flesh and the devil conspire to keep us amused or entertained.

Life is short. The world does not like to think deeply, especially about such things as life, death and eternity. The flesh is unable to think. The devil does not want us to think, certainly not about spiritual things. Instead, the world, the flesh and the devil conspire to keep us amused or entertained.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

A Sick Man’s Cry for Help, Part 5

Theme: A Good Man Badly Treated

From this psalm we learn how to approach God for mercy, knowing that he hears us and will answer our prayers to his glory.

Scripture: Psalm 38:1-22

The last section of this psalm (vv. 16-20), before the final prayer, concerns David's unjust treatment by his enemies, picking up on a theme he introduced earlier in verse 12. In this respect the psalm moves from: 1) his wretched physical condition; to 2) his abandonment by his friends; to 3) his treatment by his enemies. But this is only part of what we find in this last section. Actually, everything found here has been mentioned or suggested earlier and is brought in again, in my judgment, as an argument why God should hear his prayer. In two cases the reasons are actually introduced by the word "for," meaning "for this reason."

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Sip It, Don't Dip It

Rightly administering the Lord's Supper is one of the marks of a true church. It occupies a critically important place in the life of God's people as a memorial of Christ, a preaching of the gospel, and a means of his grace. 

Rightly administering the Lord's Supper is one of the marks of a true church. It occupies a critically important place in the life of God's people as a memorial of Christ, a preaching of the gospel, and a means of his grace. Yet, even among those who share this perspective there remain differences in practice. Throughout church history many have allowed for the use of white or red wine, wine or grape juice, leavened or unleaded bread, and a shared common up or individual cups.

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Christward Collective is a conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Christward Collective and the mission of the Alliance.

A Sick Man’s Cry for Help, Part 4

Theme: All Alone

From this psalm we learn how to approach God for mercy, knowing that he hears us and will answer our prayers to his glory.

Scripture: Psalm 38:1-22

Psychiatrists tell us that people do not like to be around those who are suffering because they imagine themselves being in the same condition and do not like to think along those lines. So they stay away. This is probably true and undoubtedly also explains why people make cruel jokes about retarded people, the handicapped and others who have suffered physical misfortunes. But even if people don’t go to that extreme, they usually prefer the company of those who are prospering and having a good time. This is what David experienced. This section of the psalm describes his sense of isolation (vv. 10-14).

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

A Sick Man’s Cry for Help, Part 3

Theme: A Second Prayer

From this psalm we learn how to approach God for mercy, knowing that he hears us and will answer our prayers to his glory.

Scripture: Psalm 38:1-22

Yesterday we saw that in the case of Job, his suffering was not because he had sinned, but, rather, it was a demonstration before Satan that a human being will love God for who he is and not just for what the person can receive from him.

Yesterday we saw that in the case of Job, his suffering was not because he had sinned, but, rather, it was a demonstration before Satan that a human being will love God for who he is and not just for what the person can receive from him.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

A Sick Man’s Cry for Help, Part 2

Theme: The Opening Prayer

From this psalm we learn how to approach God for mercy, knowing that he hears us and will answer our prayers to his glory.

Scripture: Psalm 38:1-22

One thing immediately strikes us about the opening prayer: it is identical (in the Hebrew, almost identical) to the first verse of Psalm 6, which is the first of the penitential psalms. In fact, the two psalms bear very close resemblances. True, Psalm 6 is shorter, only ten verses as opposed to twenty-two. Psalm 38 describes the illness at greater length as well as elaborating upon the desertion by the psalmist's friends and the scheming of his enemies.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

Jones Reviews Frame's Review

A brief look at John Frame's rather exotic review of Dolezal.

Mark Jones has written a review of John Frame’s review of James Dolezal’s fine book entitled All That Is In God.

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Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

A Sick Man’s Cry for Help, Part 1

Theme: Looking to God

From this psalm we learn how to approach God for mercy, knowing that he hears us and will answer our prayers to his glory.

Scripture: Psalm 38:1-22

Psalm 38 is listed among the penitential psalms because of its confession of sin in verses 3-5 and 18.1 David, who is identified as the author in the title, does not actually name his sin in this psalm but rather asks for mercy and help from God because of the terrible sickness, loneliness and isolation he has experienced because of it. He says that God sent the sickness "because of his sinful folly" (v. 5). The psalm is actually a lament, or simply a prayer. Peter C. Craigie says, "Psalm 38 is a prayer... evoked by the experience of sickness and the consequent sense of alienation from both God and fellow human beings."2

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

No Cross, No Gospel

A troubling trend...

 

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).
 

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Mortification of Spin is a casual conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Mortification of Spin and the mission of the Alliance.

When He Had Given Thanks, Part 5

Theme: How to Give Thanks

During this Thanksgiving week, we learn how to render thanks to the Lord through the prayers of thanksgiving from Jesus himself.

Scripture: Matthew 14:19

So what should we do this Thanksgiving weekend? I suggest that we should follow our Lord's example and thank God in each of these ways I have tried to point out in this study.

So what should we do this Thanksgiving weekend? I suggest that we should follow our Lord's example and thank God in each of these ways I have tried to point out in this study.

Think and Act Biblically from James Boice is a devotional of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is supported only by its readers and gracious Christians like you. Please prayerfully consider supporting Think and Act Biblically and the mission of the Alliance.

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