A Prayer for Times of Controversy

For as long as there has been truth, there has been division over the truth—over what is consistent with God’s revelation and what is aberrant, over what pleases him and what grieves his heart. Richard Baxter was no stranger to this reality and, aware of his own sinfulness, penned a prayer meant to plead God’s help in times of controversy. Lord God, when controversies occasion division among your people, may I look first to the interest of the common good …

Are You a Peacemaker or a Troublemaker?

I recently spent some time studying one of the simplest verses in the New Testament: “blessed are the peacemakers.” There are no tricky words in this verse, no difficult Greek to parse. To be blessed means to be happy or to experience God’s favor; to be a peacemaker is to (wait for it!) make peace. But though the words are simple, the application takes some work. Essentially, Jesus is saying that peace with God leads us to make peace like …

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Set Loose in a Mud Pit

It would be a strange thing for a mother to set her daughter loose in a mud pit, but warn her that she must not let her clothes get dirty. It would be a strange thing for a father to instruct his son to ford a river, but warn him that he must not let his feet get wet. Yet when we come to God in repentance and faith, when we joyfully surrender our lives to him, he gives us …

Who Gets To Rule Our Hearts This Week?

Sometimes we all need a little bit of help praying. And when that’s true of me, one place I know to turn is Scotty Smith’s blog where he posts new prayers on a daily basis. One that caught my attention this week was titled Who Gets to Rule Our Hearts This Week?. I thought I’d share it with you as we all begin a new week with its opportunities and temptations. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… Col. …

True Peace With God Comes on God’s Terms

We all long for peace. We all want to be at peace with God and men. The problem is that we usually want that peace to be on our terms. So we strive against men and battle against God until we feel that we have achieved what feels to us like peace. John Owen knows this temptation and in his great book Overcoming Sin and Temptation he includes an entire chapter on the theme. He gives his reader this charge: “Do …