Dear brother or sister, you may struggle with the assurance of your salvation. I know what that’s like. Sometimes I wonder, “Can I actually be saved if I have thoughts like this, if I have these desires? Am I really saved if I do things like this?” When we are conscious of our sinful thoughts and desires, when sinful words come hurling out of our mouths, when our behavior has proven to be yet again sinful and hurtful, it’s easy to think, “Am I actually a Christian or am I simply a...
Tag - comfort
Many Christians have a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to catechisms, confessions, and creeds. They rightfully desire to draw their doctrine from the Bible. They rightfully consider the Bible to be the sole authority for life and faith. They rightfully bulk at the thought of anything rising to equality to the Bible (and equality ends up being supremacy). However, they don’t understand that creeds of some sort are essential, necessary, in fact, inevitable. The moment anyone tries to...
Back in 2003, I ran the Philadelphia Marathon. I was 24 years old. That was almost 20 years ago. Wow. I’m getting old. Anyway, I ran the marathon on a beautiful day in October in Pennsylvania. The morning was cool and it warmed up to the point I could run without a shirt. This allowed spectators and other runners to see what Kristina had written in Sharpie across my chest: “I’d rather be preaching.” As I ran the 26.2 miles in Philly, I availed myself of the drink stations to stay...