Let’s say it’s a beautiful day outside and you’re taking a stroll in the park. You study your shadow, and you notice just how much it looks like you. It’s an image of you. It’s connected to you. You start to run, and it follows you. It does what you do. Your shadow is affixed to you. Your shadow cannot be detached from you . . . unless you’re Peter Pan. Keith Mathison uses this helpful illustration in his little book titled The Lord’s Supper to explain the spiritual presence of...
Tag - Lord's Supper
A bicycle is a pretty simple machine, but I doubt you understand the science behind how a bike works. I certainly don’t. According to interestingengineering.com, several theories about how bikes remain stable have been disproven (the gyroscopic theory and the caster theory). [1] A bike is a simple machine, and yet, the exact mechanism that makes a bicycle stable is a mystery. Okay, if a simple machine involves mysteries that scientists can’t figure out or explain, how much more are the...
In my experience, many Christians struggle to understand what they believe and to find the right words to communicate what they believe. This is where creeds, confessions, and catechisms help Christians immensely. They define and explain things in simple terms—terms children can learn and understand—and unite Christians around a common understanding of Scripture. Creeds, confessions, and catechisms communicate, “This is what we believe as Christians, and this is what we do not believe.”...
Before I begin to unpack Article 35 of the Belgic Confession, let me make an important clarification for this podcast. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant, infallible, and the only rule or authority for faith and life (WCF 1:2). The ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions and catechisms do not replace Scripture nor are they equal to Scripture. Please listen carefully. Scripture alone is the Word of God, however, the ecumenical creeds and...
Let’s think about the Lord’s Supper. Let’s try to better understand this incredible gift from our Lord. What’s God’s intent for the Lord’s Supper? Why did God give you and me the Lord’s Supper? Heidelberg 67 asks, “Are both the Word and the sacraments, then, intended to focus our faith on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation?” It answers, “Yes, indeed. The Holy Spirit teaches us in the gospel and assures us by the sacraments that...
A slight correction from last time. I read Heidelberg 65, which is important to this series, but I referenced it as Heidelberg 66. I apologize for the confusion. Heidelberg 65 asks, “where does . . . faith come from?” Great question. Believers want to have faith and a stronger and deeper faith. How do they get that? Heidelberg 65 answers, “From the Holy Spirit who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel and strengthens it by the use of the sacraments.” Aren’t you glad...
I have a really bad habit of not drinking enough water, and quite frankly, it creates problems for me. I think I have more aches and pains because I don’t drink enough water. I like to run, and if I’m dehydrated, guess how I feel when I run. On hot days, in particular, I sometimes have a very difficult time running, in part, because I’m not well hydrated. You’d think I would learn my lesson, but I still struggle with the discipline of drinking enough water. Think about food for a...
Months ago, I got reclaimed white oak wood from Creekside Lumber in the small town of Ephrata, PA. I’ve been making a three-foot by 12-foot tabletop, and it’s turning out beautifully. To fill in the knots, deep grooves, and holes, I used a two-part epoxy resin. In order for the epoxy to be effective, to get hard and clear within the open spaces, you need both the base resin and the curing agent. You mix the two substances together and you get a hard and clear epoxy filler. If you simply...
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...
Oliver loved Christmas. It was Christmas Eve, and he couldn’t wait to wake up the next morning, run down the stairs, and open his presents. He knew he had to wait until after breakfast, but his visions of tearing open presents after his mother’s morning spread were quite vivid. He struggled to fall asleep, but in time he did, and on Christmas morning he jolted awake, ran down the stairs, and beheld quite a sight. Under the sparkling tree were presents galore. After breakfast, Oliver’s...