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This post has been brewing for a few years. I kept seeing these inspirational posts on social media to the effect that "if you're feeling overwhelmed, maybe just take a nap and eat a snack. That's what God told Elijah to do."  But did He, really? The original post was from Joy Clarkson. My family has benefited greatly from the Clarkson family over the last few years, so don't necessarily take this as wholesale condemnation of Joy (I have not read her works on other subjects, and I was unable to find a doctrinal statement from her). She happens to be in the unfortunate position of having her quote picked up by others who are using it for their purposes. Having seen the quote cycle through social media several times since the tweet was initially sent, and seeing some other questionable things being said in connection with the quote, I googled "take a nap and eat a snack" to see who was picking this up. I was blown away by how many so-called ministries used...

We are currently teaching through Revelation on Sunday mornings at our church. As we started working through the seven churches, I quipped to our church that it is like a dispensational rite of passage to create a chart of the seven churches. Though others have created similar charts and someone else will create a fresh chart in the future, here's what I think are my somewhat unique contributions to the world of charts on the seven churches: Color coding Churches with "mixed reviews" are blue, those with no positive qualities are red, and those with no negative qualities are green. Positive attributes and promises are green, negative attributes and warnings are red Simplified columns Many charts split the Condition column into two (typically, Commendation and Condemnation ). I merged these, but color-coded them. Many charts split Christ's Commitment  to the churches into two columns (typically something like Warning  and Promise). Again, though I've merged the two...

The last blog post in this mini-series laid the groundwork for how I initially began using the ESV, but then began having issues with the translation. I recognize that there is no "perfect" translation and that all translations have to make interpretive decisions to maintain some level of coherence. The issues I began seeing with the ESV, however, rose to such a level that it caused me to begin considering other options. This blog post will discuss one such text. Ephesians 5:32 In the fall of 2023, I took a class titled "Scripture Citing Scripture" at Shepherds Theological Seminary with Dr. Michael Vlach. In this class, I had the opportunity to research four cases of Scripture referencing Scripture and note how the later authors used earlier texts. One of the texts I selected was Ephesians 5:31 and its use of Gen 2:24. I was not aware of the depth of issues when I selected this text, but I was amazed when I started diving in. The context is Paul instructing husban...

Getting these out late. I'll blame the travel schedule! Grieving: You Path Back to Peace by James White This may be White's most pastoral book. Usually associated with his debates and staunch defense of his theological convictions, it is rare to see White take a step back and offer encouragement from a pastoral perspective. When this happens, however, it is truly a blessing. White gently reminds his readers that yes, Christians grieve too, no, you aren't the only one to feel this way, and that you should give yourself the time you need to process through your grief. He explores what upward healthy grieving patterns look like as opposed to downward patterns, and that the key difference between the two is hope.  From there, White goes on to give practical advise on how to actually do the real work of grieving. He helps the reading through things like transitions, sifting through belongs, and dealing with spontaneous emotion. He warns about common pitfalls and things that can ...

 Here are my February reads. Lighter month.  Click the link to jump to the section: Do You Pray? by J.C. Ryle The Pastor and Counseling by Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju The Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers Do You Pray? by J.C. Ryle This brief book probes into your heart and mind regarding the subject of prayer, and each chapter ends with the penetrating question "Do you pray? Ryle's pastoral heart shines through as he seeks to instill within the reader a burning desire to spend regular time in prayer.  This book is short enough to read in one sitting, but has enough to chew on that it would be worth slowing down and mediating on the sections.  The question "do you pray?" is about the habits of personal and private prayer. I'm sure there are many who pray with others, who bow their heads before meals, or even lead prayer at worship gatherings. The question that Ryle wants to know is if you pray when no one else is there to see or hear yo...

My Journey Through Translations I began my initial draft of this mini-series on Bible translations last summer. As I was finishing the article, I began to see the ESV pop up in online discussions because of changes being made (again) and now more people are walking away from the ESV as a result. My reasoning for my decision to change away from the ESV differs from why others are doing the same, and I officially transitioned away from the ESV back in August of last year. I do think the textual changes are a significant issue, but I believe what I will discuss in these posts may be even more significant. I grew up on the NKJV, and I have to say, I still feel very at home when I open and read from it. Most of my memorization work was in the NKJV, and it remains an elegant translation (many of those currently abandoning the ESV are going with the NKJV, and understandably so). I still consider it a top 3 translation. I started exploring other translations when I went off to college, and pro...

Here are the books I've read in January. While some the sections here are more traditional "book review-y" than others, these aren't intended to be formal book reviews but rather just my overall impressions and thoughts as I finish each book.   In this post (click to skip to section): Thomas Jefferson  by Joyce Appleby How Does Sanctification Work? by David Powlison The Preacher Behind the White Hoods  by John Collins Thomas Jefferson By Joyce Appleby This is part of the American Presidents Series published by Times Books. This set (minus two volumes) was gifted to me a while back and I've started reading through them. Last year I read the volumes on George Washington and John Adams. The bullet points here represent my impressions on this volume, followed by one critique I would have of the book. I'm not educated enough on the American presidents to offer my critique or evaluation of this biography in terms of its historical accuracy. From Appleby's presen...

I was thinking recently about different people who have influenced me in different ways over the years.  I don't agree with everything some of these men teach, but I was still influenced by them in ways that have stayed with me even if I no longer listen to some of them.  Al Potter and Bob Sheridan taught me to think pastorally. Al was one of my seminary professors and every time he taught and every time I had a conversation with him, practical shepherding just oozed out of him. Bob was my pastor growing up and I completed did a pastoral internship under him as an upper classman in college.  Neil Nelson and Andrew Smith taught me to think exegetically. These are my two Greek professors from Bible College and Seminary. Taking the original languages and breaking them down part by part opened my eyes up to the world of exegetical theology. John MacArthur taught me to think expositionally. Chapter by chapter, verse by verse, no one does it better than J-Mac. He's not the most...

The following article was initially drafted shortly after the 2020 election. I don't know why I never published it. I finished editing it and am publishing it now. Prior to the 2020 election, the vast majority of the charismatic "apostles" and/or "prophets" were claiming to have a word from the Lord, and that word was that that President Trump would secure re-election. When that didn't happen (and let's just set aside the all the voting issues for the moment), I thought this could be the perfect opportunity to challenge some of my charismatic friends on the seemingly and glaringly obvious issue that these individuals made very public, very specific prophecies, and it didn't happen. What gives? However, that was when I learned that charismatics have a fail-safe. They have an escape hatch. Every time a prophecy fails, there is an out. I was told that the reason Trump didn't return to the office was because we, as the church, didn't have enough ...

This blog post was drafted a couple years ago and never published because the content was revised and presented at the IFCA Convention in Albuquerque, NM. That seminar was recorded and released on the Do Theology Podcast, which you can listen to here and watch here . I recently came across the draft and figured I would go ahead and publish the article. Escapism. Escapist.  I've grown to hate these words. It's a common jab from those of differing viewpoints directed against those who hold to the eschatological position I do: "You guys have embraced an escapist mindset that prevents you from engaging the culture." I'd like this one to be put to bed. What is escapism or an escapist mindset? It is said that an escapist mindset seeks to disconnect from society and culture while waiting, praying, and hoping for the imminent rapture of the church: because the whole world is just going to continue to get worse and worse, and since we are so obviously so close to the rapt...

This blog has been neglected for some time. I recently logged in and discovered several drafts that I wrote and never published. Why I never published them I do not know. Below is an article I wrote in August of 2021 while I was preaching through the book of Philippians. I lightly edited it and am publishing it now. Some time ago I preached through the book of Philippians, and it was a tremendous study. We saw the beauty and glory of Christ as he promises to finish the good work He started (1:6); we see him at work, despite our hardships (1:12-18); and we see him as the humble servant highly exalted (2:9-11) the one for whom it is worth suffering the loss of all things that we might know him (3:8). Philippians contains several verses and passages that are beloved by believers are common to commit to memory, and very well worth the effort! As we worked through chapter one, however, we came across a passage that is very well known but I became convinced often receives misplaced emphasis....