fisher of men

Don’t you hate people who only want to talk about themselves? You know the type. They’re fascinated by themselves: their talents, their achievements, and precisely how incredible they are. Change the subject as many times as you want, and somehow it always come back to them. Boring isn’t it? We hate having to listen to people talk about themselves all the time. It gets in the way of talking about more important things. Like us. There’s a shadow of Narcissus in each of us. You may know the story of Narcissus. He’s the guy who was so handsome that when he glimpsed his own reflection in a smooth pond, he couldn’t take his eyes off himself. So he remained by the still water, gazing at himself until he died. Completely self-absorbed. As much as we hate to admit it, we’re all a little like...

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from A Sweet & Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper (Crossway). Ruth is a very old book. The events took place over three thousand years ago. Could it be relevant and helpful for your life? I think so. The sovereignty of God, the sexual nature of man, and the gospel never change. And since God is still sovereign, and you are male or female, and Christ is alive and powerful, the book has a message for you. I don’t know you or your circumstances well enough to say for sure that you should read this book. You must decide. To be sure, there are other things to do that are just as important—like telling your neighbor about Jesus. So let me simply tell you why I think you might be helped if you join me i...

You can have assurance of salvation when you believe that salvation is not your doing, but God’s act of redemption in Jesus Christ, conceived before the foundation of the world, a sacred agreement between the Persons of the Triune God, and carried out by God through the mysteries of His providence in real time. Once Saved Always Saved? The lack of assurance in salvation is, regrettably, a common pathology of the Christian soul. Particularly when our past sins conspire with our present doubts, our spirits are vulnerable to diabolical oppression. In short, though saved and kept forever by God, we buy the lie that we are not. A lack of assurance is not necessarily sinful unless you know the truth and resist it or reject it. Usually, the lack of assurance is a misunderstanding of God’s salvati...

by Ken Puls I love God’s Word and delight in its truth. Yet too often I find that after reading my Bible or hearing a sermon, the truth, so necessary to the wellbeing of my soul, can too easily slip away. The truth that had for a moment captured my attention and my affections can quietly fade amid the clutter and noise of the day. One of the best ways to remedy this is to practice the spiritual discipline of meditating on God’s Word. It is a discipline that takes time and intention, but one that brings great benefit to the soul. We need to carve out time to lay hold of the truth of God’s Word. It is a bewildering paradox of our day that the Bible can be so accessible and yet so marginalized. On the one hand our technology has brought God’s Word close at hand. It’s on our phones and tablets...

Eric Mason is the pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia and the author of Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole, I first met Eric when he served on the advisory council for The Gospel Project. He’s a powerful preacher who loves his church, his family, and his community. Today, I’ve invited him to the blog for a discussion about God’s vision of manhood. Trevin Wax: Men’s movements have been a permanent fixture in the evangelical landscape for the past two decades. Why?  Eric Mason: The absence of men in churches. Even where there are men present in local churches, there seems to be a passivity of presence. In light of the absence of leadership, there has been everything from Promise Keepers to some of the new manhood movements – Dr. Evans’ Kingdom Man,...

When you listen to believers talk about the Christian life there is a common theme: prayer is important and difficult. This is not a new phenomenon, even the earliest disciples requested some classes on prayer (Luke 11:1). Therefore, it is encouraging and instructive to hear Jesus’ teaching on how to pray from what is called “The Lord’s Prayer.” What is interesting to me is the way he begins: “Our Father…” (Matthew 6:9). In this Jesus calls us to the family room for a conversation with our heavenly Father. Before we go further, however, it is important, even imperative to acknowledge and overcome a major obstacle that this opening presents. We all have the tendency to project a concept of fatherhood upon God instead of to receive the image that he ...

Just in time for Father’s Day, the editors at Crosswalk.com share the stories of the times where their human fathers molded and shaped them into people who want the world to know of the love of our Heavenly Father. Originally published June 13, 2013.

You’ve seen the articles: “What every driver should know how to do.” “What every parent should know how to do.” “What every student should know how to do.” The idea is that just as there are certain things we should know, as in facts or figures or cultural literacy, there are certain things we should also know how to do. For example, every driver should know how to fill up their gas tank, check the oil, and change a tire (we’ll assume that because they have a license, they know how to drive – no jokes, please). Yet such matters are different than knowing about cars. What we’re talking about is the practical knowledge needed if you are going to drive one. Got it? Okay, now that we’ve got the set-up, here’s the question: Does this apply for someone hoping to follow Christ? This isn’t talked ...

Waiting on the Lord can be hard for two reasons. Bad theology, the first reason, is what I wrote about previously here at Christianity.com.  The second reason has nothing to do with bad theology though. In fact, you can have very solid and robust beliefs about God, man, sin, etc. and yet still find it tough to wait. That’s because sometimes the waiting doesn’t end. Life-Long Waiting Recently, my family of six made a 1,200-mile trek to Texas and back to visit relatives there. We live in Indiana and have four children, so these trips are both exhausting and fun. But there’s also sadness in these trips, because it is the only time we get to see my mom, who at just 63 years old has advancing Alzheimer’s disease and is slowly fading away from us. We have, of course, prayed for her healing ...

On a recent vacation, we had the opportunity to go bike riding together as a family. Gratefully we were able to bring one of the children’s grandparents, so our usually large bunch of seven became eight. As is typical of a group of this size, we had a few handicaps among us. By the term handicaps, I am not referring to disabilities of the differently-abled types. Instead, I mean that we had frailties that did not allow everyone to come to the biking experience as equally proficient riders. The frailties were diversely cognitive, physical, and emotional. For example, one among us is afraid of both water and heights. Being in a vacation spot surrounded by water on all sides, including lagoons, coves, and an ocean, the riding events had to slow down for this cyclist near every water crossing....

I hear the statement quite often. Usually it’s raised in discussions of church membership. People want to know how to help a wounded friend or family member re-engage the church. Or, they’re the ones who have been hurt and they’re wrestling with whether church is worth it. Some want to be convinced to join a church and others want to be told it’s okay to leave. Answering well depends, in part, on knowing which way the person leans. But recently I’ve been thinking that part of the answer must include questioning the way the problem is phrased. What does the person mean when they say, “The church hurt me”? Let’s walk the possibilities backward from the most sweeping accusation to the most narrow. The Universal Church The person could mean the big-C Church has hurt them–all Christians everywh...

Paul Tripp