Seventeen82

“Not only do I believe that God has a right to one dime out of every dollar we receive but I also believe that one day out of seven belongs to Him. There is something special about the Sabbath and the tenth part of your income. They are holy. I’m a strong believer in keeping the Sabbath day different from all the other days. Sunday is a day that is set aside to actively work for God – not to go to bed and rest. On Sundays the wheels of commerce cease and we have opportunity to go and visit the sick and prisoners in jail, as well as friends and neighbors, and to witness to them about Jesus. Sunday is God’s Day.” You know who wrote that? Oral Roberts. That’s right, the godfather of the charismatic movement in North America had a higher view of the Sabbath than the majority of conservative, confessional Presbyterians in the PCA and ARP. That should not be. It also illustrates how pervasive the view of the Sabbath Day as a day of rest from worldly activities, given by God for worship and ...

April 1 has now come and gone. Did you happen to fall for any good April Fools’ Day pranks? It seems like a peculiar day to celebrate, certainly, but it has apparently been around for  a long, long time (centuries!). It’s even celebrated as a public holiday in the city of Odessa in the Ukraine. And that’s no joke. What does it mean to be foolish? My mom is fond of a saying: “Everyone has to get over Fools' Hill.” Some of us did a lot of things when we were younger (and perhaps still do!) that could be characterized as “foolish.” But most of that kind of foolishness gradually disappears through experience as we get older and wiser. Most of us probably, at one time, thought our parents were foolish for the things they warned us about. Now we see that we were really the foolish ones. One of the ways we can think of foolishness is as the opposite of wisdom. But what is wisdom? One helpful way of looking at wisdom is in seeing the difference between wisdom and intelligence. When I was a...

If you were asked to name a human relationship that is a picture of the gospel, what would you say? Most of us would probably answer with “marriage” and we would not be incorrect, a la Ephesians 5 (and Hosea 1-3; Ezekiel 16; Jeremiah 31:32...). But the bond between a husband and wife is not the only human illustration of gospel truth to which Scripture points. Certainly the parent-child relationship can be highlighted as a reflection of God’s love for his people. Earthly fathers who give good gifts to their children are used as an a fortiori argument for the truth of God’s provision of the Holy Spirit to his children (Matthew 7:11). A mother’s attachment to and compassion for her nursing child mirrors God’s loving remembrance of his people (Isaiah 49:15, 66:13). Even outside familial connections, Jesus speaks of a different relationship still when he highlights its ability to show the world the truth of the gospel. In fact, Jesus desires that when people observe this human relationshi...

  A few weeks before my wedding, many older, wiser individuals had advice for me. They could tell I was excited about my upcoming marriage, so they wanted to make sure I had realistic expectations. They would start their sage words with “You just wait…” Then they would tell me how things wouldn’t always be good. They told me that marriage would be hard. They told me to enjoy these newlywed years because it fades fast. I remember thinking, “Wow, they must really dislike their spouse.” It happened again when we bought our first house. Then again when we were expecting our first child. Even as I told other pastors that my church plant was going well, they couldn’t resist the urge to chime in with a, “You just wait…” Every time I’ve had those conversations, I walked away wondering, “Why are these people so bitter?” I tend to be a negative person myself, but when it came to happy things like marriage and children, I was shocked at all the negativity. As you’re reading this, some of you ...

    If you’re anything like me, your Bible often acts like a half-organized scrapbook.   Each time you open the front cover, there are bulletin inserts or hand-written notes that threaten to spill out onto the floor, but you keep them there anyways because of their significance.   Then, as you continue opening the Word and flip to a passage, you’re likely to pass by specifically placed flower petals or sticky notes or scraps of ribbon that remind you, somehow or another, of a particular passage.   Those keepsakes take you back to a memory—perhaps the sermon that you heard on that passage or the time a friend encouraged you with a flower and a verse—and you cling to that memory because it deepened your faith or simply made you smile.   Sometimes, however, you come across a passage and it stands out in your memory without any memorabilia.   For me, one such passage is Revelation 4, and the memory surrounding it is that of a child’s excitement. It ...

                 A number of years ago, I went to lunch with a minister from a church in my hometown. I was a senior in college and had plans to begin seminary the following Spring. Over the course of the meal, we discussed all manner of challenges and blessings related to ministry in the local church. Towards the end of our lunch, I asked this pastor if he had any advice for someone pursing a call to ministry. He replied: “Read fiction. Fiction is what keeps us connected to our congregations and grounded in our thought.” I’ll never forget those words. Of course, at that point, I thought he meant that reading fiction allowed a pastor to relate more effectively in a cultural or social manner to his congregation. I now realize it means something far more important than mere social or cultural interaction – although that is certainly a benefit. In fact, I believe his words had two parallel meanings that change based on your own personal...

  Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you... Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he ? Habakkuk 1:5, 13 Have you ever noticed that when a child gets a splinter and you bring out tweezers (or worse—straight pin) suddenly, to them, you are some maniacal barbarian who has never really loved them anyway? Instead of trusting you to do what is best, they will question you, ask to see your supervisor, lodge complaints, question your qualifications, and ask where you got your credentials to keep you from doing what is best for them. To them, metal pinchers and needle and alcohol or peroxide are all more painful and threatening and present more danger to the...