Every man has a voice in his head. It is the running commentary of your life, the invisible narrator that evaluates your actions, judges your motives, and reacts to your circumstances. For the Stoic, this internal voice was meant to be the voice of Reason (Logos). The philosopher trained his mind to act as a… Continue reading The Inner Critic and the Advocate: Redeeming the Voice in Your Head
A Perpetual Rest: On the Sabbath Day (WCF 21.7–21.8)
In the first half of Chapter 21, we learned how we are to worship God (according to His Word alone). In the second half of the chapter, the Confession turns to the question of when we are to worship Him. While Christians are called to worship God every day in private and with their families, God has also claimed… Continue reading A Perpetual Rest: On the Sabbath Day (WCF 21.7–21.8)
The Bitter Fruit of Compromise: Lot and His Daughters in the Cave (Gen. 19:30–38)
Loved ones, the story of Lot is one of the most tragic biographies in all of Scripture. We first met him as Abraham’s wealthy nephew, a man who “lifted up his eyes” and chose the fertile Jordan Valley, pitching his tent near the wicked city of Sodom (Gen. 13). We then saw him sitting in… Continue reading The Bitter Fruit of Compromise: Lot and His Daughters in the Cave (Gen. 19:30–38)
The Morning and Evening Review: Bookending the Day with Grace
A day without structure is a day surrendered to chaos. If you wake up and immediately let the demands of the world—your email, the news, the urgent crises of others—dictate your attention, you will spend the next sixteen hours playing defense. You will be reactive, driven by your passions and the whims of circumstance. The… Continue reading The Morning and Evening Review: Bookending the Day with Grace
The Unseen Christ: On the Prohibition of Images
In our study of Chapter 21, we examined the Regulative Principle of Worship—the biblical rule that we may only worship God in the ways He has explicitly instituted in His Word. This principle is the direct application of the Second Commandment. While the First Commandment tells us who to worship (God alone), the Second Commandment tells us how to worship… Continue reading The Unseen Christ: On the Prohibition of Images
In Spirit and in Truth: On Religious Worship (WCF 21.1–21.6)
In Chapter 20, we learned that God alone is Lord of the conscience, freeing the Christian from the man-made traditions and commandments of church leaders. This powerful principle naturally leads to a crucial question: If we are free from the traditions of men, how then should we worship God? Can we worship God however we… Continue reading In Spirit and in Truth: On Religious Worship (WCF 21.1–21.6)
“Look Not Back”: Righteous Judgment on the Cities of the Plain (Gen. 19:1–29)
Loved ones, in Genesis 18, we stood on a hillside with Abraham as he pleaded with the Judge of all the earth to spare the wicked city of Sodom for the sake of ten righteous people. He returned to his tent confident in God’s perfect justice. Now, in Genesis 19, the camera descends into the… Continue reading “Look Not Back”: Righteous Judgment on the Cities of the Plain (Gen. 19:1–29)
The Philosophical Diary as a Spiritual Journal
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates spoke these words at his trial, and the Stoics took them as a fundamental command. To live well, a man must pay attention to how he lives. He cannot drift. He must audit his own soul. The primary tool the Stoics used for this audit was the… Continue reading The Philosophical Diary as a Spiritual Journal
Free from Men: On Christian Liberty and Conscience (WCF 20.1–20.4)
In Chapter 19, we learned that the Moral Law of God remains a permanent rule of life for the believer. But this immediately raises a tension: didn’t the Apostle Paul declare, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1)? If we… Continue reading Free from Men: On Christian Liberty and Conscience (WCF 20.1–20.4)
“Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?”: Abraham’s Plea for Sodom (Gen. 18:16–33)
Loved ones, in the first half of Genesis 18, we saw the Lord visit Abraham’s tent to bring a message of life: Sarah would have a son. It was a scene of intimate fellowship and miraculous grace. But as the afternoon wanes and the visitors turn their faces toward the valley below, the tone shifts… Continue reading “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?”: Abraham’s Plea for Sodom (Gen. 18:16–33)