"But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." – Isaiah 66:2

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you." – 1 Peter 5:6

If God has generously created food “to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Tim. 4:3), what possible reason could there be for abstinence? It seems like something reserved for weird people, odd people, or at worst, the masochist who somehow enjoys inflicting pain upon himself! So we need to take a moment and determine, as best we can, what the Bible says about fasting. Let me do this by highlighting six fundamental truths about fasting.

Critics who doubt the reliability and trustworthiness of the biblical accounts of Jesus' life have issued a make-or-break challenge to the church. They ask us: “How can we be sure the Bible can be trusted as accurate?”

It's common to see the argument that the Scriptures we have today aren't the same as what was written by the apostles in the first century. Such arguments attempt to portray the Bible as unreliable and therefore irrelevant. As we will see, however, these challenges do not stand up to scrutiny.

In the previous chapters we have discussed at some length the person and work of God the Father, and, more recently, the person and work of God the Son, Jesus Christ. We have also examined the biblical evidence for the deity and distinct personality of the Holy Spirit (in connection with the doctrine of the Trinity). It is appropriate now in this chapter that we focus on the distinctive work of the Holy Spirit. Among the different activities of the members of the Trinity, what activities are said to be especially the work of God the Holy Spirit? 

Although several definitions have been given for the gift of prophecy, a fresh examination of the New Testament teaching on this gift will show that it should be defined not as “predicting the future,” nor as “proclaiming a word from the Lord,” nor as “powerful preaching”—but rather as “telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind.” The first four points in the following material support this conclusion; the remaining points deal with other considerations regarding this gift.

When I use the word prophecy I’m not referring primarily to the prediction of future events. A simple definition would be that prophecy is the human report of a divine revelation (adapted from Wayne Grudem). Prophecy is the speaking forth in merely human words something God has spontaneously brought to mind.

Victims of sexual assault experience many devastating physical, psychological, and emotional effects. The most prevalent responses include denial, distorted self-image, shame, guilt, anger, and despair. If this is you (or someone you love), you need to understand that the gospel of Jesus applies to each of these.

We must realize at the outset that physical sickness came as a result of the fall of Adam, and illness and disease are simply part of the outworking of the curse after the fall, and will eventually lead toward physical death. However, Christ redeemed us from that curse when he died on the cross: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows . . . by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:4–5). This passage refers to both physical and spiritual healing that Christ purchased for us, for Peter quotes it to refer to our salvation: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). 

Before I say [anything] about healing, a few words about the gift of faith are in order. Although the New Testament has much to say about faith in general, it doesn’t explicitly refer to the charisma, or gift, of faith outside this passage in 1 Corinthians 12. Therefore, the best way to identify and define the nature of this gift is to look briefly at how faith is portrayed elsewhere. Generally speaking, the New Testament mentions three kinds of faith or, better still, three distinct contexts or circumstances in which faith is exercised. Although not original with me, I will use the terminology that many have found helpful and distinguish between conversion faith, continuing faith and charismatic faith. 

God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered worship happens whenever the mind is filled with deep, robust, expansive, biblical thoughts about who God is and what he has done, which in turn awaken and inflame heart-felt and passionate affections for God such as joy, gladness, delight, gratitude, admiration, love, fear, zeal, and deep satisfaction in all that he is for us in Jesus Christ.