Originally published April 19, 2016
I recently had a friend ask me a question about a verse in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul will have passages where every verse seems to have different possible interpretations and where they can seem impossibly difficult. As I was researching this complicated passage, I couldn’t help but think “The Old Testament is so much simpler!” (more…)
Billy Graham’s last will and testament was released to the public today. The great evangelist died in February.
In the frist section, he encourages people to take up Godly devotion in their daily lives and to defend the gospel.
I commit myself wholly into the hands of my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing by God’s Word that through His shed blood my sins have been atoned for and taken away and that through His merits I shall be presented faultless in the presence of His glory.
When you read this I will be safely with Jesus in Paradise. I will be awaiting the reunion of our family in Heaven. Time on earth is so short. It seems only yesterday that I was a little boy playing on the family farm near Charlotte. It seems only yesterday that I took your mother on our first date on the second Sunday of December, 1940. It seems only yesterday that we were married on the full moonlit night in August, 1943. It seems only yesterday that I opened a letter from your mother to say that we were expecting our first child in the fall of 1945.
That idea is what struck me in his note.
Billy Graham lived 99 years. And yet even long lives are still so short.
I’m in my thirties. Billy Graham was older than some of my great grandparents. But it is amazing how quickly time goes by. Memories of my youth, events that happened over a quarter century ago “seem only yesterday.”
Life is short. And while we’re so tempted to all assume that we will have long lives, no one knows when the last day will be. It’s easy to take time for granted. But it’s finite and fleeting.
As I think about Billy Graham, he was a man who had his first priority right: living a life that revolved around the gospel.
There’s no time to wait. We need to live for God today. If you don’t know Jesus, or if you do but you have never really taken that relationship seriously, don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Today is the day.
Childhood seems only yesterday. And even for those who live Billy Graham lifespans, the last day will seem like only tomorrow. Live for Jesus today!
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
-1 Peter 5:6-7
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
Like the rest of the world, I watched the royal wedding yesterday as Prince Harry married Meghan Markle.
It was an event.
The pomp, the grand locations of the ceremony and various celebrations. The guest list was star studded including the likes of George Clooney, David Beckham, Sir Elton John, Idris Elba, and even Oprah.
The media made such a fuss over the guests, the royal family, everyone’s outfits.
The wedding of the year.
I wasn’t invited. And you probably weren’t either. We don’t know the royal family and we’re not famous.
At the end of the Bible, a great feast is depicted. The wedding supper of the lamb. What a fitting picture of the heavenly celebration. A wedding feast. A joyous occasion. And that will be the event of all eternity.
And being royal, or rich, or famous is not the basis for a person’s invitation. All that matters is that you know Jesus and believe in him as Lord and savior.
You’re invited! How will you RSVP?
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
Adapted from a piece published June 8, 2014
We all know that Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ. And we know that Easter is the recognition of the persecution, execution, and resurrection of Jesus. But Pentecost Sunday is an annual event which is also of major significance. It is sometimes referred to as the Church’s “birthday.”
“Pentecost” comes from the Greek word for 50. Pentecost Sunday occurs 7 weeks after Easter every year (this year, on May 20). The first Pentecost Sunday is recorded in Acts 2.
In the Old Testament, a promise was given of a time when the Spirit would be given to believers (Ezek. 36:26-27). Towards the end of his ministry, Jesus promised to give the Holy Spirit to his followers (Luke 24:49).
Today, everyone who has faith has the Spirit. This is a change in the way how man relates to God, and that change began on the first Pentecost Sunday. And that is why the day matters. The day represents a paradigm shift in God’s plan for salvation and redemption.
Why does having the Holy Spirit matter? Books could be written answering that question, but here are a few brief examples of the purpose of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit indwells the regenerate believer meaning that the Spirit of God is in a person (Rom. 8:11). The Spirit illuminates which enables the believer to understand God’s will and the scripture (1 Cor. 2:14). The Spirit also convicts people of sin (John 16:7-8). The Spirit guides people in truth, because the Spirit is God and testifies to truth for those who follow and discerning the leading of the Spirit (John 16:13). The Spirit equips people by giving believers Spiritual gifts. Every believer has at least one gift from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:11). The gifts are meant to be utilized by glorifying God in accordance with people ministering to others and maturing in love and knowledge of God. The Spirit empowers believers by continually progressing them in holiness and into the likeness of Jesus(2 Cor. 3:18).
The Spirit equips believers with gifts for believers in the Church to carry out their ministries for the sake of building up the body of Christ in the Church until the time Jesus returns (1 Cor. 1:7). Once the believer has been equipped with a gift by the Spirit, it is something which the believer has, because the gifts which they have are the unique parts which those individuals are of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-26).
The Spirit equips with gifts but the Spirit also gives what’s called “fruit.” When the fruit of the Spirit is discussed (Gal. 5:16-26), it is referring to characteristics which are indicators of the Christian life. A significant point of difference between the two is that all Christians have at least one gift. But if there is an area where someone has not been gifted (such as teaching), a believer should not necessarily desire to have that gift. Instead, people should focus on using the gifts which they do have to bring glory and honor to God. With the fruit of the Holy Spirit, those are all qualities which are desirable.
There is a book I would recommend which I’ve read on the Holy Spirit which I would recommend: “He who gives life: the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit” by Graham A. Cole. It’s a very thorough book that talks about the theology of the Holy Spirit.
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
