While preparing for our recent series on the “one anothers,” it seemed every article I read, every book I picked up, and every podcast I heard mentioned the growing epidemic of loneliness in America. You do not have to be a social scientist or a researcher to know that people are increasingly lonely and discouraged. Loneliness and discouragement are unfortunate consequences of living in a fallen world, but this does not mean we have to allow these two feelings to dominate our lives and cause despair.

Since various types of suffering are part of humanity’s experience, Paul encourages Christians to continually “encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). In today’s culture, too many Christians are living isolated from the body of Christ.

Like many families, we spend a portion of each Saturday doing household chores. On one such occasion, I had a difficult time opening a bottle of cleaner. I repeatedly twisted the cap. Squeezed. But only a few drops of liquid squirted out each time. Frustrated by the dysfunction of the cap, I decided to cut a hole in the top. Before locating the scissors, I noticed a strange and unusual word written on the back of the bottle: Instructions.

When we speak of Christian devotion, there are certain practices that immediately come to mind. Spiritual activities such as Bible study, prayer, service, worship, and evangelism are what we typically think about when gauging someone’s devotion to Christ. While all of these are obviously essential to our relationship with Christ, there are two important practices God calls us to devote our lives to that are often overlooked: fellowship and breaking bread.

What will Grace Baptist Church’s role be in the coming months? It is difficult to answer this question with any degree of certainty. So rather than seeking specific solutions to questions we can’t answer, let’s focus on what we can do: we can pray for our church and for one another.

As I consider the hours, days, weeks, and months ahead, here is my prayer for Grace Baptist Church:

In his classic work, The Existence and Attributes of God, Stephen Charnock writes, “That a God upon a throne should be an infant in a cradle; the thundering Creator be a weeping babe and a suffering man, are such expressions of mighty power, as well as condescending love, that they astonish men upon earth, and angels in heaven.” The wondrous power of God to have the ability to take on human flesh, and the sacrificial love to do so for the sake of sinners, is what makes the Christmas season so magnificent.

October of 2023 turned out to be a profoundly remarkable month in world history, and not for encouraging reasons. Without question, the biggest event of the month was Hamas’s ruthless attack on the nation of Israel. The attack was so vicious President Joe Biden described Hamas’s actions as “pure unadulterated evil.” Personally, I find President Biden’s pointed description of Hamas’s attack not only accurate, but also profoundly intriguing.

The Lord’s Prayer is not a formula given for Christians to hang on our walls as a decoration or a mantra that we robotically repeat again and again for the purpose of manipulating God or attempting to earn His divine favor. Instead, it is given as a pattern for us to follow. Prayer can quickly be reduced to a mindless activity that we do simply because we know we should. Jesus’s model prayer calls us to something greater than monotonous chanting like that of the medieval monks.

Stories of adversity and hardship fill today’s headlines. Human suffering is, sadly, an inevitable dynamic of the human experience. Accounts of anguish and ruin are also easily found in the pages of Scripture. One such case is recorded in the seventeenth chapter of 1 Kings.

   How often are you moved by mercy? Does the suffering raging in the world arrest your attention? Or do you live with little concern for the needs of others? In Matthew 5:42, Jesus commands His disciples to “give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” Most of us would, I believe, willingly admit that selfishness regularly makes us stingy with our financial resources. Because we are selfish by nature, it is often difficult to sacrifice for the needs of others. And yet, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us to willingly give to those who are in genuine need.

During a recent family outing, my wife, Michelle, had to stop by Walmart to pick up a few items. Shopping is not really my thing, so I eagerly waited in the car with our kids. Promising she didn’t have much to buy, Michelle assured that she would be quick. For the first several minutes, everything was fine; the kids were talking and laughing in the backseat while I listened to music and thought about nothing in particular.

As expected, it wasn’t terribly long before the first frustrated cry of, “What’s taking Mom so long?” erupted from the backseat. A few minutes passed before the predictable exaggeration came: “Mom’s taking forever!”

Life is often confusing and overwhelming. There are decisions to be made, but we are often unsure what the right course of action is. Life can come at us quickly, making it feel like we are flying an airplane while trying to build it mid-flight. There are moments when we are not sure if we are going to stay in the air or crash to the ground. During the moments when our lives seem to be spiraling out of control, we need direction and stability. Managing life’s responsibilities can leave us exhausted and bewildered. That is why one person quipped, “I have been putting a lot of thought into it, and I just don’t think being an adult is going to work for me.”

Life can be certainly perplexing, but there is a way to keep our bearings and successfully manage whatever may come our way.

Living in this rapidly secularizing culture should remind Christians of how desperately we need the body of Christ. We are called to boldly stand as salt and light in this world. To do so, we need the church. In this time of moral insanity, we desperately need biblically sound, doctrinally faithful local churches that remain unapologetically committed to the proclamation of the gospel.

Last month, I considered the question: what is the church? In the previous article I discussed the New Testament imagery used to describe the church. In this article, I will briefly answer the question: why do we need the church? I will provide six reasons the church is valuable to Christians.

Doing what comes easily is rarely spiritually valuable. Habits that produce constructive changes in our lives take intentionality, consistency, and patience. Habits that mature us spiritually never–yes I am confident in the word–never develop by accident. Because our flesh fights against that which will make us more like Jesus, we must fight back and habitually choose actions that will make us increasingly like Jesus.

In Psalm 71, we find three specific habits that will help us reach our spiritual goal of Christlikeness.

As 2023 begins, I wonder who will be lord of your life in the coming months. When the angel announced the birth of Jesus, he was called Christ the Lord. Many people call Jesus their Lord, but fail to live as if he is actually the one ruling their hearts and lives. So often, our language is flippant and reckless; we say one thing, meaning another. We boldly claim that we are going to obey God, and yet blatantly disobey His word. “Lord” is a word that is often thrown around in Christian circles with little regard for its actual meaning. If we are going to claim Jesus as Lord of our lives, we need to be sure that we are using the word accurately.

We live in an angry country where people are eager to unleash their discourteous anger at the drop of a hat. In a culture that incessantly worships individualism and absolute autonomy, disrespectful and cruel speech has become the norm. Like it or not, it’s the way it is. Rude and disrespectful people are easy to find.

Maybe, you’re one of them.

Whenever I hear people speak who are in gospel ministry in various parts of the world, my heart is always encouraged. It is tempting to develop a myopic view of the world and only see what is right before our eyes.

In John 8:44 Jesus confronts his opponents by saying, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has shamelessly opposed God while promoting his crafty lies to humanity. It is important to note the essential truths were learn about Satan in this single verse of Scripture:

1. Satan is a murderer: he does not have anyone’s best interest in mind other than his own.

2. Satan has nothing to do with truth: he categorically rejects God and His commandments.

3. Satan contains no truth: his character is perfectly evil; there is nothing about Satan that is wholesome.

4. Satan is the father of lies: he effectively creates deceit in order to lead individuals down the path to spiritual destruction.

Given the unholy character of Satan, believers must pay careful attention to Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 6:10-20. In verse 11 of this passage, Paul writes, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” The armor of God is necessary for Christians to successfully stand against the vicious strategies of the devil. Satan is very real, and too powerful for even the most mature believer to defeat in his or her own strength.

“Schemes” is a translation of the Greek word methodeia, from which we get the English word “method” or “methodology.” Methodeia means “cunning arts, deceit, craftiness, trickery, or deception.” The word was used to describe a wild animal stalking its prey before attacking for the purpose of destruction. Paul’s imagery could hardly be clearer. Like a roaring lion, Satan is actively plotting and scheming against God’s people (see 1 Peter 5:8). He cunningly exploits the sinful desires residing in individual hearts to draw people away from God and His truth. Although Satan is not omniscient, he has observed humanity long enough to know what temptations are particularly effective. Because his character is unholy, he purposefully schemes to spiritually destroy as many people as possible.

Satan’s schemes are insidious; they are a perfectly baited and camouflaged trap waiting to ensnare and crush those who are not spiritually prepared. The devil makes use of various schemes to gain a spiritual advantage over individuals. He masterfully dresses up and disguises evil to make it attractive. Evil can quickly gain a foothold in a believer’s life because it is attractive, desirable, and seemingly legitimate. The devil’s chicanery makes sin appear reasonable and harmless.

Christians would be wise to consider Satan’s most familiar schemes. Six examples of common temptations would include:

1. Temptation to be hopeless: when individuals lose hope, they quickly spiral into despair. Those without hope often become consumed with anger, bitterness, and resentment. Hopeless people are easy targets for Satan’s spiritual attacks. When tempted to lose hope, recall the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.”

2. Temptation to be proud: pride is a common temptation; it is one Satan loves to employ. When persons think more highly of themselves than they should, they have little use for God and His Word. Proud people are conceited and readily look down upon others. Proud individuals believe they can live life on their terms, and typically rely on rationalizations and excuses to justify sinful decisions. When tempted with pride, recall the familiar words of Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

3. Temptation to be doubtful: when Christians doubt and question God’s goodness, discouragement and disbelief are not far behind. Individuals who question God’s character will open themselves to distrust. And distrust of God makes one particularly prone to the devil's wicked plots. When tempted with doubt, recall the words of Psalm 62:8, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

4. Temptation to be impure: typically, impurity begins in the mind. Persistent patterns of sinful thinking produce sinful behaviors. Desires for pleasure, comfort, control, convenience, and praise can lead believers down various paths to sinfulness. The list of impurities is endless; therefore, there is not a believer who is impervious to this temptation. When tempted with impurity, recall the words of 1 Peter 1:15, “He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”

5. Temptation to be passive: it is easy to let our guard down and believe Satan has abandoned ship. Like a sniper firing from a rooftop, Satan often attacks when it is least expected. Satan is such a cunning enemy, he sometimes pauses his assault in hopes of discovering a more expedient time to serve up temptation. When tempted with passivity, recall Peter’s words in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

6. Temptation to be autonomous: the illusion of self-sufficiency and personal autonomy convinces people that they do not need God and have no responsibility to obey His commandments. Most individuals want to be the captain of their own lives and answer to no one but themselves. When tempted with autonomy, recall Jesus’s words in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

As a Christian entering the spiritual battlefield, do not be discouraged by the fiery darts of the devil’s cunning antics. Living in the midst of spiritual warfare guarantees that all of God’s people will face temptation. While Temptations will come, Christians have no reason to fear. According to Ephesians 1:20-23, Christ has already defeated the forces of evil; therefore, followers of Christ have no need to fear the devil or his minions. This does not mean, however, that these wicked forces do not have sway over people living in this age. Individual Christians are not called to win the victory which has already been won by Jesus on the cross. But believers are called to withstand the devil’s attacks. In Christ, Christians stand in victory on this side of the cross. Satan may rage and rattle his saber, but through Jesus Christ he is a defeated enemy who cannot destroy us.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, believers can stand strong. Put on and take up the whole armor of God, and courageously stand. Wrapped in God’s armor, Christians will be able to stand against the fiery darts of the wicked one. Because this spiritual conflict will continue until the end of the age, God’s people must be properly equipped. Ephesians 4:27 calls Christians to “give no opportunity to the devil.” While Satan and his forces are formidable foes, their attacks can be resisted through the strength of the Lord and His armor.

As James says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12).

President Joe Biden made history last week when he announced the federal government will be forgiving thousands of student loans. This unprecedented decision will cost American taxpayers millions of dollars. As with most political decisions, this course of action has been met with a variety of responses.