Stop Trying to Make Sense of Suffering

Often in the church, we try to figure out exactly what God is doing when we are going through difficult things. Simply put, we shouldn’t do that. The secret things belong to the Lord, and we are not privy to the counsel of God when it comes to our suffering. In today’s episode, Jon and Justin aim to point out things that God has clearly revealed and promised to us in his Word. We do have an unshakable hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is what we cling to–in the midst of joy or pain.

Stop Taking Jesus Out of the Bible

We believe that all of the Bible–from Genesis to Revelation–is a testimony about Jesus. We believe there is law and gospel in the Old and New Testaments. These convictions are historical, confessional, Reformed convictions. Yet, many in our day get very nervous about seeing Christ in all of the Bible and of understanding the Scriptures in terms of law and gospel. Our fear is that, at the end of it, well-meaning people discourage the saints from seeing Christ for them in all of the Scriptures. Jon and Justin talk about this on today’s episode.

There Will Be Weakness

We are often made to think that the Christian life is one where we move from triumph to triumph–and from spiritual experience to spiritual experience. But that is not reality. It is not the promise of the Scripture. This side of the resurrection, we are learning to trust Christ in the midst of weakness and the battle against the flesh. We are learning to depend more upon grace. It is not a bad thing for us to come to a place where we know Christ is all we have. The guys consider all of this in today’s episode.

This World Is a Sinking Ship

We all tend to hope in things of this world that will ultimately disappoint us. Our anger and frustration and despair make this abundantly clear. Jon and Justin talk about some of these things we tend to hope in–and how the church, at points, has only encouraged us to do so. At the end of it all, peace, rest, and hope can only be found in Jesus Christ and the promises God has made to us in him.

Fantasy Christianity

If you listen to many in the church, our Christian lives should be characterized by happiness, excitement, and by overcoming difficulty. But, this life is often characterized by pain, toil, and suffering. What do we do with that? And what is it that we’re called to in the church?

How Long, Oh Lord?

The question, “How long, O Lord?” has been asked by saints for millennia. It is littered throughout the psalter (6, 13, 35, 79, 80, 89, 90, 94) from the pens of David, Asaph, and Moses. There are the wrestlings of Asaph in Psalms 73 and 77. Then, there is Psalm 88, which begins and ends in darkness—while acknowledging the Lord is the God of our salvation. God’s people have repeatedly cried out to him, “Lord, how long will it be like this?”

Where Is God In COVID19?

It is fair to say that all humans struggle with the problem of evil. If God is sovereign, why doesn’t he remove all the evil in this world? Why did he allow it in the first place? Can God truly be good if he has the power to stop evil but doesn’t? The harder you try to answer these questions, the more confused you will become. For thousands of years, humanity has wrestled with these questions.