Dr Paul Allen

Serious Opposition In the book Ephesians, Paul spares no effort in describing the seriousness of our opposition. We don’t wrestle with flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers of this present darkness (Eph. 6:12). If that sounds scary, it is because it is meant to. The devil is a very real, very powerful opponent, far too powerful for us to take on in our own strength. This is a salutary reminder to people in our Western context, who are inclined to ridicule the idea of a literal devil. Many find the idea of a cosmic being whom we can’t see, feel, or touch and who promotes evil in this world unthinkable. Of course, the devil in whom they don’t believe is, in their minds, often not the biblical figure but a rather ridiculous image with hooves and horns. Who could seriously believe in that creature? It is convenient for the devil when people don’t believe in his existence. Then he can pursue his nefarious schemes unsuspected and undetected. Yet...

There is a strong anti-Christian sentiment emerging. How will you respond? Atheists are embedded in Universities, newspapers etc. So what will you do? To help you we have a list. First Darwin and Evolution. These are scientists who follow Christ:  Biologos.org   They believe that God directed evolution - they do not believe in evolution but God sovereignly directed all actions leading to Adam and Eve. Some believers struggle with this group as you have sin and death before Adam. But they state the Bible in Genesis describes theology and they describe the process.  Do I agree with everything these men say?  No.  (I don’t even agree with everything I say!)  But I think you’ll find a wealth of wisdom and practical insights about the truth of Christianity from these men and organizations.   I would start with 9.  Lee Strobel . Lee was a Chicago journalist atheist who examined the claims of Christianity and was convinced and got ...

Reconciliation takes us right to the heart of the gospel. It moves us like few other themes in the Bible. Reconciliation crosses distances, overcomes hostility, opens access, melts indifference, and cultivates peace. What could be more relevant in our angry and divided world today? RESTORED TO GOD We once were God ’s enemies (Romans 5:10). Not that we consciously hated God — mostly we were oblivious to our defensive attitude. If anything, we blamed him for not seeming closer to us. But our clueless resistance did not stop God. He moved toward us with love and even with sacrifice through Christ . He took his own righteous wrath against our rage by the atoning death of his Son as our Substitute. No wonder, then, that we “rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ , through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:11). We didn’t earn or deserve our reconciliation, and we didn’t meet God in the middle. We contributed nothing except pouting indifference. God was the one wh...

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” ( Romans 16:20 ) This is an intriguing promise, suggesting that believers can somehow inflict bruises on the devil, who is perpetually seeking to “devour” them ( 1 Peter 5:8 ). This promise is a clear allusion to the primeval assurance of Genesis 3:15 , when God promised that the unique “seed” of “the woman” would eventually “bruise” (actually “crush”) the head of the old serpent, the devil. This prophecy will finally be fulfilled in Christ ’s ultimate victory, when Satan first will be bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit and then confined forever in the lake of fire ( Revelation 20:2 , 10). In the meantime, believers, who also in a sense are the woman’s spiritual “seed” ( Revelation 12:17 ), can repeatedly achieve local and temporary victories over Satan and his wiles by resisting him “stedfast in the faith” ( 1 Peter 5:9 ). If we resist him as ...

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.” ( Colossians 4:2-3 ) This strong command is composed of two very similar Greek terms—gregoreuo, meaning “vigilant” or “alert,” and agrupneo, meaning “be awake.” A similar emphasis is at the end of the classic passage identifying the armor of God: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” ( Ephesians 6:18 ). Our watching must also be with a conscious attitude of thanksgiving during “every remembrance” of each other ( Philippians 1:3 ), particularly since the intercessory request should be focused on asking our Lord Jesus to provide an open door ( Revelation 3:8 ). The Lord is indeed the One who opens the door, but the process for obtaining His action is recorded in Luke 11:9-11 . We ...

No amount of money, genius, or culture can move things for God . Holiness energizing the soul, the whole man aflame with love, with desire for more faith, more prayer, more zeal, more consecration—this is the secret of power. Prayer is the creator as well as the channel of devotion. The spirit of devotion is the spirit of prayer. Prayer and devotion are united as soul and body are united, as life and the heart are united. There is no real prayer without devotion, no devotion without prayer.  The preacher must be surrendered to God in the holiest devotion. He is not a professional man, his ministry is not a profession; it is a divine institution, a divine devotion. He is devoted to God. His aim, aspirations, ambition are for God and to God, and to such prayer is as essential as food is to life.It is prayer-force which makes saints. Holy characters are formed by the power of real praying. The more of true saints, the more of praying; the more of praying, the more of true saint...

Guido Reni's archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Santa Maria della Concezione, Rome) tramples Satan (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Spiritual warfare is real. It might not make the news; but it ought to. Paul acknowledges this in Ephesians 6 : 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. But the weapons of this warfare are often somewhat misunderstood.  In some church circles, for example, it is commonplace to hear pastors and their people talk of “binding Satan ” or “renouncing the devil’s presence” or some such display of confidence. Reasons why this maybe misguided. 1. Satan is (most probably) not in earshot There is a pernicious paranoia that permeates churches today: folks think Satan can hear them speak. Some people unwittingly pad Satan’s résumé to include God ’s unique attributes of omniscience a...

St. Peter Denying Christ, by Gustave Doré (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter by Pietro Perugino (1481-82) Fresco, 335 x 550 cm Cappella Sistina, Vatican. Ελληνικά: Λεπτομέρεια από την νωπογραφία του Πιέτρο Περουτζίνο, Ο Χριστός Παραδίδει τα Κλειδιά στον Πέτρο, 335 x 600 cm, Καπέλα Σιξτίνα, Πόλη του Βατικανού. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1.       Kevin DeYoung ’s Initial Post: “Make Every Effort”   Count the letters carefully: effort is not a four letter word. Even those who believe in blood-bought, Christ -wrought, undeserved, sovereign, gospel grace do not despise effort in the Christian life. How can we?  2 Peter 1:5  tells us to “make every effort.”   Of course, anyone familiar with this passage will remember that the effort enjoined by Peter is God -graced effort. Verse 3 says we have divine power through “knowledge of him.” Verse 4 says we can becom...