Dr Paul Allen

Christians need clarification and encouragement. When things are difficult, asking why they are so hard is easy. There may or may not be specific answers to this question, yet the Scriptures remind us that the people of God have, in every season, faced opposition—yet not without purpose. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his commentary on Acts 6, said: The Church has had to fight for her life from the very beginning. We have seen how the apostles were arrested and thrown into prison, how they were threatened, and how they were commanded to stop preaching. From the moment it was born, the church has faced a world that has done everything it could to exterminate Christianity. Although this tempts us to be more anxious than anchored, it reminds us that what we face is not entirely unprecedented. It also causes us to look to the early church to see how they faced difficult circumstances and remained faithful. The life of Stephen, in particular, can help us understand how we are to live. Stephen wa...

Author: JOSH DAFFERN A Bible passage not normally looked at is John 6:66 and the time the crowds tried to force Jesus’ hand and make him king by force, and not only did that not happen, but everything went sideways and by the end, Jesus lost most of his followers. Hidden within this story is a powerful message for Christians today. Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. John 6:1-2 The biggest reason people followed Jesus wasn’t because of what he taught. In fact, most folks probably wished Jesus would stop talking because every time he talked people got upset. People followed Jesus because of the miracles. Because he healed the sick. I mean, what’s not to love about free healthcare? So, one of the times when the crowds followed Jesus, Jesus decided to feed them: Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was ...

It is no accident that Christ said, “By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another” (John 13:35). He did not say they will know you by your politics, your simple living, or your dress. None of these things are primary, outward distinguishing marks of Christians. Neither do we look alike, eat alike, or speak alike. But there is something that marks Christians outwardly. What is the distinguishing mark of the Christian community? It is gospel love—unfettered, abounding, sacrificial, giving love. Why is love above all the distinguishing mark of our community? Because God is love. More specifically, our God is love. We know love beyond all others on earth. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). We are recipients of unfathomable, demonstrable, efficacious, otherworldly love. So, love is what marks the Christian body. Love is what we do, because love is...

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. LUKE 24:27 A word for the troubled? Yes, it was certainly that. But the two people who were making their way back to Emmaus from Jerusalem on a Sunday morning following Jesus’ crucifixion were more than troubled. They were devastated. They had been following Jesus for years. They thought he was God’s Messiah who was going to drive out the occupying Roman armies, free his people from their bondage to Rome, and restore the glory of the fallen house of David. But suddenly Jesus had been arrested and killed, and their great dream had ended. It had been exciting while it lasted. But their hopes had died with their Master, and they were going home. What else could they do? If Jesus were living, they might have been able to handle almost anything. But their faith had been shattered, and there was nothing for them to do but go home and get on with the sad task of pickin...

Have you ever asked yourself who was the author of one of the books in the Bible ? Or, have you asked how did the author know about certain events in his book? Are you curious about who recorded what happened in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed by Himself? Maybe you want to know who was at the events in the garden of Gethsemane. If you do, then you can learn the answer in what follows. Who Recorded What Happened in the Garden of Gethsemane? The Bible tells us that there are two authors of each book of the Bible. 2 Peter 1:20-21 reveals the identity of the two authors. The verses read as follows, But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 Peter 1 :20-21 (NASB) The verse explains the two authors of Scripture or the Bible are the Holy Spirit and a human author. The Holy Spirit moved men to write. The Greek word translat...

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought much destruction to the health and wealth of the world. Our lives have changed dramatically and will be affected for the unforeseeable future.  It has also brought about a whole lot of conspiracy theories. Some that might have at least a tiny bit of truth in them and others that can only be described as plain dumb. But nothing I’ve seen can come close to compare to the dumbest conspiracy theory in history.  I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. It happened about two thousand years ago. The story goes that eleven men stole a dead body in the middle of the night from a well-guarded tomb and began spreading the rumour that this man had been raised from the dead. The Bible though tells us exactly what happened.   An angel appeared, removed the stone, and the two guards who were there fainted at the sight of the angel.  Perhaps fearful for their lives instead of going to the governor, they sought advice from the p...

The Gospels show us not only who Jesus is but how Jesus loves his people. Jesus moved toward the women in his life with kindness and love. Don't misinterpret this! A number of women travelled with Jesus and “were helping to support them out of their own means” [Luke 8:2]. A cursory reading of this passage could overlook the fact that there were many others travelling with Jesus besides the three named women : “. . . and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna, the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others” [Luke 8:3]. The gender of “many others” in the Greek text is feminine, so there is no mistaking the fact that these were women. This fact is of extraordinary significance. In Judaism, women were exempt from learning the Torah. They might learn a great deal informally, as they did through synagogue teaching, but a woman would not on her own to ent...

One of the most exciting times of my life was when I was first converted to Christ. I was filled with a zeal for evangelism. However, much to my consternation, when I told my friends about my conversion to Christ, they thought I was crazy. They were tragically amused, remaining unconvinced despite my sharing the gospel with them. Finally, they asked me, “Why don’t you start a class and teach us what you have learned about Jesus?” They were serious. I was elated. We scheduled a time to meet, and I got there a little bit early—but they never showed up. Despite my profound desire for evangelism, I was a failure at it. This realization came to me early in my ministry. Yet, I also discovered that there are many people whom Christ has called and whom He has gifted by His Spirit to be particularly effective in evangelism. To this day, I’m surprised if anybody attributes their conversion in some part to my influence. In one respect, I’m glad that the Great Commission is not a commission p...

When Jesus tells us to follow him he doesn’t mean to subscribe to his updates on social media .  ‘ Follow ’ has come to mean a click of a button that indicates a momentary interest in reading other things someone has written. The truth is we can’t  really  follow thousands of people. All too soon our social media feed becomes clogged with stuff we are simply not interested in. Jesus is calling for us to follow him in a much stronger sense. He commands us to follow  only  him: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and  follow me . For whoever would save his life will lose it, but  whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ” ( Matt. 16:24–25) “ Follow me , and I will make you become fishers of men .” ( Mark 1:17) “I am the light of the world;  he who follows me  will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ( John 8:12 ) “ Follow me , and leave the dead to bury their o...

What are the Gospels? The Gospels are, the biographies of Jesus Christ? When we read the Gospels as biographies only, we basically look at them like trees apart from the proverbial forest. There is a better way to read and hear them.  The Gospels are biography, but they are theological interpretations of the life of Jesus Christ with the purpose of proclaiming the coming of the king of Israel and the inauguration of His kingdom over all the earth. When read this way, we are enabled to read the gospel in the Gospels as the announcement of the fulfillment of the prophets' promises. Among their promises were that a king would come to Israel, as the Lord promised to Abram (Gen. 17:6), to Judah (Gen. 49:10), to David (2 Sam. 7:12-13), and to the people of God through Solomon's song (Ps. 72) and Zechariah's prophecy (Zech. 9:9). When this king would come, He would usher in a kingdom of peace for all nations (Isa. 2:2-4, 9:1-7). We see this coming king and His kingdom in liv...

What does Jesus mean?  20:17 Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended. Mary was expressing a desire to hold on to His physical presence for fear that she would once again lose Him. Jesus’ reference to His ascension signifies that He would only be temporarily with them and though she desperately wanted Him to stay, He could not. Jesus was with them only for 40 more days and then He ascended (Acts 1:3–11). After He went to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit (“The Helper”) so that they would not feel abandoned ( see note on 14:18, 19 ).  Mary had known Jesus personally as a Man. She had seen miracles happen when He was bodily present. So she concluded that if He was not with her in a visible way, then she could have no hope of blessing. The Lord must correct her thinking. He said, “Do not cling to Me simply as a Man in the flesh. I have not yet ascended to My Father . When I do return to heaven, the Holy Spirit will be sent down to the earth. When He come...