Dr Paul Allen

God never speaks to us in startling ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand, and we say, “I wonder if that is God’s voice?” Isaiah said that the Lord spake to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of circumstances. Nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking. Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence? Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life will become a romance. Every time circumstances press, say, “Speak, Lord”; make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline, it is meant to get me to the place of saying, “Speak, Lord.” Recall the time when God did speak to you. Have you forgotten what He said? Was it Luke 11:13, or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23? As we listen, our ear gets acute, and, like Jesus , we shall hear God all the time. Shall I tell my “ Eli ” what God has shown to me? That is where the dilemma of obedience comes in. We disobey God by becoming amateur providences — I must shield “Eli,” the best peo...

As he approached the final days of his ministry, the Apostle Paul set his thoughts on the future well-being of Timothy, his "beloved child" in the faith (2 Tim. 1:2). He wrote to him about the things that matter most for life and ministry. Not only did Paul commend to his young protégé the glorious gospel of God (vv. 8–10) and the divinely inspired Scriptures ( 3:16 –17), but he also instructed Timothy regarding the importance of sound doctrine: "Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus .  By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you" ( 1:13 –14). According to Paul, doctrine is among the things that matter most for the well-being of the Christian and the church. Sound, or "healthy," doctrine provides a pattern that, when followed, promotes healthy faith and love. Sound doctrine is a valuable heritage that is to be treasured in this gene...

Modesty. Fewer words in Biblical theology have greater potential of moving large groups of professing Christian women to hate you. Fewer words in Biblical theology have more diverse associations.  Fewer words in Biblical theology have more associated confusion.  Fewer words get serious exploration, since  everyone  already knows that it means, right? Not so fast.  So what does the word “ modesty ” actually mean, like  in the Bible ?   If you look up “modesty”in your ESV , you’ll strangely come across only two occurrences:  1 Cor. 12:23  and  1 Tim. 2:9  (there’s zero occurrences of “modest”). Now that doesn’t mean that the  concept  doesn’t occur more frequently, but rather that the English Bible translates a Greek term as “modesty” only twice. In case you’re wondering if I’ve stacked the deck because of my chosen Bible version , that’s hardly the case.  The  NIV  only has those two occurre...

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” ( Philippians 2:8 )   The only begotten Son of God substituted Himself for all humanity to save them from the righteous judgment of a thrice-holy Creator.   Jesus found Himself “in fashion as a man,” which therefore made it possible for Him to humble Himself and to become obedient to the death that had been ordained for Him prior to the very foundation of the world ( 1 Peter  1:20 ).   Perhaps it is too much to suggest that Jesus “woke up” when He “found” Himself in Mary’s womb, but it is certain that He “increased in wisdom” ( Luke  2:52 ) as He grew in “stature.” Basically, because He “became” human, He experienced the normal increase in awareness and experience that all of us do.   The difference was, obviously, that He “humbled” Himself, even though He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” ( Hebr...

One mark of Christian authenticity is discontentment with anything less than “all the fullness of God ” ( Ephesians   3:19 ). Coasting is not discipleship. Drifting in self-contentment is not like basking in the pool of security, but like floating, fast asleep, toward the falls. “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not  drift away ” (Hebrews 2:1). There is a holy discontentment . It is not a nail-biting uncertainty about our standing with God. It is the increased appetite of those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good ( 1 Peter 2:2–3). It is the pursuit of those who have been pursued and captured by the strong arms of love. “Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I  press on  so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus ” ( Philippians   3:12 ). Therefore, the biblical passages that follow are a way of waking our drowsy souls to feel a p...

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love.” ( 1 John 4:16 ) It is said that the most quoted verse in all the Bible is the passage in John 3:16: “ For God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Surely that is a magnificent testimony to the love God has for us, and without it none of us would know God. “We love him, because he first loved us” ( 1 John 4:19 ). But God “loved righteousness, and hated iniquity” ( Hebrews 1:9 ). How is it that God “commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” ( Romans 5:8 )? “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” ( 1 John 4:10 ). Human love is usually reciprocal. That is, we love if and when we are loved in return. Yet those of us who are twice-born are commanded to love each other, and the godly husband is...

Few things in the Bible attract more attention than prophecies about the end times. Even people with only a passing acquaintance with the Bible know that it foretells a second coming of Jesus . Those who study the Bible know the book of Revelation reveals that the second coming brings an end to the reign of the antichrist (the “beast”; Rev 19:11–21). The risen Christ, the incarnation of God, returns to earth not as a suffering Savior, but as the glorious warrior-king. But does the Bible describe an earlier return of Jesus —one that precedes this triumphant arrival? The “ Rapture ” Some Christians believe that 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 describes how all believers will be taken from earth, dead or alive, at an appearing of Jesus before the second coming described in Revelation 19. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive...