Dr Paul Allen

Two weeks before Christmas, my heart stopped. Seated next to me in a congregational meeting, my wife sees me close my eyes and slump. After a few seconds, the old ticker providentially revives “on its own.” It happens four times during that meeting. Maybe I’m just too inactive, I think. Perhaps if I get up and walk around a bit, I can get the juices flowing, and whatever is going on will clear up. While I’m pacing in the church lobby, one of the elders says he doesn’t think I look quite right. I call my physician, and he recommends that I get to the emergency room for an evaluation. I’m not to drive myself. In the emergency room, the surgeon hooks me up to a bunch of wires and asks a whole battery of questions to diagnose what’s going on. “Are there heart problems in your family?” “Yes, my dad died of a heart attack at 60. So did his dad.” “But do you feel pain?” “None.” “Did you feel dizzy?” “Not really. The room wasn’t spinning. I wasn’t nauseous.” “Did you pass out?” “Not really. I ...

Sometimes, even if we know that something is wrong, it can take a bit to see the ugly side. Like anything else that Scripture warns us about, anxiety also has some very damaging effects.  The New Testament word for anxiety, 'merimna', is also translated as “care” or “worry.” Because anxiety is real and prevalent in our world, so is the impact. And while anxiety may come from imagined scenarios, real and present issues, or a sense of impending doom, a life of perpetual anxiety makes it impossible to love God and neighbor as we should. Regardless of the cause or source, anxiety disrupts life on multiple levels. PHYSICAL EFFECTS There is a reason that Jesus asked, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matt. 6:27). We all know that anxiety is not the key to healthy longevity. Feeling scared, feeling down, and losing sleep is just the beginning. While conditions such as chronic pain, disability, or long-term illness can spawn anxiety, things...

The self-esteem movement as we know it really began when Adam and Eve ate the fruit in Eden . Before that, self-esteem wasn’t an issue. Adam and Eve were not lost, and so had no need to “find themselves.” They had healthy self-esteem because they knew God and esteemed him above all things, certainly above themselves. This made them healthy selves, secure in their identity as children of God and complementary members of each other. Their self-esteem was rooted in a glorious humility, and defined and experienced in a God-designed community where they both knew and were known by God. But that changed when they (and all of us since) detached themselves from God in their effort to be “like God” (Genesis 3:5). Self-esteem became rooted in pride, and seeking it became infected with selfish ambition. It mutated from a God-glorifying, complementary pursuit into a self-glorifying, competitive pursuit. Looking in the Wrong Places Around the turn of the twentieth century, theories o...

Walking down the long hospital hallway, I approached the room in the emergency area where they had told me she would be found. As I came near the door, I found a security guard sitting there. He looked at me with sympathy as I identified myself and, with a warning and sad shaking of his head, gave me permission to enter. I stepped into the room, my eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. On the bed, I began to make out the figure of a woman lying there, the loose-fitting hospital gown twisted around her. She was curled up, yet rocking and even writhing about on the bed. Groaning, she had her back to me. But the moment I spoke, she jerked up and, turning, glared at me. ”I know who you are,” she growled at me with eyes I could now see were wild with fear and anger. “You are Mr. Holy-Holy-Holy!” The next moments stunned me. Despite past experiences of being near and ministering to people high on drugs, involved in the occult, or living in mental asylums, never had I witnessed anythin...

Español: Imagen del Mercado Medieval Tres Culturas, celebrado en Aranda de Duero del 13 al 15 de marzo de 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Conventional Western medicine fails miserably at considering this holistic view . So engrossed with what can be numerically measured and scientifically proven, it often neglects the human spirit, treating patients as bundles of body parts and malfunctioning cells sitting in an isolated exam room. To be sure, there are individual doctors whose compassion and care challenge the system, but as a whole the system leaves little room for the time and heart it takes to treat patients holistically. There is no doubt that the advances of modern medicine have vastly improved our quality of life and life span. I worry, however,that Western medicine itself can become idolatrous if it causes us to rely solely on scientific certainty and our own ability to master the human body instead of humbly admitting that we don't know and can't fix everything...

Is Drinking Alcohol a Sin? Most recently, John Piper addressed this in another Ask Pastor John podcast , “ Is Drinking Alcohol a Sin? ” He takes the same basic approach, but he seems to have softened in his desire to persuade others to abstain. Was drinking deadly in Jesus' culture? For more from Piper on this subject, see these additional sources: “Don’t Turn to Alcohol, Turn to the Spirit ,” in “ Be Filled with the Spirit ,” a sermon on Ephesians 5:18 preached on March 8, 1981 “ The Issue Is Scripture! ” Taste and See article, October 20, 1981 “ Is It a Sin to Smoke or Eat Junk Food? ” Ask Pastor John podcast, February 1, 2008 Related articles Leaders and Alcohol (proverbialthought.com) Government bans supermarkets from offering cheap deals on alcohol (mirror.co.uk) Overcoming Alcohol Addiction (health-host.co.uk) Alcoholism (sharmamanisha.wordpress.com) Alcohol That Gives You The Worst Hangover (4umf.com) How Much Alcohol Causes a Hangover - and the B...

Most people think that sinning is the best way to happiness. Otherwise, why would so many spend their days figuring out how to sin bigger and better? However, sin is the greatest enemy to our happiness, as the  Puritan Ralph Venning  convincingly demonstrated many years ago. His teaching is summarized below, but his aim in it all was to show that sin is directly “against man ’s good, both present and future, here in time and hereafter to eternity, in this life and world which now is and in that to come. It is against all and every good of man, and against the good of all and every man.” 1. It is against God and therefore against ourselves . Sin is our enemy because it is against God, and separates us from God, who is our greatest good and joy. 2. It is against the good of our body . It has corrupted our blood, made our bodies mortal, rendered us liable to and thereby vile. Before this body is laid in the grave, it is languishing, in a continual consumption,...

Do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17 We must choose to pursue wisdom . It’s up to each of us to determine how we will walk through this life. Wisdom is not something a person stumbles into or acquires automatically; it must be sought out and pursued.  The person who walks in wisdom is very aware of his life, how he affects the world, and how the world affects him. He recognizes that every person faces three enemies in life: the world system, the flesh, and the devil.  He seeks to know God ’s plan and purpose—not only for his personal life but also for every situation involving other people around him. Related articles Rewards of Character (kelliconrad.wordpress.com) This Is Exactly Why I Chose Not To Get A Life Coach Certification (youuniversityonline.com) Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Path to Success (calebsermons.com) Wisdom (womenofbslc.wordpress.com) Prospering of The Spirit (faultedyetchosen.wordpress.com) ...

English: Sunday school area within Christ Church, Gosport (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In the pastorate you have to master the seemingly impossible art of having, at the same time, thick and thin skin . How can you possibly pull off such a feat? And why would such a chameleon-like skill even be desirable? First, why do you need thick skin ? In a word, as pastor you will receive your fair share of criticism . The lion’s share of criticism should be placed into the “ignore this stuff” category. People often complain about the silliest things: the time of the worship service , how frequently the church holds activities, the types of illustrations you use in your sermons, the fact that you pick the same hymn too frequently, the color of your tie, or the kind of beverage you drink (for the record, I’ve personally had all of these complaints). I have to say with great glee, that I simply smile, note the complaint, and then move on. I let the words flow off my back like water off a duc...

Joel Osteen (Photo credit: cliff1066™ ) ”I am aware of the theological differences that exist between our tribe and Pastor Joel. I also know my Reformed brothers like to treat Pastor Joel like a piñata, but there are worse things than being happy and encouraging at a time when the most common prescription medications are antidepressants. A few guys in our tribe could learn to talk about something other than painful, arduous suffering once and a while—if nothing else than for the sake of variety. Our identity is not in our joy, and our identity is not in our suffering. Our identity is in Christ , whether we have joy or are suffering.” Related articles Pastor Mark Driscoll Might Give You an iPad if You Praise His Book on Amazon (slog.thestranger.com) Pastors? - SoS Saturdays (ptl2010.com) Who Do You Think You Are? (challies.com) Should We Suffer When Doing Good? (raymcdonald.wordpress.com) A perspective on being a pastor's wife! (virtuouswomen.net) 5 Surprising ...

“I dont see any reason that any [of the gifts] should in principle be eliminated from present experience, at least the possibility of God giving it at any time. So I would say, yes there is a gift of healing . . . the Holy Spirit gives them according to his sovereign will . . . God is sovereign and he is supernatural and he touches and he heals. . . it is something that goes beyond what doctors can do, though I love doctors . . . God heals, he heals cancer, he heals sore throats . . . so we should ask for the gift . . . I put my hands on people and I ask God then and there to do something. . . there have been a few where they have come back with excitement that they have been touched and healed. Not many with anything extraordinary, just a steady stream of thank-yous for praying . . . some people are granted success more regularly in praying for healing than others, I wouldn’t call them healers because that has bad connotations . . . the gift can come at any moment for the momen...