Dr Paul Allen

Romans 12:11 Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Spiritual erosion happens slowly but surely, like water cutting a channel through rock. By mid-thirties, the believer who started out with zeal in adolescence is on the verge of complacency. The heart once stirred by the Scriptures is now indifferent to them. Such decline happens so subtly that you are often unaware of its deadly work. It usually comes through these almost imperceptible means: A gradual shift from devotion to performance . Christ commended the church at Ephesus for their ceaseless labour but admonished them for neglecting their “first love” (Rev. 2:4 NASB). Spiritual attrition is inevitable when your passion for Christ becomes secondary to your deeds. A gradual change from commitment to convenience. Faithfulness in little things is the stuff disciples are made of. When your relationship with Christ is structured to fit into your tidy agenda, spiritual decline sets in. Christ demands your all—b...

With the recent apostasy of Kanye West, the issue of celebrity Christians has once again surfaced. In addition to Kanye West’s high-profile religious rise and fall, we might think of Russell Brand’s recent profession of faith.  Brand has been vocal on social media, extolling Jesus and the gospel, although at times, he has said and done things that leave believers scratching their heads, not quite sure how they fit with his claim to be saved. We have seen an exponential increase in amateur and professional athletes publicly thanking Christ after competitions. How should Christians respond when a celebrity publicly embraces Christ? Two responses often prevail when celebrities claim to have been converted to Christianity. On one end, we have people who excitedly embrace them, platform them, and treat them as de facto religious leaders.  They see these celebrities as great spokespeople for Christ and the Christian faith. Having such cultural influencers on the side of truth will r...

Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. (Ex. 33:11) Moses is unique in the history of redemption. God spoke directly and intimately with him. He was a prophet and an intercessor, speaking God’s words to the nation and speaking to God on behalf of the nation. Moses was the covenant mediator. He also played a special role in pointing to the coming One, who would be a prophet like himself (Deut. 18:15–19). In Exodus 33, Moses continues to intercede for the wayward Israelites. His intercession had spared them previously, and now Moses intercedes once more. Although stubborn, this people belongs to the Lord. They need more than deliverance from judgment. Moses knows that God himself must accompany the people. God’s covenant presence must be what distinguishes them from all other people on the face of the earth. Moses appeals to the favo...

  Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands, and amid the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and a golden sash around his chest. (Rev. 1:12–13)  John saw Jesus “amid the lampstands.” Much of the imagery in Revelation is challenging to understand, but we don’t have to wonder what these lampstands represent. Later in this first chapter, we are told that the lampstands represent the churches (1:20). When John turned to see the voice speaking to him, the first thing that caught his attention was Jesus standing among his people. Were these early Christians wondering if the church would be snuffed out as persecution increased? When they gathered to hear this letter read to them, it must have provided deep encouragement to see that Jesus was not standing off at a distance while his followers suffered for him. He was right there with them, walking in the midst of them, keeping their fire for the gospe...

“It’s a Christmas miracle!” This exclamation permeates the holiday season from Hollywood to New York City and everywhere in between. While pop culture’s use of this phrase ranges from humorous to heartwarming, the true miracle of Christmas often goes overlooked.  The Incarnation of the Son of God surpasses every miracle that has or will ever occur. It defies human comprehension in a way no other miracle can Because of its profundity, many Christians fail to appreciate how magnificent this miracle truly is, leading to a defective view of what it means that the Word became flesh.  As we celebrate this miraculous event in just a few short days, let’s reflect on the true meaning of the Son of God becoming the Son of Man. One way to improve our understanding of this significant biblical teaching is by refuting what it does not mean. Throughout church history, many errors have arisen regarding the Incarnation. The first error is believing that the Incarnation is the birth of the fir...

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn.” – Luke 2:7 When I became a Christian, I learned that we really do not know when Jesus was born.  The Bible does not clearly tell us when Jesus was born. In Luke 2, the birth story of Jesus simply says that, at the time of Jesus’ birth, the flocks were in the fields. This likely means that Jesus was not born in December. Why?  That time of year experiences a lot of rain and cold, which would cause a shepherd to keep their flock safe and warm and not roaming in the open fields. Those who defend the Christmas date as the potential time of Jesus’ birth respond by saying there are often weeks during the winter when the weather warms up and allows sheep to roam freely in the fields.  Arguments against Jesus being born in December are many. One, during the winter months, many roads are impassable, which would mean that the governm...

What does this Prophecy mean today? One of the most well-known prophecies about the birth of Christ is Isaiah 9:6, which says,  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  We read this on Christmas cards and holiday signs, but what does it mean? The original context of this promise in Isaiah helps us. Isaiah answers three questions about this child who will be born. What He Brings First, what will he bring? Along with the arrival of this child, Isaiah promises that God will bring three gifts. The first is joy.  Isaiah 9:1 says, “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.”  These are the northern parts...

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” has been seen countless times on three continents by Polish grandparents and Japanese schoolchildren. It remains evergreen and universal — just like the Saviour Linus describes in his simple recitation of the Nativity as it appears in Luke’s Gospel.  However, that citing of Scripture did not easily pass the cynicism and cowardly cultural gatekeepers of American network television when Charles Schulz and his production team offered the first of what became many Peanuts specials to CBS executives in December of 1965.  In fact, even before those suits tried to remove mentioning Christ from this Christmas show, Schulz’s two partners in the venture, Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, advised him to take the Gospel passage out of Linus’ mouth.  As one of those executives said, “The Bible thing scares us.” The Peanuts creator’s response spoke volumes: “If we don’t do it, who will?”  The fact that any mention of Jesus over the public airwaves was co...

Jesus didn’t say, “I am finished.” He said, “It is finished.” Why? Because He was just getting started. It’s a solid reminder about the meaning of our Savior’s last words on the Cross. The work of His walk may have ended on Earth, but Jesus’ steps would continue into perpetuity. Another reason the reminder needs to be bookmarked for many believers is that sometimes, people misquote the Bible–unintentionally or manipulatively. Inside the numbers of the Bible, there are: 66 books 1,189 chapters 3,294 questions 6,468 commands 8,810 promises 31,102 verses And depending on the version you read, there are over 783,000 words What do all those numbers have in common? Every word connected to a number has been misquoted, ignored, misappropriated, taken out of context, misunderstood, twisted into a pretzel, or flat-out put into a lie at some point in history. It’s crucial to understand the sacred words in the Bible. According to theologians, only 1,500 to 2,000 words in the New Testament can be a...

On its own, it’s hard to make sense of Jesus’ eye-lamp metaphor. However, the ambiguity fades when our interpretation of “the eye is the lamp of the body” involves reading Jesus’ words in context. He’s using imagery from the Hebrew Bible to say that one's spiritual health can be assessed in part by observing the way one uses material possessions. First, this single sentence belongs to a large body of teaching found in Matthew 5-7, known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus talks about the body’s eye-lamp in a section of the sermon that focuses on the dangers involved with wealth. This context helps us see that his metaphor specifically speaks to our relationship with money and possessions. Second, as a Jewish teacher, Jesus appeals to common idioms in the Hebrew Bible. Seeing how biblical authors use the metaphorical language of “light-filled” versus “dim” eyes—or “good” versus “bad” eyes—can help us gain a deeper understanding of Jesus’ intended message. For Jesus, the eye becomes an...

“Wars will continue to flare up between sinful human beings as long as they live in this fallen world, in which Satan is at work…. Christ himself declared there would continue to be ‘wars and rumours of war’ [Matthew 24:6]…. Only when he returns in glory to bring this world to its end and fully subjugate Satan will war cease.” So says The Lutheran Study Bible, “Divine Warfare,” p. 376. That doesn’t mean we have to like it. We must acknowledge that we’re stuck with warfare, hoping and praying to keep it manageable. But that’s a tall order at the moment, considering that nine countries now hold a total of 12,000 nuclear weapons. The Current Top 10 Most Deadly Conflicts Granted, Russia and the U.S. hold more than 90 per cent of those 12,000 weapons. But as tensions escalate around the globe, that’s hardly reassuring. Here are the most violent conflicts currently being waged around the planet, with their minimum estimated fatalities over the last two years: Russia vs. Ukraine: 98,000 Israe...

Few things can cripple people like fear. Fear makes people shrink from doing what they know they ought to do. Fear can also make us do things we ought not to do. Fear is not simply self-protective or self-preserving; fearful concern for the well-being and protection of those we love can cause us to worry, lie awake at night, and even do things that could be perceived as either very brave or very foolish.  So, what overcomes fear? The Bible offers a clear and potent solution—faith in God's promises. “By faith, he left Egypt, not afraid of the king's anger” (Hebrews 11:27). This verse stands in the middle of Hebrews 11 and in the middle of the author’s commentary on Moses's life. It briefly reflects on Moses's faith in the face of a very real and present danger (humanly speaking)—the king of Egypt. Moses was like any other man; blood flowed in his veins just as in yours and mine. He was truly human and thus capable of knowing the reality of fear in the face of an imminent...

This article is the first of twelve to serve as an overview of the great “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. In this introductory article, I would like to address the question, “What is faith?” It might seem like this little word, faith, so familiar to every Christian, would be easy to define. It occurs all over the Bible; various forms are used nearly one hundred times in the gospel of John alone. But what is faith? Often, Hebrews 11:1 is cited as a definition of faith. The ESV reads, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Though this might sound like a definition of faith, New Testament scholar J. Gresham Machen is likely correct when he says that Hebrews 11:1 gives us more of a description of faith than a definition of faith.1 In the New Testament, faith is often referred to as the subjective means by which the people of God receive the Word and blessings of God. But it is also used to describe the content of what God has revealed in His Word...