Dr Paul Allen

Your darkness can one day bring someone light. A person who’s been through a divorce has the compassion and words needed to help somebody going through a divorce. A person who’s been through abuse, rape, or an addiction can truly understand how to help someone else in a similar situation. And because you made it, God will cause your wounds to glow in the dark of somebody else’s life. And when you begin to share your story with them, hope will get in their soul, and they will start to believe that they can make it.   Don’t waste what you’ve gone through or allow it to make you bitter. If God lets you walk through it, it’s because He’s still God, and He has a plan. On five different occasions, the Apostle Paul was beaten with 39 stripes. That’s 195 scars on his body. Paul said, “Three times I was beaten with rods. One time, I was stoned and left for dead. Three times, I suffered shipwrecks. I knew what it was to be afloat in the ocean a full day and a full night. I thought I would die, b

Tomorrow in Washington DC, a few miles away from the church I pastor, will be a rally called the “Trans Day of Vengeance.” The event will be led by the “Trans Radical Activist Network” and has been promoted by political leaders around the country. Supporters of the “Trans Day of Vengeance” say that the Trans Community is under attack, and their protection can only come through retribution. This week has exposed a seething, violent hatred towards those who won’t fly the rainbow flag over their homes, churches, and on their social media accounts. That the Day of Vengeance takes place the week of the Nashville shooting is no coincidence—or if it is, one of the leaders of the trans movement called it “a happy coincidence.” The media has also shown hatred for the church—with major outlets even strongly implying (if not outright declaring) that the church is responsible for the shooting at its own school. The White House expressed support for the calls for vengeance on those that oppose the

The Rejection of Good News If God is really so good, surely mission must be the easiest work in the world. Simply hold out Jesus in his gospel, and people should come flocking. Of course, that’s not how it is. Quite the opposite. Bizarrely, the wonderful good news of free grace is a tough sell. People dislike not just the idea of God in general but the message of the gospel specifically.  Late in his life, George Orwell recalled that as a schoolboy, he hated Jesus and even felt sympathy toward Judas and Pontius Pilate, who had betrayed and executed him.1 Orwell’s attitude may well have been the perversity of a schoolboy, but it expresses something of our natural hostility toward God and the gospel. Human beings are fallen, and this is why we do not intuitively worship, trust, and love God. The radiance of God’s glory shines not into neutrality but into darkness. Indeed, Paul writes that our hearts are “darkened” (Rom. 1:21) because we reject the Lord.  The truth is that human beings, o

One of the mottos of the Reformation was Post Tenebras Lux—“after darkness, light.” They were referring to the recovery of the gospel after a period wherein it was obscured by the medieval Roman Catholic Church. Superstition, false teaching, and corruption had drawn a curtain over the glorious refulgence of the good news of the person and work of Christ, but during the sixteenth century, that curtain had been drawn back, and the light shone once again. The Reformers’ use of light as a metaphor for the gospel is informed by Scripture. Throughout the Bible, light (and its close analogue, fire) appears in connection with God and His glorious work. Light was the Lord’s first creation in Genesis 1. The Lord revealed Himself to Moses through a bush that was burning but not consumed (Ex. 3). God signalled His presence among the Israelites by lighting their land while the rest of Egypt was shrouded in darkness (Ex. 10:23). The Lord led the Israelites through the wilderness with a

Books are written by those who claim to have had an out-of-body experience of going to heaven. They often tell of blinding lights, seeing loved ones, and hearing God or seeing Christ. They record their experiences, true or false, for us at great length. This pattern contrasts sharply with how little attention Paul gives when he was “caught up into paradise.” Why doesn’t he say more? Suppose you had an absolutely stunning supernatural experience, like being in a car accident and having an out-of-body experience so that you were sure you had died and gone to heaven for a few minutes before returning to your body and being brought back to life. How would you handle that experience? Most of us would be consumed with telling others about it. We might even write a book about it and go on a speaking circuit. It’s just too amazing to keep to ourselves.  And more than likely we would feel empowered to use that very experience to authorize our views of heaven. We might feel

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” ( Isaiah 9:2 ) This beautiful verse is treated in the New Testament as a Messianic prophecy, fulfilled when Christ came into the world—growing up in Nazareth and then dwelling in Capernaum, both cities being located in “Galilee of the Gentiles” ( Matthew 4:15 ). This was in the region once occupied by the 10 northern tribes and then devastated by the invading Assyrians when they carried the Northern Kingdom away into captivity. This region had for centuries thereafter remained in spiritual darkness, even after the return of Judah from captivity in Babylon. But then Christ came, and “from that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” ( Matthew 4:17 ). Thus, His public ministry actually began in this land of darkness. “And the light shineth in darkness. . . . the true Light, which lighteth ever

When Scripture calls God , or individual Persons of the Godhead, "holy" (as it often does:  Lev. 11: 44, 45; Josh. 24:19; 1 Sam. 2:2; Ps. 99:9; Is. 1 :4; 6:3; 41 :14, 16, 20; 57:15; Ezek. 39:7; Amos 4:2; John 17: 11; Acts 5:3, 4, 32; Rev. 15:4), the word signifies everything about God that sets Him apart from us and makes Him an object of awe, adoration, and dread to us.  It covers all aspects of His transcendent greatness and moral perfection, and is characteristic of all His attributes, pointing to the "Godness" of God at every point. The core of this truth, however, is God's purity that cannot tolerate any form of sin (Hab. 1: 13) and calls sinners to constant self-abasement in His presence (Is. 6:5). Justice, which means doing in all circumstances things that are right, is one expression  of God's holiness. God displays His justice as Lawgiver and Judge, and also as Promise keeper and Pardoner of sin. His moral law, requiring behavio

“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” ( Revelation 22:5 )   The Bible reveals that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” ( 1 John 1:5 ), and also that, in the ages to come, there will be no more darkness. God promises twice that there shall be “no night there” ( Revelation  21:25 ; 22:5) in the very last references to night in the Bible.   Why, then, is there darkness, and where did it come from? God gives the answer: “I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness” ( Isaiah 45:6-7 ). Light was always in and with God, but the darkness had to be created! And, it has a purpose, serving as a contrast to the light.   Men and women were created to love and have fellowship with their Creator , not as robots but in freedom. Darkness thus served as the choice that could be made against God and the light, for thos

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” ( Psalm 119:105 ) One of the more beautiful metaphors in the Bible, light, is used eithermetaphorically or literally to stress understanding, knowledge, or truth. When inaccurate interpretations of God’s Word are taught, Isaiah said it is “because there is no light in them” ( Isaiah 8:20 ). Peter noted that prophetic insight is like “light that shineth in a dark place” ( 2 Peter 1:19 ). One of the Lord’s most memorable statements was: “I am the light of the world” ( John 8:12 ). Little wonder, then, that in this majestic psalm centering on the Word of God, this stanza ( Psalm 119:105-112 ) acknowledges the role executed by the Scriptures “as the light that goeth forth” ( Hosea 6:5 ). The psalmist again mentioned his affliction (v. 107) and that his soul was constantly “in my hand” ( Psalm 119:107 , a Hebrew idiom for constant danger; see 1 Samuel 28:21 ). But nonetheless, his instant reaction was to focus on the “rig

God is light . In Scripture, light and darkness are very familiar symbols. Intellectually, “light” refers to biblical truth while “darkness” refers to error or falsehood (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23; John 1:4; 8:12). Morally, “light” refers to holiness or purity while “darkness” refers to sin or wrongdoing (Rom. 13:11–14; 1 Thess. 5:4–7). The heretics claimed to be the truly enlightened, walking in the real light, but John denied that because they do not recognize their sin. About that basic reality, they were unenlightened. no darkness at all. With this phrase, John forcefully affirms that God is absolutely perfect and nothing exists in God’s character that impinges upon His truth and holiness (cf. James 1:17). MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1964). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 JOHN 1:5 Come to God with all your desires and instincts, all your lofty ideals, all your longing for purity and unselfishness, all your yearning to love and be true, all your aspirations after self-forgetfulness and childlikeness; come to Him with all your weaknesses, all your shames, all your futilities; with all your helplessness over your own thoughts; with all your failure, all your doubts, fears, dishonesties, meannesses, paltrinesses, misjudgments, wearinesses, disappointments, and stalenesses. Be sure of this, He will take you and all your misery into His care, in His limitless heart. He is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If He were a king, a governor, if the name that described Him were the Almighty, you may well doubt whether there could be light enough in Him for you and your darkness. But He is your Father, and more your Father than the word can mean in any lips but His who said, “My Father and your Fathe

English: "Christ in Triumph over Darkness and Evil", stained glass window by French artist Gabriel Loire in memory of Earl Mountbatten, at St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town, South Africa Français : "Christ in Triumph over Darkness and Evil", vitrail par Gabriel Loire (un mémorial pour Louis Mountbatten), à la cathédrale St. George, Le Cap, Afrique du Sud (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And God divided the light from the darkness ." Genesis 1:4 A believer has two principles at work within him. In his natural estate he was subject to one principle only, which was darkness; now light has entered, and the two principles disagree. Mark the apostle Paul 's words in the seventh chapter of Romans : "I find then a law , that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, wh

the first of the Epistles to the Colossians (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." ( Revelation 22:5 ) The Bible reveals that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" ( 1 John 1:5 ), and also that, in the ages to come, there will be no more darkness. God promises twice that there shall be "no night there" ( Revelation 21:25 ; 22:5 ), in the very last references to night in the Bible. Why, then, is there darkness, and where did it come from? God gives the answer: "I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness" ( Isaiah 45:6-7 ). Light was always in and with God, but the darkness had to be created! And, it has a purpose, serving as a contrast to the light. Men and wo

Image via Wikipedia When Paul declared the mysterious and breathtaking promise that "all things work together for good to those who love God , to those who are called according to His purpose" ( Rom. 8: 28), he was musing in teleology . He was dealing with the realm of the remote rather than the proximate. This suggests that the proximate must be judged in light of the remote. Our problem is this: We do not yet possess the full light of the remote. We are still looking in a dark mirror. We are not utterly devoid of light, though. We have enough light to know that God has a good purpose even when we are ignorant of that good purpose. It is the good purpose of God that gives the final answer to the appearance of vanity and futility in this world. To trust in the good purpose of God is the very essence of godly faith. This is why no Christian can be an ultimate pessimist. The world in which we live is not a world of chance. Its beginn Image via Wikipedia ing was not an ac