Dr Paul Allen

How do I pray for a miracle? ( Matt. 17:20) When we are faced with a great need, either for ourselves or for others, we should begin by humbly seeking to know God ’s will in the matter: "Father, what do You want to do in this situation?" Jesus said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working" (John 5:17). He listened to the voice of the Father , and He watched Him. Be careful not to start or end a prayer by saying blindly, "If it be Your will." Rather, you should seek to know God’s will in the situation and then base your prayer upon it. Praying for a miracle is welcoming a gift of the Holy Spirit to manifest. When His will is to work one, He will witness that to your heart. Then you can ask Him to perform the miracle that you know He wants to bring about. It is often important to exercise a key to the miraculous—the spoken word. God has given us authority over disease, demons, sickness, storms, and finances (Matt. 10:1; Luk

This side of heaven, we Christians are pilgrims — but not aimless ones. As runaway slaves looked to the night sky and followed the drinking gourd, so we look to Jesus , our true north, and travel toward him on our journey home. And this is vital, though often overlooked, in our war against sin. The idea of  fleeing  immorality is certainly a biblical one. Joseph fled the advances of another man’s wife, and the apostle encouraged his protégé, “Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” ( 2 Timothy 2:22). But as Christians, our retreating from sin is  not  a retreating from war. Our flight from sin is as purposeful as it is active — like Tolkien’s depiction of Helm’s Deep in  The Two Towers . An impregnable fortress stood in a large valley in the northwest of the White Mountains . It became salvation for the army of Rohan and all who would dwell within its walls. Orc hordes spread destru

"αθεοι" (atheoi), Greek for "those without god", as it appears in the Epistle to the Ephesians on the third-century papyrus known as "Papyrus 46" (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) And to know the love of Christ , which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God .” ( Ephesians 3:19 ) The hymn “Higher Ground” acknowledges the difficulties of the Christian life. But we press on, ever striving for the goal. A Christian must be habitually “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before” ( Philippians 3:13 ). And so it is in the hymn. I’m pressing on the upward way, New heights I’m gaining every day; Still praying as I’m onward bound, “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.” All faithful warriors must remember that they are fighting for the King. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier ” ( 2 Timothy

Saint Timothy (ortodox icon) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) This is a reality we must remember: “The present form of this world is passing away” ( 1 Corinthians   7:31 ). The nearly two thousand years since Paul penned these words might feel like a long time to those of us whose mortal lives are “like grass” ( Psalm 103:15). But it’s not a long time at all. Two millennia are “like yesterday when it is past” to the Ancient of Days (Psalm 90:4). To him, “the appointed time has grown very short” and is rushing toward the end (1 Corinthians  7:29 ). None of us should be too casual about wasting time. In God ’s timeframe, each of us is given a life span of a breath (Job 7:7) to play our terrestrial part in his purposes. And the global church has a relative few minutes remaining before Jesus returns and the present form of this world becomes a memory. This calls for clear heads. And keeping our heads clear is not easy. It’s hard. But if we don’t do the hard work, we will spend val

John Newton's tomb - geograph.org.uk - 814703 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” ( Ecclesiastes 7:20 ) When the self-righteous men in the crowd surrounding the woman caught in the act of adultery were about to stone the woman (apparently indifferent to the man with whom she had been caught!), the Lord Jesus turned them all away with His suggestion that the privilege of casting the first stone should go to one who was without sin of his own ( John 8:7 ). They realized that He knew the condition of their sinful hearts, and “being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one” ( John 8:9 ). This incident is a perpetual reminder that “ the Father . . . hath committed all judgment unto the Son” ( John 5:22 ), not to any one of us. We are not qualified to judge others, since we ourselves are also sinners—saved sinners, perhaps, but sinners. One of the most certain doctrines of Scripture is the universalit

Paul the Apostle, Russian icon from first quarter of 18th cen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Lament is the result of recognizing two truths. First, lament recognizes that evil exists and it causes suffering. A lamenter testifies that evil is a perversion and not the way God ’s good creation is supposed to be. “Woe to those,” Isaiah writes, “who call evil good” (Isaiah 5:20). Lament sees evil and calls it evil. It refuses to ignore or downplay evil or trivialize the resulting suffering. Second, lament recognizes dependence upon God because evil is beyond anyone else’s power to fix. Lament is a vigorous and faithful testimony that looks to God as the only one who can conquer evil and ultimately alleviate suffering. At its root, it is a form of struggle and protest. “Laments,” Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman says , “are prayers of sufferers who do not simply acquiesce to their suffering.” Why Should Christians Lament? To answer my church member’s question, I wanted to meditate

Historische Anstecknadel mit biblischem Logo der deutschen Baptisten - Ein Herr, Ein Glaube, Eine Taufe Antiguo prendedor bautista alemán con la consigna bíblica que los caracteriza - Un Señor, Una Fe, Un Bautismo. Engl.: One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4,5) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” ( 1 Timothy 6:12 ) Scripture frequently refers to the Christian life and work in athletic or combative terms. When all things are considered, reason compels the Christian to enter into the race and fight. First, our Commander is worth following. He leads us into battle and stands with us on the front lines receiving the fiercest fire: “Let us run with patience the race. . . . Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” ( Hebrews 12:1-2 ). Second, we are well-armed and prot

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” ( Job 19:25 ) This famous testimony of Job has encouraged many. He knew, as we can know, the reality of his living Redeemer and that the Redeemer would one day reign over His creation as intended. A redeemer is one who buys back something which has fallen into the hands of the enemy. Originally, the creation was in the proper hands, but Adam sinned , and to a great extent the rebellious world and all its inhabitants fell into bondage at the hands of Satan . “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” ( Romans 5:12 ). We became the slaves or “servants of sin” ( Romans 6:20 ). In order to be freed, a slave must be redeemed. Could we as slaves have bought ourselves back? No, we had nothing of worth. Silver and gold would not do it. In fact, nothing short of the blood of a completely innocent sacrifice

Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall.” ( 2 Peter1:10 ) Although the calling of God is solely by His grace apart from works ( 2 Timothy 1:9 ), and although “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” ( Romans 11:29 ), it is quite possible for a person to believe mistakenly that he has been called, and so Peter urges each professing Christian to make sure of his calling. In the first place, one who is truly called will love God ( Romans 8:28 ), and such love should not be superficial but with the whole heart and soul and mind ( Matthew 22:37 ). One who is called should “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” ( Ephesians 4:1-2 ). If our lives fail such tests, we should at least “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” ( 2 Corinthians 13:5 ). God’s call is not only unto salvation,

Antichrist with the devil, from the Deeds of the Antichrist (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Apostasy will reach its peak in the end times: But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these …. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived .  (2 Tim. 3:1–5, 13; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Peter 3:3–4; Jude 17–18) But the heightened apostasy of the end times, like the apostasy that has plagued the church throughout its history, is not the specific event Paul has in mind. Nor does Paul have in mind the apostasy during the Tribulation, of which Jesus warne