Dr Paul Allen

The seven woes , recorded in Matthew 23 , are no exception. “White-washed tombs.” “Serpents, a brood of vipers.” “Twice as much a son of hell.” “Blind guides.” But one of the more tragically comedic is verse 24: “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” The context is Jesus ’ final rebuke of Israel ’s first-century religious leaders. The Pharisees felt good about themselves for meticulously tithing from these inconsequential herbs. “Here you go, God . We spent half the day measuring this out; a pinch of dill; a fraction of a mint leaf; and a mili-teaspoon of cumin.” They spooned out spices from under a microscope, while willfully neglecting central things in the word of God. To be sure, Jesus did not rebuke observance of the word of God, but majoring on minors to the neglect of majors. Gnat-straining and camel-gorging. Gnats and camels were the smallest and largest ceremonially unclean animals. Jesus picks the smallest creature to the eye; a gnat. These tiny b...

Proverbs 17:10 : “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.” So how do we receive rebuke as a wise man seeking greater wisdom?  How do  you deal with personal criticisms from others? How do you process them, learn from them, and determine which ones are accurate and which ones are not?” www.hopecollege.com That question, of course, is all the more relevant in a day of social media . You not only have a few dozen people in your family and church or neighborhood or network at work who might criticize you, and you can deal with face to face, but you have a few million people who might get wind of your opinion on Twitter or Facebook or a blog or wherever you happen to be talking. They might get wind of your opinion and call you the vilest names in the world. In one sense, this world of social media is unrealistic because we simply can’t deal seriously with thousands of opinions about ourselves. And yet, on the other hand, t...

English: no original description (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We love to highlight God ’s sovereign control over every detail, when extraordinary deliverances occur. But what about all the many-times rescue from danger is not supplied? Tsunamis, earthquakes, crime incidents, epidemic diseases, political turmoil, car accidents…the list on this sin-cursed planet is unending. Is God still in perfect control in those situations? The Bible’s answer is unequivocally YES! God is never asleep at the wheel of his creation. He never overlooks a detail, misses a beat, or leaves events to chance. He is on his throne, ruling his kingdom with absolute authority. So when “bad things” happen, we need to filter them through the grid of acknowledging that God is not only in control but that he is good. Here are six verses that undeniably demonstrate this biblical teaching: Job 1:21 The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 2:10 Shall we receive good from Go...

Our Twitter and Facebook habits make praying harder than ever. But before we look at the stats, let’s take a moment to appreciate the magic of conscious life, the capacity to focus on one thing, like this article and this unfolding sentence, following it along until it ends with a little dot. No doubt, as a reader, you’re fighting the chronic digital urge to skim. We  give  our attention because we have attention to give. With our attention we can  attend to  one thing and  avert from  another thing. The power to  fixate  is part of God ’s miracle in creation. Without attention, faith would be impossible. God not only created us to live and breathe and walk, like his other creatures; he wants us also to believe in him and to trust his word, to listen. The full scope of our affectional life becomes precious when we see it as our capacity to  attend . Mind-setting is the basis of our devotion to Christ , and it gives rise to eve...

Your neighbor asks what you did over the weekend. You think to yourself,  Should I mention church? If I do, am I ready to share the gospel ? If I am, how do I get there? You know you should say something to your barber, or to the barista at your favorite coffee shop — something about Jesus , something about the gospel — but you feel stuck. Palms are getting sweaty. Guilt is circling like a bird of prey. You feel the window closing. I doubt many Christians need convincing from Scripture that we’re all called to evangelize, to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus ( 1 Peter 2:9–10). Evangelism is the simple and supernatural telling, pleading, and inviting of people to turn from sin, and to place their faith in the one crucified to pay for sin and reigning now over the whole universe. In evangelism, we are telling people to run to Jesus. But we often struggle with how to tell the good news, especially with where to start. One Question If you struggle to get the conv...

If I am being honest, I have to admit that my iPhone habits have been largely unchecked, undisciplined, and unhealthy. And in a recent survey of 8,000 of our readers, many of you honestly admitted the same struggle. We asked you to finish this sentence: As I evaluate my life right now, my use of social media [ Facebook , Twitter , Instagram ] is . . . (A) . . . under control, limited, and healthy. (B) . . . not controlled or restricted, but also not having a negative influence on my life. (C) . . . uncontrolled and unhealthy. I check my social networks compulsively though out the day, and it’s probably not good for me. About 40% of you answered (B) — you don’t intentionally limit your social media use, and you don’t notice harmful effects as a result. Those of you who chose (C) — who admit your unlimited social media habits are unhealthy — were noticeably younger. Readers 18 to 39 are nearly twice as likely to call their habits injurious (38.5%) than those over fo...