A Truth to Believe

       How Can We Summarize Paul's Epistles to Churches?

The apostle Paul wrote several letters to churches to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ. As a whole these letters emphasize biblical doctrine, how the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is affects the entire life of a believer, and what it means for a follower of Christ to live faithfully for the glory of God. Here is one way we could summarize each book:

Romans is a letter explaining the gospel––how God righteously justifies those who are unrighteous, both Jews and Gentiles, in Jesus Christ rather than through works of the law.

1 Corinthians is a letter revealing that the gospel of Jesus Christ affects, corrects, and empowers God's people to a mature life of faith and love.

2 Corinthians is a letter teaching that God reveals his power through human weakness and affliction.

Galatians is a letter defending the good news that both Jews and Gentiles are justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ and both must continue to live by faith in the gospel.

Ephesians is a letter declaring that God chooses and redeems his people and then calls them to walk worthy of their calling by maintaining unity for God's glory.

Philippians is a letter encouraging followers of Christ to joyfully stand firm in Christ and live in a manner worthy of the gospel.

Colossians is a letter heralding Christ as supreme over all things and his followers as those who have ever deepening life in him.

1 Thessalonians is a letter encouraging Christians to steadfast lives of faith because Jesus will return.

2 Thessalonians is a letter reminding Christians to persevere in the faith because Jesus really will return.

Truths to Believe Archive

Something about Caregiving

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I have yet to meet a caregiver who is not weary or tired. Often, most caregivers are both.

But our needs go much deeper than emotional and physical exhaustion. Apart from Christ our souls are hopelessly laden with the crushing burden of seeking to earn salvation and be counted as righteous before God.

Yet there is one person in whom we can find rest. There is one person in whom our striving can cease. There is one person in whom we can truly know and enjoy God. "Come to me," Jesus says. True rest can be found no where else.

A Quote

Tim Challies' twenty-year-old son Nick died suddenly on Nov. 3, 2020. In the relatively early days following his death, Tim penned this manifesto to help hold himself accountable through his grief. He shared this in his book Seasons of Sorrow with the hope that others might find it helpful as they walk through their own suffering. It is a wonderful example of fighting to live in a way that matches what we believe.

By faith I will accept Nick’s death as God’s will, and by faith accept that God’s will is always good. By faith I will be at peace with Providence, and by faith at peace with its every decree. By faith I will praise God in the taking as I did in the giving, and by faith receive from his hand this sorrow as I have so many joys. I will grieve but not grumble, mourn but not murmur, weep but not whine.

Though I will be scarred by Nick’s death, I will not be defined by it. Though it will always be part of my story, it will never become my identity. I will be forever thankful that God gave me a son and never resentful that he called him home. My joy in having loved Nick will be greater than my grief in having lost him. I will not waver in my faith, nor abandon my hope, nor revoke my love. I will not charge God with wrong.

I will receive this trial as a responsibility to steward, not a punishment to endure. I will look for God’s smile in it rather than his frown, listen for his words of blessing rather than his voice of rebuke. This sorrow will not make me angry or bitter, nor cause me to act out in rebellion or indignation. Rather, it will make me kinder and gentler, more patient and loving, more compassionate and sympathetic. It will loose my heart from the things of earth and fix it on the things of heaven. The loss of my son will make me more like God’s Son, my sorrow like the Man of Sorrows.

I will continue to love God and trust him, continue to pursue God and enjoy him, continue to worship God and boast of his many mercies. I will look with longing to the day of Christ’s return and with expectation to the day of resurrection. I will remain steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. I will forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, always pressing on toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I will lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely and run with endurance the race that is set before me, looking always to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of my faith. I will remain faithful until I have fought the good fight and finished the race and kept the faith. I will die as I have lived—a follower of Jesus Christ. Then, by grace, I will go to be with Jesus, and go to be with Nick.

This is my manifesto.

A Book List

We consider it an ongoing privilege and joy to homeschool our kids. Here are several influential books that have formed the foundation of our homeschool philosophy.