Cassi Writes Some Words

“How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God” (J. I. Packer). All true Christians agree that regular and intentional exposure to the Bible is an important part of living the Christian life. We believe that all Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16) and that it is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). If anyone claims to be a Christian but thinks that the Bible is inconsequential to their lives, then I’m afraid they have some serious examination to do. However, there are differences of opinion and practice on what regular and intentional exposure to the Bible looks like. Scripture itself does not prescribe, for example, how many verses should be read in corporate worship services or what time of day the Bible is to be read individually.  I would argue that the baseline for a Christi...

“Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:22-24). If we are under the authority of another in a work setting, then God’s will is for us to do what they ask us to do. Sometimes our tendency is to rebel against authority, but other times, our obedience has a dangerous motivation: to please people.  Why is people-pleasing a problem? It tempts us to obey “by way of eye-service” – only while being watched. It fosters hypocrisy and deceit; it compromises our integrity. Worst of all, it encourages us to see people as more powerful or more worthy than the Lord Himself. People-pleasing is a sneaky form of idolatry; we may do the right things on the outside, but in our hearts, our priori...