On March 27, 1525, Wolfgang Reissenbusch served as a preceptor in the monastery of St. Anthony. This meant Mr. Reissenbusch had vowed to live a single, celibate life — that is, until the Reformation provided him a new perspective, a different justification (to be married). What should he do? Write to the fiery bachelor Martin…
Month: January 2025
The rise of the Remnant and the exodus from Babylon.
The rise of the Remnant and the exodus from Babylon. Posted by appolus on January 24, 2025 In every great move there is a tearing down. Gideon, long before he does mighty exploits, is called to tear down the altars of his father and in its place build an altar to Lord His God so that…
The Many Benefits of Sharing Jesus
Decorating a Christmas tree with lights used to be a real hassle. Nowadays, if one bulb goes out in a strand of Christmas lights, it’s no big deal — the other lights keep working because they’re wired on a parallel circuit. But when I was little, Christmas tree lights were on a series circuit, so…
How Do I Apply Bible Stories to My Life?
Audio Transcript Welcome back to the podcast, and welcome back to talking about our Bible-reading plan this year. We started the new year looking at the spiritual battles we must overcome in our Bible reading. That was APJ 2112, a wonderful episode with all sorts of great advice for how to read the Bible in…
The Roots of Roe Still Grow: Pro-Life Challenges in the New Administration
Pro-life advocates waking up last November 6 could be forgiven for thinking it was 2016 all over again. Now, as then, a candidate and her political party sworn to promote abortion wholesale was defeated in favor of a candidate and party that might limit the evil done. For many pro-life advocates, the result was not…
Desire Without Ceasing: How Longing Fuels a Life of Prayer
This very desire is your prayer, and if your desire is continuous, your prayer is continuous too. The apostle meant what he said, Pray without ceasing. —Augustine (Expositions on the Psalms 37.14) Humans do very few things without ceasing. We are by nature limited beings. We cannot always be working or always talking or always…
One Believer Dies, Another Lives: On Reading Providence
Audio Transcript Interesting question for you today, Pastor John, on how to read providence in Acts 12, which we encounter together tomorrow in our Bible reading. The question comes from an anonymous listener to the podcast, who writes, “Pastor John, hello, and thank you for the continued encouragement I receive for my soul through the…
Pray with a Plan: How to Order Praises and Petitions
Do you ever feel overwhelmed in prayer? God is so infinitely glorious that our praises do not do justice to his majesty. And the petitions we could bring to his throne of grace are almost countless — individual, family, church, local, national, and international requests. Given the sheer volume of our needs and the needs…
Are you truly a saint of the most High?
Are you truly a saint of the most High? Posted by appolus on January 18, 2025 The Word of God is full of distinctions. It distinguishes between right and wrong. It distinguishes between heaven and hell. There are saints and sinners and the list goes on. There is a troubling distinction between professors and false professors.…
Is It Good That You Exist?
The door flew open. My anxious, driven pre-med roommate rushed in. I was sitting on my bed, snarfing chips and a coke, reading about sports. He looked at me in disgust. “What have you done today to justify your existence?” I smiled and replied, “Nothing!” I felt it was my mission to help him stop…