TwelveTwelve: The Leader Blog of North Wake Church

From https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/genuine-conversion Obviously, we cannot live a life of gratitude for our salvation if we have not been saved. First we must be converted—the Spirit must change our hearts, and we must hear and respond in faith to the gospel (Rom. 8:29–30). Jesus atoned for the sins of His people on the cross, but the benefits of this atonement do not become real in our experience until our conversion. Scripture teaches, as the Heidelberg Catechism demonstrates (Q&A 86–87), that conversion is necessary to experience the blessings of Christ's work and to do good works of gratitude. Therefore, we must

Photo by CRISTIANO DE ASSUNÇÃO on Unsplash Greater Love Has No One It’s the night before the crucifixion, and Jesus is teaching His disciples: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” –John 15:12-13 I imagine, clueless as they tended to be, that the disciples nodded knowingly.  “We do that,” they thought.  “Pass out some bread.  Heal the sick.  Forgive a debt or two.  No problem.”  Maybe they thought “laying down one’s life” was metaphorical:  staying up late with someone sick or giving

Photo by Christine Caswell on Unsplash   The past few days our family has been at a little house on a lake. We have enjoyed many activities, but one of our favorites has been fishing off the dock. The water here is amazingly clear, so if fish are in the shallows, they are easily spotted. Once we spot one, we can tell those fishing where to cast their hook. But as the water gets deeper, there is no chance of seeing the fish if they aren't right on top, and once you pass the shallows, there is no way

Photo by Omer Nezih Gerek on Unsplash The Harvard Business Review reports about business trends and popular ideas. One of the most widely held is called the “First Mover Advantage.” Writing for HBR, Fernando Suarez and Gianvito Lanzolla describe how popular this idea is: Business executives from every kind of company maintain, almost without exception, that early entry into a new industry or product category gives any firm an almost insuperable head start. God, too, has a first mover advantage: He took the initiative to love us before we ever loved anyone and before we even knew what love

  Read: 2 Timothy 4:9-22   When Lindsay and I moved from Tennessee to Wake Forest, we knew no one.  We bought a beautiful little starter home in Flaherty and began to set up house for what we thought was only going to be a couple of years while I studied for my master's degree.  Two days after moving in, someone knocked on our front door.  I was greeted by a gangly, mop-headed guy who looked about my age. He was wearing a baseball hat, t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, and his name was Phud.     "Welcome to the neighborhood," Phud chirped.  "My wife and I just moved in a couple of

Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash   In our study of 2 Timothy, we have come to the saddest part of the letter.  The part after which I imagine Timothy stopped reading for a moment.  Wait.  Did Paul really just say that?  Did my mentor and friend just tell me it is time for him to die?  Maybe Timothy had to read it again. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct,

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 Have you ever been to a sporting event? This could be any sporting event from kids at the soccer field to what I consider the ultimate sporting event: an SEC football game with a sold out stadium. Regardless of the size or the sport, at some point in the event someone (or lots of someones) almost always starts screaming, “Keep going! Go! Go! Go!!” Have you ever noticed that this does not happen when the player is standing still doing nothing? NO! This happens when the player is already doing something, and people want to encourage them to keep going, begging

Read: 2 Timothy 3:1-13 2 Timothy 3 is a difficult section of scripture to read. "But understand this," Paul writes, emphasizing that what he is about to say must be kept in mind. When difficult things must be known, we can thank God for bringing them to us. Father, help me to engage the ugliness of sin described in your scripture and be transformed. The Days of Fierce Trials Are Now Paul says, "In the last days," something will be happening. Those last days he discusses are now:  the time since the coming of Jesus. Jesus warns us not

Read: 2 Timothy 2:14-26 When Wise Pastors Choose to Say Less Article by David Mathis Pastors are teachers, and teachers can be talkers. Not all teachers, but many. Good teachers love to read and think; they amass knowledge and have opinions. Over time, they learn to formulate thoughts and choose words with greater ease — and it can become all too easy to just say something, when wisdom would be more guarded with words. The temptation for pastors to be talkers, and get sucked into endless triviality and frivolity, is no new trap. The apostle Paul saw it, and spoke to it repeatedly,

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.1 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;  if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;  if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny