Make the Connection: Linking Biblical Truths for Triumphant Living

During my three-and-a-half decades of pastoral labor, I have become increasingly cognizant of our tendency to separate and segment our lives into small, isolated pockets. When this happens, an unfortunate, and even dangerous, disconnect occurs between our Lord Jesus Christ and the various dimensions of everyday living. We must not remove any part of our lives from the domain of Christ and the oversight of His Word. God's providence and sovereignty over all things is linked to the promise that He works all things for our good and His glory. God connects what we tend to disconnent. This volume is dedicated to seeking out, amplifying and applying the connections that the Lord makes as He holds and works all things together for our good and His glory. Each chapter highlights one of these connections. To coin a phrase, I am calling them 'doctrinal devotionals.' You may find some of these connections logical and obvious. I have included them because, although logical and obvious, they are often ignored. They deal with the very basics of living with Christ as Lord. Other connections only become apparent as one's biblical knowledge and understanding deepen. These need to take root in our lives as spiritual growth takes place. Daily, regular and disciplined time invested into the Word of God brings about that continued work of the Spirit in conforming us to the image of Christ. Still other connections, on the surface, appear to be contradictions. They are not. They are clear expressions of the radical nature of the Gospel and its implciaiton for our lives. These challenge the areas where our fallen nature and our inceasingly godless culture seek to press us into its mold. Abraham Kuyper wrote, 'In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch over which Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, That is Mine!' We all have territory in our lives that we are attempting to own and control. It is my prayer that the Lord will use these doctrinal devotionals to lead us to relinquish those territories to the control of our Lord. After all, the territory really is already His.