All posts by: John Fraser
Exercising for Spiritual Growth
In 2 Peter 1:5-7, Peter lists seven things that we are told to add to our faith. Each one of the seven builds on the previous ones. They are virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Many years...
Does Jesus Fulfill the Work of the Messiah?
In this series of posts, we began with the prophecy of Daniel, which predicted the destruction of the second Jewish temple, and predicted the coming of the Messiah around the time that Jesus lived. We then examined some Old Testament...
Is Jesus’ Passion and Death Prophesied in the Old Testament?
In the last post we looked at the prophecy in Daniel 9 which predicted both the destruction of Jerusalem and the second Jewish temple hundreds of years in advance, and the coming of the Messiah before that. Since the part...
Prophecies, Fortune Cookies, and Christ
If you’ve ever cracked open a Chinese fortune cookie, you might have read something like this: “Your golden opportunity is coming shortly.” As far as prophecies go, this isn’t very impressive. But have you ever wondered if there is such...
Beginning again, again…
In my experience of more than 10 years of missions work, it seems like we’re often beginning again. On the one hand, that can be frustrating. I used to think you should begin at the beginning, then keep going until...
Love: The Last Habit
The final habit that Peter urges believers to add to their lives is what the apostle Paul called the highest and the greatest: love. The English word love has many different meanings. Many people think of love as a feeling,...
Brotherly Kindness: The Second Habit of Good Relationships
When Peter speaks of adding brotherly kindness as the next habit, he uses the Greek word philadelphia. This of course is the word which means “brotherly love” (and from which the city in Pennsylvania derives its nickname). This habit is...
Godliness: The First Habit of Good Relationships
So far we have looked at the habits from 1 Pet. 1:5-7 that deal with character, namely virtue, knowledge, self-control, and perseverance. Our character determines what kind of person we are. However, we also have to move on from character...
Perseverance: The Fourth Habit of Good Character
A certain athletic apparel manufacturer has a commercial featuring a song with the words, “everybody gets knocked down; how quick are you gonna get up?” It’s a good question for sports, but also for life – including the spiritual life....
Self-Control: The Third Habit of Good Character
It’s no secret that we live in an age where advertising is geared towards appealing to our every desire and appetite. “Go ahead and indulge yourself” we are told, either explicitly or implicitly. Self-indulgence is the spirit of the age,...
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