Basham has named names and provided copious footnotes detailing public comments, tweets (or now “posts”), and other bits of the record. She goes after powerful and popular figures like Tim Keller, J.D. Greear, and Rick Warren. I really have no reason to believe, however, that any of it is done in bad faith, despite accusations... Continue Reading

Indispensable servants are always at risk of becoming oppressive masters. Humanity has always known this; it is only recently that our technologies have become so useful as to replace human servants and occupy this ambivalent position, leaving their owners and users reduced to the spectacle of pathetic Ish-bosheths—unable to live with them or without them.... Continue Reading

Peter may have meant that the earth and all the works done on it will be exposed, in the sense of being judged, which would fit the broader context of his argument quite well. He may also have meant that the earth and all the works done on it will be refined, a quite intriguing... Continue Reading

Safety, I assumed, required freedom from others: freedom from commitment, something as close to full material and psychological autonomy as possible. But freedom from others had left me enslaved to an untethered, empty self. In these times it became obvious that the freedom I was pursuing turned out to be utter isolation. Maybe I could... Continue Reading

Knowing God’s providence doesn’t guarantee easy sleep. It isn’t Nyquil. We may go to bed every night feeling like the Hamans of the world will still win. Trusting in God’s providence isn’t magic. It’s a daily habit of remembering the gospel. The gospel is the greatest evidence of God’s providence. God plans, accomplishes and applies... Continue Reading

Humanity is often guilty of mockery towards God and His providential judgments. Franz Delitzsch explained, “The sin of Jerusalem is expiated by the giving up of the sinners themselves to death.” Ironically, this prophecy becomes a warning more than an actual foretelling of an event where the Assyrians face destruction from Jerusalem.   “And behold... Continue Reading

It’s easier, in a sense, to accept that we were never morally good and never civilizationally great than it is to accept that we had something great, and we squandered it. But that’s the truth. Two inconceivably destructive World Wars destroyed Europe’s soul, killed off many of its best men, and devastated the old aristocracies.... Continue Reading

Not only is it a biblical doctrine and a big doctrine, but it is also a beautiful doctrine. It can so often be caricatured as nothing more than a cold and lifeless calculus. But what does Paul say in Ephesians 1? That it was in love he predestined us (Eph. 1:4-5)! Thus, it has been... Continue Reading

While it may be easy to embrace the beliefs of others to gain approval, we know the courageous path requires us to point others to the truth, even when it’s inconvenient or unpopular. It’s time for the Church to take this second path. We’ve spent far too much time trying to become like the world... Continue Reading

I trust that God is pleased with my intentions even when my deeds have been so faulty and my desires when my words have been unsuitable. Yet imperfect deeds and optimistic intentions would be the shakiest grounds of confidence before God. Thankfully, God gives much firmer grounds: I trust him to be pleased with my... Continue Reading