Some of us hesitate to associate the sanctifying work of the Spirit with a word like diligence. We can be prone to think of the Spirit’s ministry in terms of spontaneity and flexibility, not discipline and diligence. But unless we read the Bible attentively, pray devotedly, and gather for worship regularly, the holiness that comes... Continue Reading

How could I express the anguish of watching the body of my firstborn be lowered into the cold ground, the agony of choosing the words that will be carved onto his gravestone, the torment of knowing that behind his still-closed bedroom door is all that evidence of a life lived and lost? Truly, the sorrow... Continue Reading

We may instinctively recoil from the idea of impassibility, as if by that world it is being suggested that God is cold, remote and apathetic. Such a God would be indifferent to the miseries of life in the veil of tears.    Reading through Anselm’s Why God Became Man I came across a remarkable passage on how... Continue Reading

Putman has produced an interdisciplinary volume that accurately assesses how Christians come to differing conclusions on doctrine and provides a roadmap for how Christians ought to live and interact in light of this doctrinal diversity. Christians, young and old, theologically trained and untrained alike would benefit from reading this volume and assuming the posture of... Continue Reading

Regulations two years ago censored the Bible from the Chinese Internet, banned youth from church services and Bible camps, and authorized the burning of Bibles possessed without state authorization.   The Bible is America’s best-selling book, annually outpacing the top 20 best sellers combined. Yet a single Chinese company has a near monopoly on Bible... Continue Reading

We can follow in Christ’s steps and bring relief to others. We can bear their burdens. We can help shoulder the weight of life. In so doing, we can testify to the kingdom of God that we serve and seek to advance.   I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and... Continue Reading

Cleaver, D-Mo., is an ordained United Methodist who pastored a church in Kansas City for many years. His two-minute prayer was otherwise conventional, full of biblical references and King James cadences – until the very end, when he appealed to the “monotheistic God,” the Hindu creator deity “Brahma,” and the “god known by many different... Continue Reading

Christians of all people should certainly seek to be loving—but loving as defined and delineated by God himself, and not by the world. Biblical love is always about willing the highest good of the other person.   No, this article is not about a popular and shmaltzy 2003 film, actually. It is in fact trying... Continue Reading

Even when you feel lost in the darkness—when all your senses tell you, “God has abandoned you,” and all your circumstances scream, “All hope is gone!” Even that darkness is not dark to Him, and night is as bright as the day (Ps. 139:11–12).    “I’ve been thinking about you,” we say to people we... Continue Reading

I wonder if people debating Gospel issues sometimes miss each other because they use different senses of the word “issue.” In fact, that seems almost certain.    People sometimes call something a Gospel issue. Such statements seem to mean that the Gospel implies or perhaps requires adherence to some activity or belief. Probably the most... Continue Reading