In reality, it’s not the lack of competency or skill that creates a feeling of “anticipatory doom.” The dread and anxiety circle the belief that our hearts cannot handle the pain. Before my son died, I believed that tragedy would wreck my heart, torpedo my faith, and ruin my life. Surely I would be sentenced... Continue Reading

The Bible begins by saying that God created the heavens and the earth and that it was, in Hebrew, tohu wabohu. It was “without form and void” or “formless and empty” (NIV). Tohu means “unformed, chaotic wilderness,” and bohu means “empty.” So Genesis 1:2 tells us that when God created the heavens and the earth, it was initially an uninhabitable wasteland,... Continue Reading

“The circle of revelation is not a school but a ‘covenant’. To speak of revelation as an ‘education’ of humanity is a rationalistic and utterly unscriptural way of speaking. All that God disclosed of Himself has come in response to the practical religious needs of His people as these emerged in the course of history.”... Continue Reading

“The bad news? You need a root canal. The good news? We can sedate you so you won’t feel a thing.” Sedation. The good news—the transcendent glory of this invention of modern medicine would be lost on me if I didn’t first understand the bad news—that I needed a root canal. But once I knew “dental... Continue Reading

“The whole day I would hear that we are masters of our own free acts,” he wrote, “and that it is in our power to do good or evil, to have virtues or sins.”[2] From a purely rational point of view, he found these teachings “nearest to truth”[3] – as long as he could avoid reading biblical... Continue Reading

We bury blessings made for us to enjoy long before heaven. Charles Spurgeon says, “He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus, refuses to be blessed.” To fail to grow is to forfeit grace. To settle for where we are is to surrender more joy, more strength, more peace — more of God.  ... Continue Reading

Nathan and David could have comfortably chatted about hypothetical scenarios all day long. In fact the king likely found it to be a bit of a riveting conversation about the evil guy who steals a poor guys prized sheep. Nobody gets too upset when we make general comments. It’s when you say, “you are that... Continue Reading

D.A. Carson has rightly pointed out that the list of qualifications for elders is “remarkable for being unremarkable.” Why? Because “the criteria mentioned are demanded of all Christians everywhere. Which is another way of saying, elders are first of all to be exemplars of the Christian graces that are presupposed as mandated on all Christians.”... Continue Reading

Emptiness is a feeling we all experience to some degree or another. It’s the feeling that we are adrift without purpose and unable to find stability; the feeling that life is chaotic and nothing really matters because we are just pawns. It’s the feeling that we are not important, we are not valued, we are... Continue Reading

At a gay-affirming conference a few years ago, the main organizer told the audience that what changes people’s minds so that they become gay-affirming is having a close relationship with someone who is LGBT. The speaker is right. This is why we must train our children up to have a deeply rooted biblical worldview that begins with... Continue Reading