As I stood up to welcome people on behalf of the family and to thank them for coming, I was deeply moved to see other friends who had traveled from afar, at some cost and some inconvenience, just to be with us in our sorrow. So from all this I have learned the value of presence... Continue Reading

Why is drunkenness sinful? That’s a fair question. Sometimes, I think we view the commands of God like that cranky dad who barks out an order: “Just do as I say!” without any rhyme or reason. We need to remember, however, that the law of God is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). Did you... Continue Reading

When Job understood the wisdom, power, and care of God, he no longer required any explanation of his circumstances. Quite the opposite: Job realized that he had tried to criticize God in ignorance, and now he repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:1‑6).   The book of Job makes sense to us readers because we... Continue Reading

When you are panicking or stressed or anxious, take a deep breath, close your eyes, and run through the truths you know about God: he is on your side, he is good, he is powerful. Jesus was able to calm the storm with a word, heal the sick with a touch, and dispel evil spirits.... Continue Reading

As long as you do not oppose any of the popular positions held by the left elites, then you believe in love. If you actively or passively oppose those positions, then you believe in hate. And haters don’t deserve civility. That is, haters should be hated. The childish partiality of this use of “hate” is transparently... Continue Reading

For those who confess themselves to be ‘sinners’, and therefore deserving of nothing but misery and wrath, to be proud of those peculiar blessings which are derived from the gospel of God’s grace, is a wickedness of which even the demons are not capable of!   Among the many general causes of decline in grace,... Continue Reading

Christianity does not, by its nature, cause its adherents to possess hateful attitudes or commit hateful actions. Are there instances of Christians—or Christian societies—sinning against others? Of course. But there’s a world of difference between arguing that Christians sin and arguing that Christianity causes those sins.    In 1971, John Lennon wrote a song that... Continue Reading

Paul was content because he knew his condition was ordained by his Creator. He understood that God brought both pleasure and pain into his life for a good purpose (Rom. 8:28). Paul knew that since the Lord wisely ordered his life, he could find strength in the Lord for any and all circumstances.   Blaise... Continue Reading

I shouldn’t get my instructions about how to live a godly life from politicians or movie stars or bloggers. If I am living according to Scripture, I will see the world differently, and that means I will sometimes be misunderstood and considered prudish, judgmental, out of touch, and irrelevant, even by some in the church.... Continue Reading

David didn’t seem to be feeling like his faith was growing stronger. He was feeling weak and vulnerable and fragile. He felt like an old stone wall, bowing out and ready to crumble. He felt like a rickety old fence that could easily topple over. This is how we often feel when we are learning to... Continue Reading