“It’s nice to receive what we pray for, but the added benefit is the assurance we gain that God hears our prayers and answers them. However, some carry this to an extreme and jump to the conclusion that prayer is something of a magic wand, that if we do prayer with the right sound, in... Continue Reading

“It is true that Calvin was generally more irenic toward other Protestants than was Luther and he was critical of Luther’s rhetoric on the Supper (inter alia) but there is a problem with the way you relate Calvin to Luther.”   You can catch up with the flow of the discussion via Derek Rishmawy’s interesting... Continue Reading

“Observing evangelicals debate the doctrine of the Trinity over the last few months, I’ve thought about that breakfast room and the essay on polemic theology and wondered what would Roger Nicole think?”   The first time I attended the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, I was an aspiring-but-not-yet PhD student. A classmate and... Continue Reading

Even Baptist minister Charles Spurgeon, in an apparent attempt to win a “most overstated case for anything ever” competition, famously advised his students that growing a beard was “a habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial.”   At first glance, a beard may seem like an unremarkable thing—just a bit of protein, really, sort of... Continue Reading

“The Psalmist is not only weeping, but he reached to hang up his lyre on the branch of a willow tree somewhere along the Tigris or Euphrates River in this cradle that gave birth to the ancient civilization (137:2). The Babylonians, his captors, wanted to hear him sing a song of Zion. But the Psalmist... Continue Reading

“Tocqueville contrasts the moral witness of the Church in the U.S. with its Gospel witness—setting the clarity and harmony with which churches preach the law or morality against the public discord caused by their differences in worship.”   In Democracy in America, Tocqueville discusses what he thought was a strength of American Christianity—and it is... Continue Reading

Jesus Always is almost indistinguishable from Jesus Calling in its tone, its theme, and voice. The only difference is that Young did not include her claim that these messages originated with Jesus. Yet there is no reason to think that she has stopped her “listening.”   This book is going to be big. Huge, even.... Continue Reading

“In that moment — with a knot in my throat, feeling exposed — I knelt on the ground and confessed aloud in great detail my past and present sexual sins both to God and the other guys there. And they prayed for God to completely cleanse me of those sins.”   Like far too many... Continue Reading

“As modernity pushes against tradition, Pakistan has seen an increase in the number of women and girls killed in the name of honor: last year, 1,184 people died, only 88 of them men. The year before, the figure was 1005, and in 2013 it was 869, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.... Continue Reading

“The truth is, struggling people have probably already seen numerous doctors, done hours of research, and undergone different treatments. Our desire to help is good and necessary, but sometimes one of the best things you can do is simply be there for them. Listen. Sit and comfort them with a ministry of presence.”   No one... Continue Reading