I first heard Jackie Hill Perry at the Canvas Conference in Portland a few years ago, where we both spoke. Jackie writes like a word artist, which is exactly what she is. She does “spoken word,” as in the video [below], where every word counts. Her book is poetry of sorts, at times with a... Continue Reading

False teachers rise from the church and they bring in destructive divisions (i.e., heresies) which can amount to denying the Master. What does this look like? Peter answers by giving general categories of behavior: “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed... Continue Reading

“We must wear this armor constantly. We should never take it off. We should wear it to bed as pajamas. We should make sure we’ve got it on first thing in the morning by turning to the gospel as immediately as possible. This is wartime. Don’t take the armor off.”   Do you know that... Continue Reading

The gospel is all about God’s grace through Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul calls it “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) and “the word of his grace” (Acts 14:3; 20:32; cf. Col. 1:5–6). The gospel of the grace of God is the message everyone needs. The word of grace is proclaimed from... Continue Reading

“We can be thankful in trying circumstances because know that we will be able to extend to others who experience similar difficult circumstances the same comfort that we receive from the God of all comfort.”   Often, the most basic of God’s commands are the hardest for us to obey. We may ask ourselves whether or not... Continue Reading

“Lewis discovered that God doesn’t make us truly thankful by threatening us; he draws it out of us with pleasures. And these pleasures are pointers to something greater — they become our tutors in thanksgiving.”   God takes great pleasure in helping us grow in the happy grace of gratitude. And the almost unbelievably wonderful... Continue Reading

Unanswerable questions will tempt us toward doubt and anger, and we, like many of Jesus’ disciples, will be tempted to walk away. But if we have been fully convinced, beyond mere feeling, of the truth of Jesus and His work, if we can solidly stand with Peter and say, “Lord, to whom shall we go?... Continue Reading

We asked every one if they knew Luis, the man with the broken back. It took us three trips to Cuba before we met someone who remembered him and took us to his “forgotten prison.” He was overjoyed with his glasses and asked for his Bible to loudly read to us. His dirty mattress had... Continue Reading

“Here, then, is the rub. Stonewall wish to argue that anything short of full acceptance is homophobic bullying. That means unless you affirm and approve of all LGBT+ lifestyles, you are a bigot, a phobe and, yes, a bully. The Christian, by contrast, wants to say that it is possible to be anti-bullying of all... Continue Reading

As I continue to learn how to pray I have shared a few prayers with my family and friends for their use or adaptation. The Alliance has asked me to share some with you too. Here is the third in a series on “Praying Through the Scriptures.”   Over the years it has been my... Continue Reading