True Christians must persevere because what keeps them true to God is not the strength of their own faith, their own wills, or their own hearts, but they are “kept by the power of God through faith for salvation,” (1 Pet. 1:5). We might be fooled by false believers but Jesus never is.  On Judgment... Continue Reading

For those of us in Christ, we have all the more reason, in our desperation, to hit our knees and plead for help in the wideness of God’s mercy. If God heard Manasseh, then how much more will he hear my self-humbling cries in Christ and send his rescue in his perfect way and time?... Continue Reading

One thing seems obvious: The levels of general panic indicate that few of us have been properly prepared for the reality of our own mortality. As a friend pointed out to me recently, when Jesus references the tower at Siloam and the murder of Jews by Pilate (Luke 13), he precludes a simplistic connection between... Continue Reading

The goal of God’s creation and his act of forgiveness is to bring fallen humans to worship him as Creator and Redeemer, so that they bless him forever, as the text says (Rom 1:25) and are finally united with him in a new heavens and earth that he is preparing for them. All human thought... Continue Reading

We tend to think this situation is new. And in one sense it is – because we personally have not experienced this before. But our experience is not the determiner of reality. Lewis reminds us that human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice and that “human culture has always had... Continue Reading

A great pestilence spread through the Shire, infecting one person in every three. Life in the Shire was thrown into chaos so that even Aravice’s great wealth was threatened. A few people recalled the prophecy of Sir Estia, and a few others began to wish that Sir Cata and Sir Veta were once more guardians... Continue Reading

Since physical togetherness is inherently part of what the Lord’s Supper is meant to communicate, I believe it would be a mistake to try to “replicate” the Table virtually through technological means. In fact, you can’t. You can eat and drink; you may even be able to proclaim the Lord’s death. But you can’t have... Continue Reading

The whole history of the Protestant church—seen in the hundreds of confessions and catechisms produced by Lutherans and the Reformed alike—witnesses to the power and usefulness of Scripture and calls churches to be reformed according to the Scriptures.   In 1546, the Council of Trent, a Roman Catholic gathering that met soon after Martin Luther’s... Continue Reading

Barna’s State of the Church 2020 study highlights five trends “essential in understanding the Church’s place in the U.S. today.” It offers little new or noteworthy: Barna concluded that many Christians “church hop,” that church membership is common but declining among younger churchgoers, and that many non-Christians believe church to be irrelevant.   The research... Continue Reading

Deep thoughts of God matter. They ignite worship and prayer in the soul; they strengthen us in trials and suffering. The Puritans understood this well. Though not perfect, the Puritans understood that enjoyed doctrine protects the heart from the treason of sin. Put most bluntly, the Puritans understood that without rich and robust theology savored... Continue Reading