Praying For Our Children
I pray the same prayer every night. I lead in to it differently, but it stays pretty much the same.
“I don’t pray long winded prayers. I pray these words, kiss them on the cheek, and turn out the lights. True, they don’t know what theologians or missionaries are (yet) and they are not quite sure why I want them to be like trees, but those days will come. What is important now is that... Continue Reading
Know What Not to Say
Christians should be the most careful speakers in the world
“Every careless word.” That should stop us in our tracks. It should set us trembling, considering how many words we speak. And by “speak” I mean every word that comes out of our mouths, our pens, and our keyboards. We speak thousands of words every day, sometimes tens of thousands. Christians should be the... Continue Reading
What Does it Mean to Abide in Christ?
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you …” (John 15:7a).
In a nutshell, abiding in Christ means allowing His Word to fill our minds, direct our wills, and transform our affections. In other words, our relationship to Christ is intimately connected to what we do with our Bibles! Then, of course, as Christ’s Word dwells in us and the Spirit fills us, we will begin... Continue Reading
At Home in Wakanda
We rally around superheroes like the Black Panther because we hope that they can lead us to Wakanda.
Having watched a civil-rights documentary beforehand, I found the ideologies of the two main characters to be thought-provoking. And although Black Panther has good action scenes, strong characters, a decent narrative, and helpful questions about global responsibility, the enchantment of the movie for many blacks in the theater was not, in my estimation, about the hero per se,... Continue Reading
The Difference between Guilt and Shame
Guilt and shame are the children of humanity.
Though Guilt and Shame are twins, born in the garden, only moments apart, they aren’t identical. Guilt is usually tied to an event: I did something bad. Shame is tied to a person: I am bad. Guilt is the wound. Shame is the scar. Guilt is isolated to the individual. Shame is contagious. In Charles Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol,... Continue Reading
Will We Have Our Own Homes in Heaven?
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
The term room is cozy and intimate. The terms house or estate suggest spaciousness. That’s Heaven: a place both spacious and intimate. Some of us enjoy coziness, being in a private space. Others enjoy a large, wide-open space. Most of us enjoy both—and the New Earth will offer both. Perhaps you’re familiar with Christ’s promise in John 14: “In my... Continue Reading
The Joy of God’s Salvation
It is strange that joy so often seems to be missing from Christian experience and, more so, even from worship.
What we need is not ‘joy’ in some vague sense, or even a ‘joy’ that comes from ‘salvation’ in the multitude of ways this has been construed. Rather, the joy we need and the only joy that truly satisfies the human spirit is that which God alone can give, through his gracious salvation. In it... Continue Reading
The Most Underrated Spiritual Discipline
Given all the astonishing things that happen when I pray, why do I treat prayer so lightly?
Not only does God hear me when I pray, but he also strengthens me. In the midst of affliction, when I barely have the strength to call out to God, he hears me and strengthens me. He imparts real spiritual, emotional, and even physical strength to me. Prayer connects me to the infinite strength of... Continue Reading
The Comfort Found Only in the Church
When we have friendships in the church, we receive comfort and encouragement we can’t get anywhere else.
Based on this truth, the comfort we give to one another in the church isn’t the “you can do it” and “everything will be okay” comfort of the world. No, this comfort is honest about sin and its effects. It doesn’t sugarcoat or wish things away. Instead, it seeks hope and help outside of our... Continue Reading
The New View of Heaven Is Too Small
Our recent emphasis on “kingdom work” misses the real hope of the afterlife.
Heaven and earth will come together as Christ’s kingship is recognized by all creation. Moreover, we should embrace “the kingdom work” that calls us, as the revised song states. Yet, I also sense that we impoverish our hope for heaven when we turn it into an expression of our current activist emphasis upon “kingdom work.”... Continue Reading