David delights in God’s intimate knowledge of him. He opens himself up to God’s searching with the hopes of belonging — body and soul — to him.So you also belong to God. Your body is his because he carefully crafted it at conception. And if you delight in being known by God, your body is... Continue Reading

Any combat veteran will tell you that to succeed in battle, you have to pay attention. Focus is absolute. Just after identifying faith as the key in the verse quoted above (1J 5.4), John writes, And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?... Continue Reading

You may be surprised to hear me say this, but being more religious—going to more church services, reading more Bible texts, and saying more prayers—is not the answer in itself. Nor will the anodyne and customized “spirituality” of our day meet the moment. Instead, we need what humans have always needed.   Five years ago... Continue Reading

Our new identity in Christ is not something we bring about for ourselves. A key difference from the way people usually talk about “identifying with” a person or group, though, is that this kind of identification is not something we do ourselves—at least not at first. It was God who predestined us to adoption (Eph.... Continue Reading

“But we never can know/the delights of his love/until all on the altar we lay.” Therein lies the chief boon of total submission. To go out into deep waters is to go fishing with Jesus himself. And who could ask for more?   It’s no surprise that I love a good poem. Words have power.... Continue Reading

“Rejoi­cing in my enrichment with this exceeding gift, to thee, Almighty God, I owe fresh thanks, such as may almost overwhelm and bury all those preceding, whereof each page of mine holds record. And although my constant devotion, grown too lengthy, has o’erspread its wide limits this while past, and almost calls itself to halt;... Continue Reading

Idol worship isn’t harmless. It is abominable. It is demonic. Indeed, the worship of idols is the worship of fallen and malevolent principalities and powers.   To be up front about it, my main point is that false worship is dangerous because false worship is demonic. And we know this because the Bible teaches this.... Continue Reading

We must not live by lies. We must instead—if we are to rightly love our neighbors—live for and by the truth because “love rejoices with the truth.” If we fail to do these things in ourselves, our churches, and our societies, our blurring of biology will blur justice to the detriment of all.   [Christians] are... Continue Reading

It’s not obvious why someone who is broken needs to be forgiven. In fact, it seems to be a category error: they’ve done nothing wrong. Their greatest need isn’t to have their guilt removed, but for healing, sympathy, a helping hand, and a fair go, and for those responsible for their brokenness to be called... Continue Reading

When we see what God is doing in the world, what his plan is, and what his end goal is, then it motivates us to participate in God’s vision and mission…that’s the best motivation for evangelistic communication, for apologetics, and all forms of Christian witness.   What God Is Doing Often, when we think about... Continue Reading