Wisdom begins when a person learns to pause and ask a better question than the crowd is asking. Instead of asking who should win the fight, the wiser question asks whether the fight should happen at all.   The entire sixth grade heard the announcement before I did. “After lunch tomorrow, James is going to... Continue Reading

If we don’t believe that prayer really matters or that God uses prayers as a means to bring about His purposes, then it’s unlikely we’ll pray. Daniel was a great prophet of God who depended upon prayer. But Jesus, the greater and final prophet, also depended upon prayer throughout His life and ministry.   When... Continue Reading

Judges teaches us what Israel truly needs, and what we need as well. Not another judge. Not stronger discipline. Not clearer instruction alone. Israel needs a Savior who can do more than rescue from enemies. She needs one who can save from sin itself. One who does not come for a season and then die,... Continue Reading

 As a boy, He heard the Scriptures in the synagogue, learned them at home, stored them in His heart, and walked beneath their steady rule. He did not live by a modern quiet-time formula. He lived by the Word. Scripture lived in Him, rose to His lips in the wilderness, steadied Him in sorrow, and... Continue Reading

When Paul talks about the traditions he “delivered over” to his churches, he makes the following comments on them: commends Corinth for holding firm to them (despite other spiritual issues in the local church) (1 Cor 11.2); exhorts Thessalonica to stand fast and hold to them (2 Thess 2.15); and warns against keeping company with... Continue Reading

God does not judge our works with the strictness of a Judge, but with the tenderness of a Father. He looks upon us in His Son and “is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses.” Like a father who cherishes a drawing from his toddler not because it... Continue Reading

We will be outflanked if we continue to prepare for the ideological battles of the last century. As those who should understand the times, we need to understand the nature of the liberalism arising in Christianity today. This ethical liberalism, which is really a lack of genuine repentance, threatens to undermine the church in this... Continue Reading

LGBTQ+ movement has shifted its rite of passage from “coming out” to “cutting off”–cutting off of parents, of history, of reality, and sometimes even body parts. And that level of violence can only be sustained by rage. All of the made-up identities of LGBTQ+ celebrate such a cutting off. I regularly hear sad stories of... Continue Reading

The most loving thing you can do for someone who has confused opinion for truth is not to validate the confusion. It is to point them—gently, carefully, at personal cost—toward the truth that actually has the power to set them free. Not your truth. The truth. There is a difference, and that difference is everything.... Continue Reading

Sticking to your guns means holding the line where Scripture draws it. Doubling down means refusing to acknowledge when you stepped over that line. One is faithfulness. The other is arrogance adorned with a veneer of courage. This is especially dangerous for leaders. When others look to you for clarity, your posture teaches as loudly... Continue Reading