Every great city—every flourishing society, every lasting culture—begins the same way it always has: With leaders who have learned how to cultivate gardens again. For in the end, the future does not belong to those who build the biggest towers, but to those who remember how to grow gardens.   We are living through a... Continue Reading

To bring sinners to salvation, the triune God must extend to them a special, inward, irresistible call in addition to the outward call contained in the gospel message.   1 The doctrine of irresistible grace says that the Holy Spirit never fails to bring His own to faith. A clear grasp of this doctrine is... Continue Reading

It would be wrong to say that the Bible was ultimately created by the Church, or that the Church somehow stands in authority alongside or over the Bible in determining its canon. The canon is God’s canon. He is its ultimate cause, having set the boundaries of the Bible no less than He has set... Continue Reading

The Shepherd does not walk ahead impatiently while His sheep struggle to keep up. He walks close enough to support them. Christ does not merely point His people toward safety. He guards them and sustains them along the way.   Many of us quietly fear that we are more vulnerable than we can handle. “Your... Continue Reading

Biblically, there’s a surer source of knowledge than the independent mind. Human reason is not the most reliable authority. Wise living seeks out trusted authorities to which to submit. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (12:15).   Ever since the Enlightenment, Western civilization... Continue Reading

Salt quietly works its great power without drawing attention to itself, and instead, drawing attention to the very life that’s been cultivated, sustained, and enhanced in the process. As Christians, that is precisely how our lives ought to operate as well. Where we are, there will be more of Him. And where He is, there... Continue Reading

Original sin is the dark shadow, and Christ is the bright light. If we don’t like Adam representing us in sin, then we can forget about Christ representing us in righteousness!   Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes. Given the human condition, however, this adage needs an upgrade: Nothing in life is... Continue Reading

God is calling each one of us to trust Him in what we do in everyday life, in what He has called us to do that day. Jesus resisted temptation by the Spirit and the word. He relied on the Holy Spirit for strength and countered Satan with the word of God. May God give... Continue Reading

Talarico sees government as a force of love, while scripture sees it as God’s instrument of justice. Talarico looks to the law to coerce “love.” The Bible, however, presents the church as the noncoercive vehicle that reveals God’s love in the world.   Pop star Haddaway asked “What is love?” in a 1993 hit song.... Continue Reading

Living in the wilderness is difficult. It can be very easy to overlook the difficulties the Israelites faced in the wilderness.…Yet, the wilderness does not cause rebellion. The wilderness merely reveals the rebellion in our hearts. We, like them, complain, though God has provided daily manna for us.   I work with youth aged students... Continue Reading