To tolerate someone today means not only to bear with him with patience and respect, but to affirm, accept, and even celebrate values and choices that may be irreconcilable with one’s own. The result of this disfigurement of meaning is that a lot of Christians today are wary of any talk of tolerance.    There was... Continue Reading

Today our culture is increasingly setting boundaries that determine what is or is not an acceptable belief. These boundaries are established through messages from news and entertainment media, popular opinion as well as politics. In some areas we even see the government beginning to legislate standards for acceptable religious practice. To express or defend beliefs... Continue Reading

The basic story of Dunkirk is well-know, but I picked up a few things I hadn’t know in the coverage, especially concerning the wider war-time role of Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay, who masterminded the operation.   Last week marked the 80th Anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. Operation Dynamo saw the evacuation of 380,000 British and allied... Continue Reading

Ezra-Nehemiah presents its readers with a question: What if God hit the reset button? What if God’s exiled people suddenly regained their land, rebuilt the temple, and were allowed to renovate the city walls? The answer is that without a new heart, God’s people remain in exile.   The book(s) of Ezra-Nehemiah has held a... Continue Reading

Perhaps you have seen this Christian dreamer. If so, you can surely spot his sluggish disposition. Unlike the aroused laborer-in-Christ who feeds on God’s word for the spiritual nourishment to serve, the Christian dreamer will prefer mythopoetic treats to stimulate his intellectual assent of God. He will often feast on the cotton-candy visions of fantasy... Continue Reading

If we spend too much time focused on the news or following social media feeds, we will soon be defeated and worn. If we spend too much time focused on this world without turning our eyes heavenward, we will quickly be hopeless because this world is unable to satisfy. The emptiness of this world is... Continue Reading

These days I’m working on my pastor and dad bod which is notoriously not much to look at. My physique now isn’t what it was back in my early twenties and that’s okay. But back when I was a Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutrition Specialist, I learned many lessons that are transferrable to the... Continue Reading

Strobel correctly identifies that habits aren’t really what makes us change. “Spiritual practices cannot form you, you cannot habituate holiness in this way.” He’s right. We don’t grow simply by becoming better habit-keepers. How do we grow, then?    I’m a fan of Kyle Strobel. I was interested to hear him speak on a topic that... Continue Reading

What we need more than anything at present is to know that God has created all things, and, that He upholds all the events of life in this world. When we know and truly believe these truths, we begin to realize “that we can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and, that in all... Continue Reading

Beersheba was well south of Jerusalem and under the control and protection of godly King Jehoshaphat. Elijah left his servant in Beersheba, safe from Jezebel’s assassins, and went to be alone with the Lord. Great works of the Lord were shown to Ahab and Jezebel and yet seeing and hearing those works did not save... Continue Reading