While the biblical picture of calling and vocation includes our giftedness, it also includes things like sacrifice, persecution, and an awareness of the needs of my neighbors. Jesus said that those who follow him carry crosses. Paul said that anyone who wishes to follow Christ will be persecuted. (Remember, Liddell died in a Japanese prison... Continue Reading

He gifts each one of us in different ways and expects we will make careful and deliberate use of our gifts to amplify their reach and multiply their power. What appears to be weak is soon proven to be strong. When God grants us small seeds of character, he means for it to bloom into... Continue Reading

Nothing is innately wrong with lipstick and shoes, for example, but we can’t take them with us when our bodies return to dust. They’re “treasures,” in a sense, that will perish when we do (Gen. 3:19; Matt. 6:19–21). The same goes for money and possessions and all our earthly accomplishments.   “The first comment we... Continue Reading

Just like Jesus’ rebuke to the Pharisees, each part of God’s word is to be viewed in light of Christ Himself. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have... Continue Reading

I wonder how many dads have failed to protect their daughters and sons because they craved their approval. When speaking on sexual purity, I once asked a class of 125 Christian college students, “Looking back, how many of you wish your parents had given you less freedom in your high school years to go where... Continue Reading

Jesus gives a reason why “people loved the darkness.” He says it’s “because their works were evil” (John 3:19). They preferred the realm that corresponded to their actions and decisions. The wicked man “does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (3:20). This rebel loves the darkness not only because it... Continue Reading

Keep a long view. Be patient. Realize the necessary long-term gradual development while keeping in mind the final overarching goal. Raising your child will, of course, take several years before launching them into independent adulthood. At the end of the road, responsible Christian parenting involves preparing your children for their God-given vocation, possible marriage, and... Continue Reading

If the darkest hour in human history became the stage for God’s most dazzling work, then your dark hours are not fit for you to fear. On the contrary, they are the places where you should watch for life to come forth from death and light to burst forth from the darkness! Instead of wallowing,... Continue Reading

As science fiction-style technology accelerates, Christians must get serious about bioethics and the theology of being human. We won’t know what to do with brainless “bodyoids” if we are theology-less brains and bodies. Even worse, we won’t have any way to resist that which destroys, exploits, or dehumanizes God’s image.     The recent debates over... Continue Reading

If you are a child of God, he is working to renew you into his image—including the way you think and communicate (Eph. 4:20-24). The more you grow in Christ, the more God, by his grace, will remove sin’s effects on your mind and make your thinking, imagining, and writing more like Christ’s.   Everything... Continue Reading