If you feel unsettled by uncertainty or frustrated by outcomes you cannot influence, you are sharing a common weakness. God does not ask you to manage history. He asks you to trust Him within it.   We are easily unsettled when events seem to move beyond our control. “The king’s heart is a stream of... Continue Reading

Christianity is the only worldview robust enough to validate the horror of evil while simultaneously affirming the sovereignty of God. We do not deny the darkness; we stare into it and light a candle.   We have spent the last few articles rejecting the errors of Stoicism—its impersonal God, its idol of self-sufficiency, and its... Continue Reading

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God….Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?…Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in... Continue Reading

We’ve all heard stories of admired men who faltered in ministry because of a moral failure. Those stories remind us that we all need accountability. As Paul says, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this” (1 Tim. 4:16).   My first job in ministry was working for a large... Continue Reading

“The majority of mankind is lazyminded, incurious, absorbed in vanities, and tepid in emotion, and is therefore incapable of either much doubt or much faith.” The teenage brain is neither lazyminded, nor incurious. But it may become absorbed in vanities if it is not challenged. So go ahead and challenge your child’s teenage brain, and... Continue Reading

Tomorrow, the order may change, due to deadlines, urgency, or importance.   Overwhelmed, under pressure, stressed out; that’s how we feel sometimes, when we think of all we have to do. Let’s think about where we are when these times come. First, it isn’t true that you have multiple things that are most important. You... Continue Reading

 “It’s possible to have a life that doesn’t appear fruitful to the world, but is faithful to God. This is the foolishness of the cross. The cross looks like failure, but is the greatest act of faithfulness which has led to incalculable fruitfulness. Fruit in the kingdom of God doesn’t always look like fruit in... Continue Reading

People should be able to see by the way we live that we actually feel the love of God. This gives weight to our testimony. Our consciences should be tender, and we should strive to the best of our ability to be innocent as to evil and walk in holiness because we love Jesus. Genuine... Continue Reading

God’s happiness in himself gives great comfort to Susanna and to us. Our broken world and our wayward hearts make it far too easy for us to conceive of God as less than happy. But if God is happy in himself, without reference to us or even the universe, then his happiness is forever constant,... Continue Reading

“The things you pray about are the things you trust God to handle. The things you neglect to pray about are the things you trust you can handle on your own.” H.B. Charles taught me that pointed lesson in It Happens After Prayer, and I’ve never forgotten it.    Not every thought makes a good... Continue Reading