Our kids need to hear the stories of Daniel and David, but they need to know the God of Daniel and David. That happens through systematic teaching of doctrine in a relational environment. By reading my kids systematic theology, they have been asking questions about God they hadn’t asked because it is creating categories about... Continue Reading

Money issues are often at the center when someone’s character is defamed by scandal. It could be theft, tax evasion, questionable accounting practices, or simply poor management. But whatever the specific instance, it is clear that a failure to handle money with integrity has the potential to disqualify a person from receiving our trust.  ... Continue Reading

Carter did know a far more realistic hope than that offered by John and Yoko. Upon learning that doctors had found four kinds of cancer in his brain, the former president shared his personal “attitude toward death” with his Sunday school class: “I found that I was absolutely and completely at ease with death. It... Continue Reading

Christian Journaling or Psychic Channeling? dramatically unmasks many Christian-sounding ideas set forth in Jesus Calling by comparing them to what Scripture really says and means in context. [This] work is an excellent, biblical resource for Christians who might otherwise be deceived by the lure of Jesus Calling, or those who have known something was amiss but struggled... Continue Reading

As you get deeper into addiction, you get better and better at covering your tracks and deceiving other people. You believe your own lie that, “Things aren’t that bad.” You learn to hide your actions from family and healthy friends. You avoid God and the thought of God in every way you can. Honesty may... Continue Reading

The story of these sincere Anabaptist-type progressives has confirmed me, a Presbyterian, in my commitment to an Augustinian anthropology and belief in the importance of Scripture as normative for doctrine and life. Calvin once declared that doctrine without zeal is like a sword in the hand of a lunatic. One of the many lessons of... Continue Reading

First published in 1678, John Flavel’s The Mystery of Providence is based on the words “God that performeth all things for me” (Psalm 57:2). It shows us how providence works for us in every stage and experience of our lives. The Mystery of Providence is richly illustrated from the lives of believers and from the... Continue Reading

Barba-Kay admits digital technology has improved and will continue to improve our lives in particular ways. However, he doesn’t leave us guessing about his basic evaluation: “I regard the digital revolution as a basically dehumanizing force”.   Our digital devices are history’s first “natural” technology. The printing press and the telephone, for example, each changed... Continue Reading

Butterfield titles one her chapters “God Never Gets the Address Wrong.” Your neighbors are not a coincidence. They do not live by you merely due to an accident of the housing market. God placed you next to them and he did it for a reason. I’ll admit, this is a scary proposition. We don’t get... Continue Reading

The discipline of our bodies, according to Paul, is for no other reason than to ensure that we will not be rejected by Christ on the last day. Of course, Jesus’s standard isn’t the body-mass index or how many pushups we can do. That is ridiculous. Paul’s point is that the physical discipline he endures... Continue Reading