Anna Duggar can forgive Josh without continuing their marriage. She can separate from him, divorce him, remove his kids from him, because he violated the vow he made to her–and she can still forgive him. To forgive does not mean that you return to the same relationship you had with someone before they hurt you.... Continue Reading

Yellowstone is a natural and finite location, but it opened my eyes by providing a faint analogy of heaven. Being in the presence of God, being outside the scope of time, looking beyond the political-cultural turmoil of today, and yet every day thinking, “Here is something completely new and different.” “Your mercies are new every... Continue Reading

One of the problems you run into when you are not consistent or predictable is that you please no one. You get shot at by people committed to consistency on the right or the left. I have been thinking of some of my inconsistencies that displease some folks.   My oldest son got the idea... Continue Reading

Sacred balance is what we need. Redeeming the time is the duty of all worshipers. However, part of redeeming the time is spending one sweet day, especially and differently, focusing on the Lord who builds the house, giving honor to the Lord who watches over the city, worshiping the One who gives bread to his creatures, and relaxing in the arms... Continue Reading

Yet now SCOTUS justices can rewrite the Constitution to include anything they deem fit by appeal to nothing more than their own ideology. Even if you support “gay marriage,” be alarmed. Be very, very alarmed. The Lawless Five just abolished the whole concept that amending the Constitution requires a super majority in the two Houses... Continue Reading

“American Christians have long emphasized (rightly, in many cases) the personal and individual side of Christianity: personal conversion, personal decisions, personal quiet times. Those are important things, but the New Testament provides a more crowded picture of the Christian life than those stock images indicate.”   Occasionally, someone asks me for a worship song recommendation,... Continue Reading

In a personal letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne upon completing this novel, Melville said, “I have written an evil book.” What is it about the book that Melville considered evil? I think the answer to that question lies in the meaning of the central symbolic character of the novel, Moby Dick, the great white whale.   It... Continue Reading

“But morality is inescapable. Let’s say we agree that Jesus is all about relationships. Great. Then what? Every relationship has actions the parties would deem in and out of bounds, actions that help or hinder the union. Jesus may be more patient than most, but even he promises to eventually call foul on some things.”... Continue Reading

“When things appear, feel, and are difficult we remember that God is a powerful, good and faithful God. He has proven this every single day of history. When we feel cut off and alone, we remember that God is compassionate, sympathetic and near to his people.”   Years ago I worked in a financial brokerage.... Continue Reading

“I didn’t want to suffer through a long and hard fight, so I gave into my opponent and would try to restrain him until he calmed down. It rarely worked. This mentality is common among professing Christians in how we engage sin. But this mindset is inconsistent with biblical Christianity. True faith will make Christians... Continue Reading