You’d Be a Spiritual Orphan without Pentecost

You’d Be a Spiritual Orphan without Pentecost – “Pentecost wasn’t just a watershed moment of empowerment; it was a form of consolation. Pentecost shows us we aren’t abandoned on earth as spiritual orphans.”

Parenting Is About Treasuring: Four Ways to Nurture Joy in God

Parenting Is About Treasuring: Four Ways to Nurture Joy in God – “Once we recognize joy’s formative power over our kids’ hearts, we are well on our way to knowing our children better and our role as parents better too.”

Sin Never Keeps Its Promises

Sin Never Keeps Its Promises – “Sin is a swindler. It covers its deceit with kindness and sweet promises. We sin because we believe the lies.”

Should I Watch This? 5 Questions for the Discerning Viewer

 – “There’s no shortage of things to watch in our spectacle-driven, over-mediated age. The options are dizzying—hundreds of TV channels, millions of pieces of streamable content, the entire history of film and television in the cloud, waiting to be watched.” 

Leaning into Grief

Leaning into Grief – “We acknowledge that the meaning of our deepest experiences is often hidden from our eyes.”

Let Jude Deliver You from ‘Your Truth’

Let Jude Deliver You from ‘Your Truth’ – “Examining Jude’s approach equips us with wisdom for affirming the existence of biblical truth beyond mere personal truth—within ourselves, in our interactions with unbelievers, and in our interactions with one another.”

How the Comfort of Heaven Works Backward

How the Comfort of Heaven Works Backward – “Jesus’s promise of comfort comes with a condition: that we mourn. In this time of isolation, it’s tempting to settle for distraction.”

The Gospel and the Pursuit of Justice in Your City

The Gospel and the Pursuit of Justice in Your City – “This gospel also explains that Jesus died to reconcile sinners to God and to each other into one new humanity (Eph. 2:11–22).”

Talking Sin to a Culture That Doesn’t Believe in It

Talking Sin to a Culture That Doesn’t Believe in It – “Through our relationship with God we find our true identity and receive what we most need: forgiveness, reconciliation with him, identity, purpose, and the love that will never leave us.”

We Are All Exiles Now

We Are All Exiles Now – “It’s clear we are all exiles. We live in a world broken by sin. And while sometimes we enter a situation of exile because of our own sinful actions, it’s at least as common if not more that the deep frustration of exile comes upon us due to the brokenness that mars all parts of this world.”

Read the Bible with All of You

Read the Bible with All of You – “As you read, and live, and suffer, know that this God is always with you. Read to have him, and to be had — mind, heart, hands, mouth, and life — by him.”

Recovering Tolerance as a Christian Virtue

Recovering Tolerance as a Christian Virtue – “Whether the topic is eating food sacrificed to idols or wearing masks to worship on Sundays, Christians must allow for a sufficient degree of difference so that each worshiper can preserve a pure heart before God.”

Defeating Despair

Defeating Despair – “You feel a sense of hopelessness overtaking you and, like a tire with a slow leak, you get a little lower every day. What can you do when you start despairing, when hope seems so elusive?”

Why Did the ‘Liberal Leaning’ Media Turn Even Further to the Left?

Why Did the ‘Liberal Leaning’ Media Turn Even Further to the Left? – An Important Article from the Former President of CBS News.

Five B's of the Baby Boomers

Five B's of the Baby Boomers – “The Boomers came in the early stages of a technological and innovation revolution, which also influenced the church.”

Why Do Christians Need to Hear the Gospel Every Day?

Why Do Christians Need to Hear the Gospel Every Day? – “Here are eight reasons we need to hear gospel truths each and every day.”

How Money Makes You Blind

How Money Makes You Blind – “This is a pretty confusing statement, but it gets even more confusing when you realize it’s in the context of a bunch of other teachings about money. What does the eye have to do with money?”

Sometimes People Just Don’t Believe

Sometimes People Just Don’t Believe – “Sometimes people just don’t believe. Their heart is stone. A veil lies over their eyes.”

Churches’ Rights and Responsibilities When Reopening in the Pandemic

Churches’ Rights and Responsibilities When Reopening in the Pandemic – This frames the issues in a unique way.

Uncomfortable Hope: Race Relations in America

Uncomfortable Hope: Race Relations in America – “The more I observe Christian commentary around race, the more I see that truths and realities surrounding race that seem obvious to me are not obvious to many of my white brothers and sisters.”

What George Floyd’s Death Should Remind Us About Justice and the Gospel

What George Floyd’s Death Should Remind Us About Justice and the Gospel – “The initial reports about the George Floyd case—as with so many of the others—are bewildering. But we know this. A man is dead, and for that we should weep. We also know this. These awful scenarios keep happening.”

What’s So Special About Church?

What’s So Special About Church? – “In the gathering of the local church, we glorify God most, experience him best, and do the greatest good to our neighbors. Is church worth it? Absolutely.”

Great Power in its Effects

Great Power in its Effects – “I’ll pray for you”. Do those words feel like the “consolation prize” of the Christian life?  

Heading Home

Heading Home – “No matter what life brings, remember: we’re heading home.”

Too Many Christian Workaholics

Too Many Christian Workaholics – “Why are there so many workaholics in the church? Why are so many Christians successful in their career at the expense of their spouse and children? Why do we struggle to find time for ministry, prayer, and Scripture reading but spend way too much time in the office or our work inbox?”

Revelation, Coronavirus, and the Mark of the Beast

Revelation, Coronavirus, and the Mark of the Beast – “While paying attention to the Bible is always a good thing, Revelation is too often used (by Christians and non-Christians) in a way that does less to edify the body of Christ and more to stoke the fires of wild speculation and unfounded conspiracy theories.”

There is No Faith So Little That It Is Not Saving

There is No Faith So Little That It Is Not Saving – “There is no faith so little that it can’t be saving. Faith does not have to be strong to be saving, it just has to be real. The smallest faith, if it is real, receives the same strength of Christ in salvation as the strongest faith.”

Teach Me!

Teach Me! – “We do not need anyone to teach us how to do wrong. We definitely need someone to teach us how to do right.”

5 Common Ways Church Members Go Astray

5 Common Ways Church Members Go Astray – “As you engage relationally with your local fellowship and hear of a member in one of these situations, take note: that brother or sister could already be straying. Here are five common ways church members go astray.”

Sell Yourself Short: The Rare Joy of Christian Humility

Sell Yourself Short: The Rare Joy of Christian Humility – “What if we asked ourselves, in such a world as ours, How do I humble myself?”

In the Church You Will Have Tribulation, But Be of Good Cheer….

In the Church You Will Have Tribulation, But Be of Good Cheer…. – “We were expecting hostility from the world.  But certainly not from the Lord’s people. Church is where we get blindsided.”

How to Turn Repentance Into a Non-Apology Apology

How to Turn Repentance Into a Non-Apology Apology – “If we want to avoid true repentance and hide behind a non-apology apology, then we’ll need to do the opposite of what we see David doing here. We’ll need to do four things.”

Five Reasons Your Church Members Are Disagreeing about When to Regather

Five Reasons Your Church Members Are Disagreeing about When to Regather – Thom Rainer has identified five major themes.

What Billions Say in Silence: The Deafening Sermons of the Stars

What Billions Say in Silence: The Deafening Sermons of the Stars – “David only had a hint of how minute he was in relation to the heavens. Our fuel for awe is astronomically greater. We know more, but do we marvel more?”

Peacemaking in the Church: Covid-19 and Conscience

Peacemaking in the Church: Covid-19 and Conscience – “I’m a big fan of helping Christians dwell together in peace and unity with a love for the truth. What do we do when Christians disagree about how to handle coronavirus?”

How Much Joy Did the Curse Cost Me?

How Much Joy Did the Curse Cost Me? – “Grace shines all the more brightly because of the deadness and blindness from which God saves us.”

5 Warnings to Those Who Merely Pretend To Be Godly

5 Warnings to Those Who Merely Pretend To Be Godly – “Jude compares them to clouds without water in that they seem to be full of the Spirit but are actually devoid of true goodness. “Here are five solemn warnings to those who only pretend to be godly.”

The Maker of the Mountains Is with You

The Maker of the Mountains Is with You – In days of darkness, God regularly delivers his comfort and strength to us through four simple words: “I am with you.”

One Could Never Say Enough

One Could Never Say Enough – “One tribe could never say enough about this Christ. One language would never have enough words and nuances. One nation would never last long enough to see what many nations over many centuries could. Everything truly great and beautiful about every people group in history will be gathered and lifted before the throne, trying to capture just something of who this Lamb is. And though we will never fully capture him, we will capture far more because we are not the same.”

We Need Rainy Times

We Need Rainy Times – “I love sunny days, but I think we need the rainy days, too. There is an Arab proverb, ‘All sunshine makes a desert.’ Here are my first, worst, next and best times it rained.”

The Nightmare That Colleges Face This Fall

The Nightmare That Colleges Face This Fall – “Colleges cannot keep students away forever; their bottom lines can’t handle that financial pressure. Residence halls are scheduled to reopen for the fall semester three months from now. Nearly everyone with an eye on higher education is asking one question: How can schools pull this off?”

Why I’m Religious, Not Spiritual

Why I’m Religious, Not Spiritual – “Christianity: not just a relationship, but a religion made up of relationships – beautiful (and challenging) relationships – with our fellow believers, based in a renewed relationship with God, through His Son Jesus Christ.”

“What Is God Up To?”: The Temptation to Overinterpret Suffering

“What Is God Up To?”: The Temptation to Overinterpret Suffering – “Our aim is, and continues to be, to know Christ. From that safe and sane place of humility and dependence, we set out to know Jesus Christ more.”

Do My Sins Ruin God’s Plan for My Life?

Do My Sins Ruin God’s Plan for My Life? – “Do my sins sabotage God’s best plan for my life? Do I lose God’s best plan for me by living in sin?”

Does God Miss Our Worship?

Does God Miss Our Worship? – Many of us have missed gathering for worship and all that goes it. Here’s the question measured against the Bible, “Does God miss what we were bringing to Him in our worship?"

The Good News of Christ’s Ascension

The Good News of Christ’s Ascension – “Ascension Day is traditionally marked on the 40th day after Easter Sunday. The doctrine of Christ’s ascension has many implications. Here are just five.”

God’s Answer to Human Suffering: The Cross of Christ and Problem of Pain

God’s Answer to Human Suffering: The Cross of Christ and Problem of Pain – “Christians still suffer as they walk through this cursed world on their way to glory, but they do so in hope.”

Why We Miss Congregational Singing

Why We Miss Congregational Singing – “Here are three (of many) reasons why singing together in church is so important and irreplaceable.”

How the Fall Affected Evangelism

How the Fall Affected Evangelism – “From the account of Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden, there are at least four reasons why believers may not be sharing the gospel.”

Are You an Immigrant, Tourist, or Exile?

Are You an Immigrant, Tourist, or Exile? – “Peter wrote his first letter to a church whose world had been turned upside down like ours has, a group of believers who had been scattered all over the world through political and religious persecution. Everything in their lives was uncertain; their communities had been shattered; their worlds were totally rocked.”

3 Ways Baptism & the Lord’s Supper Ought to Shape our Monday through Saturday

3 Ways Baptism & the Lord’s Supper Ought to Shape our Monday through Saturday – “Let me submit three ways the Bible shows us how the ordinances should shape our relationships with one another, both on Sundays and throughout the week.”

How to Avoid Anger Overload in the Digital Age

How to Avoid Anger Overload in the Digital Age – “today’s media economy is fueled by “quick to speak” rants, mobs, and pile-ons that create traffic spikes and trending topics. To resist this temptation is one of the most challenging yet subversive things a wise 21st-century Christian can do.”

Tucking Ben In

Tucking Ben In – “We know intellectually that none of us is promised tomorrow, and yet it’s easy to forget when we are accustomed to presuming upon the future, and our days seem strung together like an endless chain of daisies into the distance.” This is a good read. 

An Ordinary Abundant Life

An Ordinary Abundant Life – “Here’s the really great thing about the Christian life, though. Even while doing ordinary things, we can engage in the eternal.”

The God over Viruses

The God over Viruses – “There is no typhoon, there is no monsoon, there is no tornado over which Jesus cannot say, ‘Be still.’”

God Made You for a Body: How Resurrection Will Make Us Whole

God Made You for a Body: How Resurrection Will Make Us Whole – “the ultimate goal of what Jesus purchased on the cross, and the great hope of the Christian faith, is not disembodied souls living in an ethereal heaven after bodily death, but the resurrection of the body.”

COVID-19, Regathering, And Dying To Self

COVID-19, Regathering, And Dying To Self – “We have catered to our congregations for so long without calling followers of Christ to die to their own preferences for the sake of others.” I’ve seen dozens of posts from everywhere that give testimony to this.

When We Disagree Over COVID-19

When We Disagree Over COVID-19 – “We’re coming back together—but we’re not happy.”

5 Ways Your Church Makes You Holy

5 Ways Your Church Makes You Holy – Let’s look at five ways the local church makes us holy.

Coronavirus as Dress Rehearsal

Coronavirus as Dress Rehearsal – “Perhaps we can derive great benefits by embracing this crisis as a dress rehearsal.” American Christianity is learning some lessons we wouldn’t have learned otherwise.

Finishing God’s Mission in Seasons of Flux

Finishing God’s Mission in Seasons of Flux – “This will likely be the dawn of another paradigm shift in Christianity that recalibrates the ecclesiological instruments we’re too easily relied upon historically.”   

For Anyone Happy Without God

For Anyone Happy Without God – “Instead of justifying a life apart from God, substituting the gifts for the Giver, the gifts of great joy are given to lead to the Giver.”

Faithfulness in the Shadows: The Life and Ministry of Philip Melanchthon

Faithfulness in the Shadows: The Life and Ministry of Philip Melanchthon – “Melanchthon was first rate in his giftedness and his contributions toward the advancement of the gospel in Germany and beyond.”

Ravi Zacharias (1946–2020) and His Legacy

Ravi Zacharias (1946–2020) and His Legacy – “Ravi Zacharias (1946–2020) will be remembered for his landmark contributions to Christian apologetics, especially his concern to connect the gospel with the life of the mind.”

The Secret to Living Hope in the Face of Death

The Secret to Living Hope in the Face of Death – “When God’s promises are vivid in our minds and warm in our hearts, the problems of life can’t compare with what we have in Christ.”

How Baptism Changes Our Status

How Baptism Changes Our Status – “Baptism is ‘just’ a symbolic act. But symbolic acts can be very powerful. These ‘mere’ signs can change reality when they take place in the context of the community of faith. They are ‘just’ symbols. But symbols have power. They can transform our status.”

The First Temptations of Christ

The First Temptations of Christ – “Have you spent much time considering that Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life every single day as a child?”

Does Christ Govern Every Storm?

Does Christ Govern Every Storm? – “The sovereignty of God in the Bible over all things is pervasive and all-encompassing.”

The Wonder We Once Had: Unearthing the World God Made

The Wonder We Once Had: Unearthing the World God Made – “When was the last time something God made stopped you with a deep, undeniable sense that he must be real?”

A Checklist for Your Fears and Anxieties

A Checklist for Your Fears and Anxieties – “This is a good time to remember God’s words to us about fear and anxiety. Though God’s words are always beautiful, now seems an especially good time to remember how God comforts us.”

Loneliness Has Been My Faithful Friend

Loneliness Has Been My Faithful Friend – “While most will remember this year for a virus, many also will remember the emotional pandemic of isolation and social distancing.”

The Secret of Christ-Magnifying Contentment as the Path to Costly Love

The Secret of Christ-Magnifying Contentment as the Path to Costly Love – “I think those three concerns are written on the human heart — every human heart — so that, conscious or unconscious, you know, and everybody knows, whether they are Christians or not.”

Be Patient: You Never Know What That Fellow Has Gone Through

Be Patient: You Never Know What That Fellow Has Gone Through – We are quick to make judgments about others but we may not know the whole story. Here are some good examples.

Not Too Good to be True

Not Too Good to be True – We hear a lot of extravagant claims on many things but the Bible fulfills what it promises.

Why the Mission Remains Essential Work

Why the Mission Remains Essential Work – “Nothing is more essential than sharing the life-giving message of the gospel with a lost and dying world.”

Of Oceans, Thimbles, and Talking to Your Kids about Death

Of Oceans, Thimbles, and Talking to Your Kids about Death – There’s a lot of helpful information here but I loved this quote: “If it is the time God has chosen for you to die, you can drown in a thimble; if it’s not, then you can survive for days in the open ocean.”

9 Things You Should Know About Buddhism

9 Things You Should Know About Buddhism – There are also links to simple, clear videos.

‘My Soul Refuses to Be Comforted’: A Song for Long Nights in Darkness

‘My Soul Refuses to Be Comforted’: A Song for Long Nights in Darkness – “Psalm 77 was birthed during an anguished, sleep-deprived night. And it has no explicit resolution; no pretty bow of hopeful words to wrap it up.” 

Why Has Covid-19 Hit Seniors So Hard?

Why Has Covid-19 Hit Seniors So Hard? – “The Covid-19 pandemic presents a doubly complicated situation for older people: Not only are they at higher risk of contracting the disease, and more likely to develop severe infections and die from it.”

Five Prayer Resolutions to Carry You Through This Pandemic

Five Prayer Resolutions to Carry You Through This Pandemic – “While our coronavirus situation is new, the church’s calling has not changed.”

Church, Don’t Let Coronavirus Divide You

Church, Don’t Let Coronavirus Divide You – “In such a precarious and polarizing environment, how can churches move forward in beautiful unity (Ps. 133) rather than ugly division? It won’t be easy. But by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit working to unify us in ways our flesh resists, the opportunity is there for us to be a countercultural model for the rest of the world.”

Am I Living by Faith or Unbelief?

Am I Living by Faith or Unbelief? – “Virtue is conformity to God’s law that comes from reliance upon God’s love and forgiveness and wisdom and power.”

Why Do So Many Christians Buy Into Conspiracy Theories Like ‘Plandemic’?

Why Do So Many Christians Buy Into Conspiracy Theories Like ‘Plandemic’? – “What his team has found is that at the core of these behaviors and tendencies is something very simple: a need to feel like you’re in control.”

The Pivot in Our Mission: Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

The Pivot in Our Mission: Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing – “For those of us who know Christ, this is the time to be resolute in our devotion to him above all else.”

Blowing Up the 3 B’s

Blowing Up the 3 B’s – Perhaps we have been set free from the old metrics of church life - bodies, buildings, and budgets during this time.

L(amen)ting with Hope

L(amen)ting with Hope – “God knows your pain before you even tell him, but he still wants you to tell him.”

The Second Eve: How Christian Women Undo the Curse

The Second Eve: How Christian Women Undo the Curse – “What we see in the Bible is how God has gone about the undoing of this curse.”

6 Questions about Raising Daughters

6 Questions about Raising Daughters – Here are six practical suggestions.

CDC Document Outlines Guidance for Reopening of Churches

CDC Document Outlines Guidance for Reopening of Churches – This is in line with the guidelines from Governor Abbott for Texas. Many people seem to believe churches will now just open doors and go back to the “way things were”. There are several steps to get there.

Be a Refresher

Be a Refresher – “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Prov. 11:24–25”

The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About 5 Pending Supreme Court Cases

The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About 5 Pending Supreme Court Cases – “The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments this week for cases that will be decided in late May or June. Here are five with implications for religious liberty.”

Jesus Doesn’t Keep the Receipt

Jesus Doesn’t Keep the Receipt – “We may be tempted to believe that how we feel and what we do can affect God’s love for us. And in seasons of encroaching darkness and despair, we might wonder if God is reconsidering his purchase. Did he keep the receipt?”

How to Care for Friends with Anxiety and Depression

How to Care for Friends with Anxiety and Depression – “As pastors, parents, coworkers, and friends, how do we love those with vulnerabilities such as depression or anxiety?”

4 Ways to Disagree Graciously with Other Christians

4 Ways to Disagree Graciously with Other Christians – “ll of us will face these kinds of challenges at some point or another. The reality is that if you think for yourself, you will likely, at some point or another, hold to a different view than is socially convenient.”

Certain Counsel for Uncertain Times

Certain Counsel for Uncertain Times – “What are we supposed to do with this overwhelming sense of frailty? How are we supposed to trust God in a season of suffering and uncertainty that feels unprecedented? The book of James calls us to submit all things to the Lord: our plans, our resources, and our suffering.”

I Feel It On Sundays The Most

I Feel It On Sundays The Most – Yes...we do.

My Wedding Plans Changed. God Didn’t.

My Wedding Plans Changed. God Didn’t. – “Here are three things he’s been reminding me in this season.”

Learning the Lyrics of God: How to Read the Bible’s Poetry

Learning the Lyrics of God: How to Read the Bible’s Poetry – “The purpose of this article is to equip pastors, Bible teachers, and laypeople to handle the poetry of the Bible with zest and confidence.”

How Does God Hide His Face from Us?

How Does God Hide His Face from Us? – “What does the Bible mean when it says that the Lord hid his face? And why would he do this?”

Our Idols Are Exposed in Times of Crisis

Our Idols Are Exposed in Times of Crisis – “COVID-19, like any other significant crisis, lays bare who we are: the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

How Hebrews 1 Hammers Home the Deity of Christ

How Hebrews 1 Hammers Home the Deity of Christ – There are several key marks found in Hebrews 1.

Satan Is Not That Creative

Satan Is Not That Creative – “Although a book about Satan’s tactics may not be an immediately appealing nightstand choice, Precious Remedies yields at least three important benefits.”

The Great Physician for COVID-19

The Great Physician for COVID-19 – “Which Bible character best represents us, as a society, in this COVID-19 moment? My vote is for the “bleeding woman” of Luke 8. Let me explain why.”

2 Reasons Re-Opening the Church Will Be More Challenging than Closing the Church

2 Reasons Re-Opening the Church Will Be More Challenging than Closing the Church – This article sums up the issues churches are facing very well.

Sometimes the Life of Faith is Just Walking, Not Fainting

Sometimes the Life of Faith is Just Walking, Not Fainting – “Right now, many of us are struggling, trying not to stumble over our steps. The days are a blur; our vision is foggy; we feel our faith faltering. It’s in times like these that we must look beyond the moment of trial and entrust ourselves to the God who has brought us here.”

3 Ways to Keep Social Media from Stealing Your Joy

3 Ways to Keep Social Media from Stealing Your Joy – “Social media often seems to reflect the opposite values of God’s kingdom.”

Better Than a Fresh Start: A Brief Biblical Theology of Ezra-Nehemiah

Better Than a Fresh Start: A Brief Biblical Theology of Ezra-Nehemiah – What significance does Ezra-Nehemiah have for us today, right now?

10 Keys to Solving Marriage Conflict in Quarantine

10 Keys to Solving Marriage Conflict in Quarantine – “It’s been said that only two things in life are certain—death and taxes. If you’re living with your spouse in isolation during this COVID-19 crisis, I’d add one more: marriage conflict.”

3 Ways Humor Can Help in Hard Times

3 Ways Humor Can Help in Hard Times – “Consider three reasons believers can gladly enjoy humor in the midst of a pandemic.”

What We Need Most at Present

What We Need Most at Present – Nick Batzig: “Every morning, as I scroll through my social media feed, I see more and more articles, posts, videos, and comments in which individuals are trying to convince me of how I should be responding to our current situation, medical advise, economic impacts, and civil freedom.”

Battling the Idol of Envy with Numbers 11

Battling the Idol of Envy with Numbers 11 – “In my longing, I’d come to believe God was withholding from me.”

What God’s Name Can Teach Us About Faith During COVID-19

What God’s Name Can Teach Us About Faith During COVID-19 – In some ways, a name is the most intimate way of expressing someone’s identity.

6 Problems in Small Groups

6 Problems in Small Groups – Here are some common problems and suggestions for overcoming them.

Don’t Underestimate the New Testament’s Earliest Letter

Don’t Underestimate the New Testament’s Earliest Letter – “He (James) meets us in our suffering, our illness, and our poverty. He confronts us in our speech, our wealth, and our pride. He instructs us when we lack the wisdom to know what to do next. James speaks into these real, daily struggles by offering short commands (more than half of the 108 verses in the letter are commands!) on how a Christian should live.” 

In Marriage as in Life, Weak Is Strong

In Marriage as in Life, Weak Is Strong – “Paul’s thorn—this built-in weakness—was substantial enough to accomplish three effects in his life.”

Is Congregational Singing Dangerous?

Is Congregational Singing Dangerous? – This is one of many issues churches find themselves trying to discern.

How to Imitate Biblical Heroes

How to Imitate Biblical Heroes – How do we apply great biblical examples?

Does God Exist?

Does God Exist? – “Does God exist? As a Christian writer and speaker, I get this question all the time. And while my approach to answering it differs based on the context and the person asking, my answer is always the same: ‘Yes, God exists. God is real and He has communicated Himself to human beings through mighty acts in history, through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and through the Bible.'”

Covid 19 & Biblical Balance

Covid 19 & Biblical Balance – “We cannot pit life against livelihood. We cannot say, ‘If you care about life you don’t care about livelihood.’ Nor can one say, ‘If you care about livelihood you must not care about life.’ Christians must hold both of these together in Biblical balance.”

Trusting God’s Hand When I Couldn’t See His Face

Trusting God’s Hand When I Couldn’t See His Face – “God is no less good when his healing happens in the next life than he is when healing happens in this one. Even when we cannot glimpse the contours of our Father’s plan, he is still good.”

Should We Give Up Privacy to Fight Coronavirus?

Should We Give Up Privacy to Fight Coronavirus? – “Again, just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. The challenge is to balance the benefits of these tools with their dehumanizing potential, for the dignity of our neighbors is at stake.”

The Final Enemy

The Final Enemy – “Death is thus both inevitable and terrible. It is a merciless foe. It deprives us of our loved ones and eventually will take us, too. Most of us respond to it with acts of denial—denial of the radical finality of death, of the inevitability of death, of the sovereignty of death.”

For Better or Worse: What Will Marriage Do to You?

For Better or Worse: What Will Marriage Do to You? – “Marriage influences our happiness, our usefulness, and our souls, for good or ill, far more than we often expect.”

Every Breath

Every Breath – From one of our IMB missionaries: “Cancer patient models faithfulness as the coronavirus ravages Europe.”

Christians Are Not Immune to Conspiracy Theories

Christians Are Not Immune to Conspiracy Theories – “That some people somewhere believe something ridiculous is not surprising. What is shocking, though, is so many Christians not only believe in such conspiracies but also promote them in public.”

Critique Gently, Encourage Fiercely

Critique Gently, Encourage Fiercely – “We can befriend others because this Jesus is our Friend.”

Were Adam and Eve Real People? How History Hangs on Their Story

Were Adam and Eve Real People? How History Hangs on Their Story – “The biblical data consistently understands Adam and Eve to have been real individual human beings from whom all humanity’s descent may be traced.”

When Jesus Listened to His Mother

When Jesus Listened to His Mother – “Jesus loves his mother. He wants to please her. He knows she’s asking for more than she realizes. But very often Jesus is eager to give those who submit to his authority more than they could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20, John 1:16).”

Your Conscience Is a Gift From God. But It’s Not God.

Your Conscience Is a Gift From God. But It’s Not God. – “When Paul talks about wisdom in areas where Scripture is not clear, he makes it clear that unity is more important than uniformity. Many Christians would agree. But this is easier said than done.”

A Kingdom Response to Racism on our Watch

A Kingdom Response to Racism on our Watch – “We can decry injustice with clenched fists held high, yet fail to act as the salt-infusing, light-filling presence of Christ’s body in this world.”

Coronavirus

Coronavirus – CCEF is compiling quite a collection of information—videos and articles—meant to serve counsellors and other church leaders.

Living in Heaven on Earth

Living in Heaven on Earth – “Live in heaven while on earth and it will change how you view yourself and show you your need of change.”

When Mother’s Day Is Easy or Not

When Mother’s Day Is Easy or Not – “Jesus, thank you that whatever our wound, loss, betrayal, or heartache, you are faithfully at work for our good, healing, and freedom. The wounds we carry can become a portal through which your mercy, grace, and love flow to others.”

You Were Happy to Be Mom: Six Reasons to Arise and Bless Her

You Were Happy to Be Mom: Six Reasons to Arise and Bless Her – “What might you say to Mom this year? Consider a few ways you might honor her as mother.”

Why Am I Not Hearing From God?

Why Am I Not Hearing From God? – Make sure your ears are open to His message.

Powerful Lessons From the Book of Psalms

Powerful Lessons From the Book of Psalms – “The book covers a range of human experiences.”

What Makes Any Marriage Difficult: Three Questions to Help Yours Grow

What Makes Any Marriage Difficult: Three Questions to Help Yours Grow – Darren Carlson: “Perhaps sharing the three questions will provide others with practical tools to help strengthen their marriages as it did ours.”

The Case for Humility in Our Coronavirus Era

The Case for Humility in Our Coronavirus Era – “A monumental task lies before us. Let us work towards finding solutions rather than taking delight when another person’s understanding of things is proven wrong.”

We Can’t Go Back, So Let’s Go Forward

We Can’t Go Back, So Let’s Go Forward – “In every case of collapse, we can’t go back. And ultimately that’s to the good, because the God of history is leading us forward. Trying to get back to the Garden—an ideal state of harmony and plenty—tends to breed just the opposite.”

5 Bible Verses to Read When You’re in Financial Trouble

5 Bible Verses to Read When You’re in Financial Trouble – “God doesn’t want us to feel like there is no end in sight.”

I Just Flew. It Was Worse Than I Thought It Would Be.

I Just Flew. It Was Worse Than I Thought It Would Be. – “The things we miss most about our pre-pandemic lives—dine-in restaurants and recreational travel, karaoke nights and baseball games—require more than government permission to be enjoyed. These activities are predicated not only on close human contact but mutual affection and good-natured patience, on our ability to put up with one another. Governors can lift restrictions and companies can implement public-health protocols. But until we stop reflexively seeing people as viral threats, those old small pleasures we crave are likely to remain elusive.”

Flattery is Not Encouragement

Flattery is Not Encouragement – “Lurking in the shadow of every good gift from God is a twisted perversion that seeks to imitate and destroy. These destructive copycats disguise themselves as good but are actually out to cause chaos and confusion.”

What Is Grace?

What Is Grace? – “It is incredibly encouraging that God’s grace is both the inclination of the divine heart to treat us better than we deserve and is the extension of that inclination in practical help.”

The Half-Century Prayer Request of George Muller

The Half-Century Prayer Request of George Muller – “Might you be growing weary or discouraged in some earnest prayer request you’ve been lifting up to the Lord for quite some time, perhaps even a very long time? If so, here’s some timely encouragement from the remarkable example of George Muller, a man mighty in faith and prayer.”

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on the Church in America

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on the Church in America – As we slowly emerge out from sheltering in place to a “new” normal, what will the new normal look like for churches in America?

5 Ways to Experience the Presence of God

5 Ways to Experience the Presence of God – Unleash God’s presence in your life right now.

‘Obedience Will Make You Miserable’: The Tired Lie Satan Loves to Tell

‘Obedience Will Make You Miserable’: The Tired Lie Satan Loves to Tell – “If we want to rid ourselves of older-brother instincts, and pursue holiness in a way that shames the devil, we would do well to return to the garden and listen again to that first lie.”

Come to Me All Who Have COVID Weariness, and I Will Give You Rest

Come to Me All Who Have COVID Weariness, and I Will Give You Rest – “Jesus invites all who are heavy laden. All who feel hitched to a too powerful pickup, all who feel yoked to the servitude of sin, all who stagger under the weight of weariness, all who have rope burns across their necks and sun-scorched shoulders and arthritic aching knees from plowing, plowing, plowing. All may come to Jesus for rest.”

How To Never Lose Hope

How To Never Lose Hope – “This is vital to understand, to believe with all your heart, and to preach to yourself again and again: What is will not always be.”

A Christian Marriage: What Is Not and Should Be Unique?

A Christian Marriage: What Is Not and Should Be Unique? – “Sometimes when I hear Christians talk about marriage, it sounds a bit idealistic. Some of the ‘if you do things God’s way…’ promises feel a recipe for happily ever after. The logic seems to be that because God created marriage, Christians have a leg up on everybody else for having a satisfying marriage.” 

Hope That Will Outlast a Pandemic

Hope That Will Outlast a Pandemic – “These are unusual and dark times, and unusual times call for extraordinary measures. Our world is burdened by despair, division and death — and that was true before the coronavirus pandemic hit us.”

Give Us This Day Our Daily Friendship

Give Us This Day Our Daily Friendship – “Just as it is wrong to spiritualize and discount the desire for physical nourishment, so also it is wrong to spiritualize and discount the need for friendship. Jesus is our friend, but He created us to need earthly Christian fellowship too.”

Headed Home

Headed Home – “Because we’ve already lived on earth, I think it will seem from the first that we’re coming home. The New Earth will strike us as familiar because it will be the old earth raised, as our bodies will be our old bodies raised. The New Earth will be the home we’ve always longed for.”

7 (possible) Church trends emerging from COVID-19

7 (possible) Church trends emerging from COVID-19 – “As we approach two months of COVID-19 restrictions, I have noticed a number of trends beginning to emerge among Australian Churches. These indications are based on my own experience and the many conversations I am having with pastors across the country.”

How We Got the Bible: The Great Story of Sacred Scripture

How We Got the Bible: The Great Story of Sacred Scripture – It’s a miraculous, beautiful story of God’s desire to speak to us.

Embracing Fragility

Embracing Fragility – “This pandemic should cause us to embrace our fragility. To remind ourselves that even with our advancements in science, our state of the art technology, our unprecedented standard of living, and our greater life expectancy, we can lose it all in a blink of an eye. We are not God.” 

Three Questions Suffers Ask Jesus; Three Responses Jesus Gives

Three Questions Suffers Ask Jesus; Three Responses Jesus Gives – “As human beings, we have a difficult time understanding the meaning and purpose behind pain and suffering that we can’t (or couldn’t) control.”

20 Ways to Help Your Children Process the Pandemic

20 Ways to Help Your Children Process the Pandemic – “In these seasons of crisis, in our all-important busyness, there is often a subtle temptation to overlook the precious little lives that dwell in our very homes.”

Wake Up, Christian. This Is God’s Alarm Clock

Wake Up, Christian. This Is God’s Alarm Clock. – “When was the last time you went to bed with Jesus’ second coming on your mind, thinking, ‘It could be tonight’ or got up in the morning with the thought, ‘Today might be the day’? We are so frantically busy taking care of our daily needs that we never even think about it, much less make sure we are telling others about it.”

God’s Tent

 God’s Tent – Here’s a clear word on the tabernacle and what it teaches us about our God.

I Have Seen the Future—And It’s Not the Life We Knew

I Have Seen the Future—And It’s Not the Life We Knew – “Some people, who skew younger, are taking the ‘YOLO’ approach of enjoying life while they can because ‘tomorrow isn’t promised.’ They’re eating out, hanging out, ‘revenge shopping,’ traveling. … But others, especially those walloped by the economic toll of the lockdown, have resolved to ‘live cautiously” because ‘life is fragile.'”

5 Insights Into Your Feelings Under Lockdown

5 Insights Into Your Feelings Under Lockdown – “How do we navigate all that we are feeling during this pandemic? Peter Mead helps us walk through various things we might be feeling, and how to trust the Lord in those feelings.”

When Should Churches Reject Governmental Guidelines on Gathering and Engage in Civil Disobedience?

When Should Churches Reject Governmental Guidelines on Gathering and Engage in Civil Disobedience? – “As the COVID-19 stay-at-home quarantines tarry, folks are getting restless. State governments think about pathways to opening up...And pastors have begun to ask each other, ‘When can our churches gather again? Yet a darker question sometimes follows: ‘If the government continues to say we cannot meet, when do we as churches engage in civil disobedience by gathering anyway?’”

Mincaye Is Now with Jesus

Mincaye Is Now with Jesus – “On Tuesday afternoon, Mincaye, the former warrior who in 1956 speared to death Nate Saint and Ed McCully, two of the five missionary martyrs in Ecuador, passed from this life to the next.” He came to know Jesus and the article tells his story.

5 Insights Into Your Feelings Under Lockdown

5 Insights Into Your Feelings Under Lockdown – “What we may be discovering is that we are experiencing emotions in a way that we are normally too busy to notice.”

Do You Feel My Pain? Empathy, Sympathy, and Dangerous Virtues

Do You Feel My Pain? Empathy, Sympathy, and Dangerous Virtues – “Our feelings, and our sharing in the feelings of others, must be tethered to Truth, to Reality, to Christ. May God help us to do so.”

We Are All Shut-Ins Now: 3 Lessons I Don’t Want to Forget About Ministry to Shut-Ins

We Are All Shut-Ins Now: 3 Lessons I Don’t Want to Forget About Ministry to Shut-Ins – “We are all shut-ins now. We are home but we have found just how exhausting it can be to be home all of the time. The daily grind begins to get at us mentally and socially in a way we never expected. We are restricted, but hopefully we have learned some empathy in our restrictions.”

Corona Blues

Corona Blues – “Rather than being a restful break from the normal round of meetings and commitments this time has felt pressured and fretful.” The article projects what the next three phases of the process might look like.

Why Evangelicals Must Engage Roman Catholicism

Why Evangelicals Must Engage Roman Catholicism – “As I speak to different audiences and at various conferences, the question comes back over and over again: why should Evangelicals bother engaging Roman Catholicism? Let me suggest four reasons.”

After the Virus Has Passed: Ordinary Life in Light of Eternity

After the Virus Has Passed: Ordinary Life in Light of Eternity – As two hundred thousand people pass into eternity, and two hundred thousand families feel the sting of loved ones lost, Moses’s uncomfortable prayer presses itself upon us: “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

The Brave Stunt That Brought Down Slavery: How David Livingstone Freed East Africa

The Brave Stunt That Brought Down Slavery: How David Livingstone Freed East Africa – This is a great story from the life of a fascinating man.

The Virus Isn’t the Only Test for the Church

The Virus Isn’t the Only Test for the Church – “Sparring Twitter hashtags reveal the lines of division emerging in society. Will it be the same in the church? Even now church members are starting to divide over #stayhome or #endthelockdown. This test is difficult because the dividing issues are so personal.”

Essential Confusion

Essential Confusion – With a potential “second wave” of COVID-19 coming in the winter, can lawmakers find a better standard for business closures than shifting and subjective definitions of “nonessential”?

Why Hope Will Conquer Death

Why Hope Will Conquer Death – “Like many retired healthcare professionals, I’ve rejoined the workforce to assist as coronavirus cases surge. As I transition from days immersed in books with my kids to nights helping people cling to life, I agonize about the faces and names behind the numbers.” 

Who is Esther in the Bible and Why is She Important?

Who is Esther in the Bible and Why is She Important? – “Esther’s story is one of courage and strength.”