What Happens When a Believer Dies? – “The place of our arrival will be a beautiful, though temporary, place where we’ll await the culmination of history: the return of the risen Jesus, who will resurrect us.”
Monday, January 31, 2022
Is Marriage ‘Just a Piece of Paper’?
Is Marriage ‘Just a Piece of Paper’? – “The signing of a marriage certificate is an integral part of what the Bible calls a covenant. A covenant is made publicly before witnesses and with formal legal commitments that are taken seriously by the community.”
Receive the Gift of Limits
Receive the Gift of Limits – “A reality check tells us we’re finite creatures with limited energy and only 24 hours in a day. But we push against these boundaries, often doing damage to ourselves and our families as we try to have it all or squeeze it in.”
10 Passages to Read with Someone Who Is Near Death
10 Passages to Read with Someone Who Is Near Death – It would be good to have these marked.
7 Encouraging Trends of Global Christianity in 2022
7 Encouraging Trends of Global Christianity in 2022 – “There are seven encouraging trends to note in the 2022 Status of Global Christianity report.”
How to Have Intimacy With God
How to Have Intimacy With God – “God wants intimacy with you. Christ has done all the hard work in the cross to make it possible.”
Entering into the Loneliness of Job
Entering into the Loneliness of Job – “The friends came with kind intentions. They came together. They brought with them the wisdom of the world, all the resources available within the world to comfort their suffering friend. But they were bankrupt, able to sympathize up to a point but utterly unable to comfort.”
5 Ways to Deepen Your Integrity
5 Ways to Deepen Your Integrity – “Daniel and his friends model for us these 5 ways we can deepen our integrity in a world that seems to discourage it.”
Why Did God Make Eve from Part of Adam?
Why Did God Make Eve from Part of Adam? – “Eve is like Adam and yet perfectly unlike Adam so as to be the exact suitable counterpart for Adam.”
Sunday, January 30, 2022
In Love with the Life You Don’t Have
In Love with the Life You Don’t Have – “You know, I don’t want to be somewhere else anymore. I’m not waiting for anything new to happen . . . not looking around the next corner and over the next hill. I’m here now. That’s enough.”
A Joy that Inhabits Sadness, Confusion, and Vulnerability
A Joy that Inhabits Sadness, Confusion, and Vulnerability – “Though circumstances sabotage my happiness, heartache deflates my gladness, and unknown outcomes turn delight into sleepless nights, yet I will rejoice in you Lord Jesus—our righteousness, King, and peace.”
How Can We Be Quick to Listen?
How Can We Be Quick to Listen? – “Most often, we grow by listening, not by talking. Consider nine ways to become a better listener.”
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Losses of a Prayerless Christian
Losses of a Prayerless Christian – “Though God is sovereign over all things, He ordains the means of prayer. There are some things He will not do unless we pray, though He always does all He purposes.” Here are some things that may be lost to a prayerless life.
The Ominous Threat Surrounding Missionaries in Ukraine
The Ominous Threat Surrounding Missionaries in Ukraine – “Surrounded by such a cloud of living witnesses makes us want to stay as long as we can in a land surrounded and threatened by Russian armies.”
Fatherhood for Imperfect Dads
Fatherhood for Imperfect Dads – “In a crucial sense, your children grow you. That is, they are God-sent instruments for your growth in maturity, your sanctification, your alignment with God’s plan for your Christlikeness.”
Are Thoughts Sin?
Are Thoughts Sin? – “Everyone will be tempted. But temptation isn’t a sin; it is a call to battle. It can even be an indication that you’re moving in the right direction.”
Does God Really Feel?
Does God Really Feel? – “This can sound a bit abstract and philosophical already, and you might be wondering, does impassibility really matter? It does. It really matters both that God has emotions and that they are different from ours in important ways.”
Friday, January 28, 2022
Imagining Your “Well Done”
Imagining Your “Well Done” – What would you want your eulogy to say? What would you want God to say?
Ukraine Baptists Prepare for Possible Russian Invasion
Ukraine Baptists Prepare for Possible Russian Invasion – Baptists in Western Ukraine have made plans to shelter fellow believers in the case of a Russian invasion at Ukraine’s eastern border.”
How to Find Peace in an Anxious, Out-of-Control World
How to Find Peace in an Anxious, Out-of-Control World – “When we try to clutch the reins of this out-of-control ride we call life, we will get thrown from our mount and it will hurt.”
When Everyone Plays His Part
When Everyone Plays His Part – “We all need one another and the gifts God has given us, and every member must play his part for the good of the church on the whole and the advancement of the kingdom of God.”
Will the Last Conservative Please Turn Out the Lights?
Will the Last Conservative Please Turn Out the Lights? – “Here is a hint: If you support a rebellion against marriage as exclusively the union of a man and a woman, you are not a conservative. Same-sex marriage is not a reform of marriage as an institution, it is a rebellion against marriage and morality.”
Not a ‘Religious Person’
Not a ‘Religious Person’ – Jerry Falwell Jr. on His Dramatic Fall From Grace,
Thursday, January 27, 2022
The God Who Has Been My Shepherd All My Life Long
The God Who Has Been My Shepherd All My Life Long – “I am in awe of the God who has been my Shepherd all my life long to this day, even when my flesh didn’t want Him to be.”
Four Times God Powerfully Subverted Racism in the Bible
Four Times God Powerfully Subverted Racism in the Bible – “While we don’t often notice it, the Bible talks about race a lot. Many of the stories and passages of Scripture that we easily call to mind actually have deeply racial overtones.” – “While we don’t often notice it, the Bible talks about race a lot. Many of the stories and passages of Scripture that we easily call to mind actually have deeply racial overtones.”
5 Warnings for Your Social Media Talk
5 Warnings for Your Social Media Talk – “Here’s why I think we need to issue a PDS and take special care with our words in communicating anywhere on the internet.”
When Does God (Not Man) Consider a Couple Married?
When Does God (Not Man) Consider a Couple Married? – “Here is the proposal: marriage is a public, formal, and officially recognized covenant between a man and a woman (biologically/genetically determined). They pledge fidelity for a lifetime.”
Holy Distractions: When God Interrupts Our Productivity
Holy Distractions: When God Interrupts Our Productivity – “As Christians, the stakes rise when we consider that what may appear at first as a simple interruption is actually an unplanned assignment from our Lord. So, how can we discern the difference?”
About Those Sparrows
About Those Sparrows – “This is the message that Jesus is imparting to his disciples with crowds approaching and Pharisees threatening. They will be put into the hands of wickedness. They will fall to the ground. But not apart from God’s care. Not apart from God’s plan.”
Virtue Signaling our Spirituality
Virtue Signaling our Spirituality – “Pretending to be something we are not by projecting an image to the world that makes us appear better than we are is nothing new. Spiritually, we do the same thing.”
9 Things You Should Know About Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer
9 Things You Should Know About Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer – “Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced he will be retiring after serving for more than two decades on the high court. Here are nine things you should know about the liberal justice.”
The Presence of God When Two or More Are Gathered
The Presence of God When Two or More Are Gathered – “A truth about small groups that we don’t talk about nearly as much as we should is how Jesus is in our midst every time we gather with the intention of following Him.”
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
God Is Not Going to Slap the Cookie From Your Hand
God Is Not Going to Slap the Cookie From Your Hand – “I tend to be overly analytical. I’ve spent a great deal of thought on what’s God’s part and what’s our part in the Christian life.”
A Leadership Lesson From Abraham: God’s Way or My Way?
A Leadership Lesson From Abraham: God’s Way or My Way? – “Abraham’s relationship with God began with a long, long walk.”
The Sweet Spot
The Sweet Spot – “May we enjoy whatever season we’re in, and live with an eye to loving God more as time goes on so we’ll end up fruitful and joyful even when we’re old.”
Cannabis is in the Bible: Debunking an Interpretative Myth
Cannabis is in the Bible: Debunking an Interpretative Myth – It’s not unusual to hear this claim. Here’s the story of where the claim comes from and why it’s not true.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Comfort in a Fearful World
Comfort in a Fearful World – “There are two things that can heighten fear in my mind: feeling like I have no place and feeling alone. Jesus speaks to those fears in John 14.”
What Grace Does God Give the Humble?
What Grace Does God Give the Humble? – What form does this grace God gives to the humble take?
Don’t Date That Guy
Don’t Date That Guy – “If I could shout it from the rooftops, I would: If you already know he isn’t in love with Jesus, don’t date that guy!” This addresses the issue of so many Christian women being married to men with no love for Jesus.
What to Do with News: Learning Wisdom at Walden Pond
What to Do with News: Learning Wisdom at Walden Pond – “It is impossible for anyone to know everything that is happening today, much less to have a thoughtful opinion about these events. What would we do with all this information anyway?”
Toward a Better Discussion about Abuse
Toward a Better Discussion about Abuse – “For some, the most pressing concern is obviously that abuse is perpetrated, minimized, and covered up in the church. For others, there is another concern, that abuse is becoming a totalizing category and that even the accusation of abuse takes down everyone and everything in its path.”
Why Are the Laborers Few? Part 5: Fear of Being Labelled a “White Savior”
Why Are the Laborers Few? Part 5: Fear of Being Labelled a “White Savior” – “Our leader is a (non-white) Jewish man named Jesus Christ. The missionary’s goal is not that people become like her or her culture. Instead, the missionary desires people come to know Jesus and be made like him.”
Let Correction Be a Clue
Let Correction Be a Clue – “Proverbs is clear throughout: correction is a gift that helps us discern between the scoffer and the wise.”
Monday, January 24, 2022
3 Things God Will Never Do with Your Sin
3 Things God Will Never Do with Your Sin – “Our sins do not constitute the rule or standard or plumb line according to which God makes his decisions on how to treat us.”
Did Bathsheba Sin with David?
Did Bathsheba Sin with David? – “David didn’t invite Bathsheba. He didn’t woo her. He didn’t lure her. He didn’t trick her. He took her.”
How Teen Vaping, Alcohol Use and Drug Abuse Get Crushed by the Cross
How Teen Vaping, Alcohol Use and Drug Abuse Get Crushed by the Cross – This is a great testimony and truth.
No “Just” About It: Why Ordinary Work Has Value
No “Just” About It: Why Ordinary Work Has Value – “We make a difference when we do ordinary work well.”
Why Do They Get What I Want? Envy and the Eyes That Matter
Why Do They Get What I Want? Envy and the Eyes That Matter – “The envious heart is too small. It can’t fathom a God who is limitless in his expressions of pleasure and overflowing love. Our fallen minds truly believe there’s not enough of his plenty to go around.”
You Don’t Need to Discover God’s Will
You Don’t Need to Discover God’s Will – “We spend so much time agonizing over all the paths we could take that we overlook what God cares most about.”
Marks of Manhood
Marks of Manhood – “At a time when there is more confusion in the culture about gender and role relations, it would help us to take a step back and consider what Scripture sets forth as the model of manhood, namely, the Lord Jesus.”
Ten Words for a Broken Society (#9: No False Witness)
Ten Words for a Broken Society (#9: No False Witness) – “Whereas the third commandment forbids us from telling a lie about God or attacking his name, the ninth commandment prohibits us from bearing false witness against our neighbor, i.e., from attacking our neighbor’s name”
When the Nest May Never Be Empty
When the Nest May Never Be Empty – “When independence is the end goal for following Jesus, or for parenting, our faith is, unrecognizable from what God himself describes.”
Saturday, January 22, 2022
The Danger Is the Good Times
The Danger Is the Good Times – “Though the Israelites were prone to grumbling when things were not going so well, the greater danger for them was when the Lord had provided all of their needs and more besides.”
Faction Friendships
Faction Friendships – “Pastor Jeremy Linneman argues that (in America at least) people’s already-weak friendships have been diminished and replaced by screen time and ‘faction friendships’ (friendships based on social-political alignment and little else) which have pushed both the society and the church to further polarization.”
Life at the End of Roe: Recovering the Sanity and Wonder of Wanted Pregnancy
Life at the End of Roe: Recovering the Sanity and Wonder of Wanted Pregnancy – “Today marks forty-nine years since the society-altering, life-plundering, God-mocking decision by the Supreme Court in Roe versus Wade.”
Will Your Church’s Preaching and Counseling Be Criminalized? Will Parents Be on Wrong Side of the Law Just for Talking to Them About Sexuality and Gender?
Will Your Church’s Preaching and Counseling Be Criminalized? Will Parents Be on Wrong Side of the Law Just for Talking to Them About Sexuality and Gender? – A Warning from the American Heartland.
Friday, January 21, 2022
Technology Cannot Replace Presence: Why the Church Will Always Gather
Technology Cannot Replace Presence: Why the Church Will Always Gather – “We are strange and perverse creatures, with a long track record of choosing lesser joys over greater ones. As a result, we not only deny ourselves those greater possibilities, but in favoring lesser realities, we end up distorting and spoiling them.”
7 Questions You Can Ask God about Giving
7 Questions You Can Ask God about Giving – “The Bible is full of teachings about money, because money tends to wrestle for first place in our hearts. But God knows our hearts, and if we ask Him, He will guide us. Consider all you’ve been given by praying through the questions below.”
4 Ways to Navigate Minefield Conversations
4 Ways to Navigate Minefield Conversations – “In navigating minefield conversations, we want neither to underreact nor overreact.”
With Me You Shall Be in Safekeeping
With Me You Shall Be in Safekeeping – “There may be a time when you too must run for your life. If so, there is a king who has stooped low, and if you run to him, you shall be in safekeeping.”
You Need Doctrine and Life to Sail Properly
You Need Doctrine and Life to Sail Properly – “False teaching is something which we are warned about. Doctrine does matter. But what I found is that a majority of warnings aren’t about right belief but about right living.”
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Humility Is the Main Ingredient of Prayer, Repentance, and Thanksgiving
Humility Is the Main Ingredient of Prayer, Repentance, and Thanksgiving – “We are children and that we are dependent on our kind Father for everything, and that is the heart and soul of humility.”
Raise Kids to Have a Healthy Relationship With Technology
Raise Kids to Have a Healthy Relationship With Technology – “With so many gadgets and devices at their disposal, it can be hard to know how much screen time is too much. And as we all know, too much screen time can have serious consequences for kids’ health and development.”
2022 World Watch List
2022 World Watch List – Afghanistan Is Now More Dangerous for Christians Than North Korea.
Job and the Deadly Spiritual Equation
Job and the Deadly Spiritual Equation – “There are two things Job’s friends are, the same things missing from the spiritual equation: the presence of Satan and the underlying purpose of suffering in God’s world. Both of these elements are brought to the fore by Jesus Christ.”
Spiritual COVID and Losing Your Taste for God
Spiritual COVID and Losing Your Taste for God – “Whether through sin or suffering, it’s possible to lose the taste you once had for the Lord and his Word.”
While You Were Sleeping
While You Were Sleeping – “Sometimes it’s easy to forget that God’s plans continue moving forward even when we cannot see them.”
9 Things You Should Know About Religious Freedom in America
9 Things You Should Know About Religious Freedom in America – “This past Sunday (January 16), the United States observed National Religious Freedom Day 2022. Here are nine things you should know about religious freedom in America since the time of the nation’s founding.”
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
The Salt of the Earth
The Salt of the Earth – “Salt served a wide array of purposes in the ancient world. There are just as many views of what the salt of the earth means. Consider three primary interpretations of Matthew 5:13.”
Every Need Is Not a Call
Every Need Is Not a Call – “Jesus saw every need of every human being he encountered, yet he didn’t meet all of them. He followed the Father’s will, knowing when to say yes and when to say no, when to work and when to rest.”
Whose Purpose in Your Suffering Will Prevail?
Whose Purpose in Your Suffering Will Prevail? – “If we recognize God’s sovereignty even over Satan’s work, it changes our perspective about our lives and suffering. Satan and God intend the same suffering for entirely different purposes, but God’s purpose triumphs.”
Don’t Overlook Your Bible’s First 4 Chapters
Don’t Overlook Your Bible’s First 4 Chapters – “As you work through your Bible this year, make sure you read the first five pages carefully. They’ll help you to understand the rest of the story—the most incredible ever told.”
The Unrepenting Repenter
The Unrepenting Repenter – “Repentance is a change of mind regarding sin and God, an inward turning from sin to God, which is known by its fruit—obedience.”
When Life Shrinks to the Size of Our Problems
When Life Shrinks to the Size of Our Problems – “You can’t pray about a problem he doesn’t know and care about. None. No matter how small they are.”
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
We Cannot Love God if We Do Not Love His Word
We Cannot Love God if We Do Not Love His Word – Have you read your Bible today?
The Breath of God
The Breath of God – “Breathe on us, O Lord, and in us. Breathe love. Breathe hope. Breathe courage into us who walk in the shadows of fear. Breathe joy into us who calibrate our existence by disappointment.”
Peace in Acceptance
Peace in Acceptance –Resignation connotates giving up and laying down in defeat, whereas acceptance connotates believing and trusting that the One who does have control is good and trustworthy, even when I can’t see it in the moment.”
3 Simple Ways to Flatten Your Neighbor
3 Simple Ways to Flatten Your Neighbor – “It’s easy to flatten our neighbors, past and present, into rigid categories, without care and consideration, nuance or grace, and thus betray a Christian anthropology. Here’s how we do it.”
When Everyone Plays His Part
When Everyone Plays His Part – How has God uniquely shaped you? Embrace it and enjoy God’s hand on your life.
The Breath of the Lion
The Breath of the Lion – “But this morning, even as we are still feeling sick from Covid, I find myself longing for the breath of God. I find myself fighting to fleshly urge to flee from him into busyness or productivity, intentionally training myself to linger in his presence.”
Monday, January 17, 2022
What Does It Mean To Trust God in Our Trials?
What Does It Mean To Trust God in Our Trials? – “What does it mean to trust God? It means that in our lowest moments we will resolve to believe that what God says is true.”
Where Do You REALLY Want to Go?
Where Do You REALLY Want to Go? – Do you have a genuine longing for heaven?
In What Sense is Jesus a Nazarene?
In What Sense is Jesus a Nazarene? – “He is saying that Jesus is a man set apart to God in an ultimate sense, who is also the humble, overlooked, rejected Messiah.”
If You Have No Sin, Go Ahead and Point out Everyone Else’s
If You Have No Sin, Go Ahead and Point out Everyone Else’s – “We must keep the right perspective of others and ourselves in light of the Cross of Christ. By doing so, we’ll realize that although we’re all dirty like pots and kettles, we’re all cleansed by grace alone.”
The Other Side of the Race Debate: Four Ways to Disagree Christianly
The Other Side of the Race Debate: Four Ways to Disagree Christianly – “The balance and emphasis of Scripture is no longer setting our theological and ethical agenda. The other side is.”
How the Stand and Greet Time Disappeared in Churches (And How to Replace It)
How the Stand and Greet Time Disappeared in Churches (And How to Replace It) – “The best way to get to know guests and make them feel comfortable is to encourage them to join a group.”
How the Lottery Preys on the Poor
How the Lottery Preys on the Poor – “The lottery did not become a million-dollar industry due to its large output of winners.”
Will Few Be Saved?
Will Few Be Saved? – “Why will only a few of them enter through the narrow gate? It is because they did not pursue righteousness by faith in Christ, but as if it were based on works.”
Saturday, January 15, 2022
How to Talk to Your Coworkers About Christ Without Being a Jerk
How to Talk to Your Coworkers About Christ Without Being a Jerk – “Can you be the resident Christian in your office without being a jerk? Probably, but here are a few guidelines to follow to keep your chill as a Christian and not be seen as the token weirdo.”
What Does it Look Like to Practice Rest?
What Does it Look Like to Practice Rest? – What might a “Sabbath” really look like for us?
Everywhere Spoken Against
Everywhere Spoken Against – “The church is an ugly bride, stumbling down the aisle to glorification.”
Love Your Neighbor! How?
Love Your Neighbor! How? – “The basic idea is that Christians should be leading the way in expressing kindness as it has been defined. But how is the world’s track record at defining what is right or wrong?”
4 Sources of Endurance in Suffering
4 Sources of Endurance in Suffering – “How can we press on as we traverse this broken world? In his letter, James encourages us with at least four sources of endurance.”
Safe To Be Me
Safe To Be Me – “Jesus Christ is the only person qualified to organize that conference, because Jesus Christ is the only human who can actually say: ‘it’s safe to be me: Every other human (on earth) is a threat to others and a threat to themselves.”
Song of Songs: The Intoxication of True Love in its Time
Song of Songs: The Intoxication of True Love in its Time – “Church history is filled with the debates over whether to read this book as an allegory of God’s love for his people or as a literal picture of human marriage. Frankly, I’m not convinced we have to choose only one of those options.”
Friday, January 14, 2022
What to Do When Your Resolutions Start Dissolving
What to Do When Your Resolutions Start Dissolving – “We’re officially two weeks into 2022. And two weeks also happens to be the average life span of a new year’s resolution.”
56 Brief Scriptures for Children to Learn
56 Brief Scriptures for Children to Learn – They are good for adults to memorize too!
Dad, What’s Your Vision for Your Family?
Dad, What’s Your Vision for Your Family? – “When you look at your children, what things would you like to see in their lives and character in the coming year? What about 10 years from now? And what are you currently doing to help them to get there?”
The Grace of Warning
The Grace of Warning – “What a gift of God’s grace to be alerted to what is coming, whether it’s a tornado, a flood, or God’s final judgement.”
The FAQs: Supreme Court Blocks Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Mandate
The FAQs: Supreme Court Blocks Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Mandate – Here’s a helpful breakdown on what just took place.
What Does the Bible Say About Christian Tithing?
What Does the Bible Say About Christian Tithing? – “The beauty of the tithe is that it precluded class warfare and the politics of envy.”
What Sparks Evangelical Generosity? Discipleship
What Sparks Evangelical Generosity? Discipleship – “While most evangelicals give to a church (74%) or a charity (58%), 19% of evangelicals give no money at all to church or charity. Looking specifically at church giving in the last year, researchers found that 26% of evangelicals gave nothing to church.”
Thursday, January 13, 2022
What Are Your gods of 2022?
What Are Your gods of 2022? – “But, when the Philistines rose early the next day, Dagon, had fallen face downward before the ark of the Lord. So what’s a people to do when their god has toppled? Why, pick it up and put it back where it belongs, of course.”
The Success of Others
The Success of Others – “Is my life still important if it doesn’t include the same kinds of successes that I see other people achieving and enjoying? If they reach higher and go further than I do, am I just one more loser bringing up the rear in some kind of cosmic reality show competition?”
How Small Groups Bring Redemptive Relationships
How Small Groups Bring Redemptive Relationships – “Through redemptive relationships, prayer, transparency, and time in God’s word, it is obvious that God is at work in small groups.”
The Vertical, Horizontal, and Inward Realities of Sin
The Vertical, Horizontal, and Inward Realities of Sin – “Sin is never done in isolation. In fact, there are vertical, horizontal, and inward effects of it.”
Is It Ethical to Transplant a Pig Heart into a Human?
Is It Ethical to Transplant a Pig Heart into a Human? – “In a medical first, surgeons transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a human patient. Is such animal-to-human transplantation ethical?”
The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard
The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard – “This context shows us that the parable is hitting right at our hearts, at the twin issues of self-congratulation and envy.”
The Difficult Habit of Quiet
The Difficult Habit of Quiet – “The habit of quiet may be harder today than ever before. Don’t get me wrong: it’s always been hard. The rise and spread of technology, however, tends to crowd out quiet even more.”
How Much Can the Most Famous Dead Sea Scroll Prove?
How Much Can the Most Famous Dead Sea Scroll Prove? – “The copies we have of the Old Testament are a reliable guide to the original, but this conclusion depends on more than one very famous manuscript.”
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The Surprising Truth About Doubting
The Surprising Truth About Doubting – “In spite of all the disciples had experienced some of them doubted. How is such doubting possible?”
Six Truths that Help You to Accept Change
Six Truths that Help You to Accept Change – “In Psalm 46, God gives us specific counsel so that we may know how to respond to unwelcome change.”
Satan’s Agenda for the Christian
Satan’s Agenda for the Christian – “It is, therefore, imperative that we are aware of the works of the Evil one among us and be clear about his agenda in his works. What is his agenda?”
How Can Fathers Talk to Their Children About Significant Events?
How Can Fathers Talk to Their Children About Significant Events? – “What should we say to our children about events like those we’ve faced this year and similar events that I’m sure we will continue to face in the future?”
The False Philosophy of Cancel Culture
The False Philosophy of Cancel Culture – “Cancel culture is based on the assumption that power—not truth—is the only way to drive cultural change. Change the group in power, and change the culture. On this view, everything is a power play. Ultimately, group power plays result in the loss of individual freedom and liberty—canceling, in other words.”
Healthy Christians Don’t Hesitate
Healthy Christians Don’t Hesitate – “Sometimes we hesitate, but God demands we keep moving. Be honest with yourself for a moment—has there been a time when you knew what you were supposed to do, but you stalled?”
Loss and Scandal Led Me to Jesus: Why I’m Not ‘Deconstructing’
Loss and Scandal Led Me to Jesus: Why I’m Not ‘Deconstructing’ – “If you really want rest from all your doubt and disillusionment, come to Jesus. Don’t abandon your faith. Press on to know the Lord.”
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
How Jesus Withers and Shrivels Our Fears
How Jesus Withers and Shrivels Our Fears – “We fear things we can’t control.”
6 Lessons for Tending Your Time
6 Lessons for Tending Your Time – “In this new year, may our time be well-nourished and flourishing, giving glory to the One who gave us just the right amount.”
What Happens to Your Soul When You Die?
What Happens to Your Soul When You Die? – “Thankfully, the Bible gives us two points of reference regarding the intermediate state that help prepare us for death.”
The Dilemma of Progress and the Grace of Waiting
The Dilemma of Progress and the Grace of Waiting – “The less we are willing to wait, the more we grow sinfully frustrated, anxious, discouraged or depressed. Progress feeds on a sin nature. As we move through our lives at hyper-speed, we unconsciously allow ourselves to believe that if we don’t keep up we will be left out.”
Discipled by Algorithms
Discipled by Algorithms – “We live in a personally curated and expertly crafted world of information, driven by algorithms that often wield significant influence over our lives and our outlook on the social and ethical issues of our day. The world you see online is often very different than what I might see, which in turn makes it difficult to address many of the root problems of our day.”
Big Prayers for Everyday Motherhood
Big Prayers for Everyday Motherhood – “Consider these three massive prayers for your mundane and messy little moments.”
Monday, January 10, 2022
Rejoicing in Suffering
Rejoicing in Suffering – “In some way, by his own admission, Paul’s sufferings were ‘for your sake.’ In other words, they accomplished something in the lives of the Christians to whom Paul was writing.
How To Hear God’s Voice: 5 Things You’re Forgetting To Do
How To Hear God’s Voice: 5 Things You’re Forgetting To Do – “God speaks in as many different ways as there are people to hear him. Here are some of his most common forms of communication.”
How COVID Has Affected Our Friendships—and What to Do About It
How COVID Has Affected Our Friendships—and What to Do About It – “Last year, the cure for one pandemic only deepened another one. The antidote to the COVID pandemic—social isolation and distancing—has exacerbated what the former surgeon general called ‘the epidemic of loneliness.’”
How Do We Process the Scariest Passage in All of Scripture?
How Do We Process the Scariest Passage in All of Scripture? – “It’s frightening to think about going to hell. It’s even more frightening to find out too late that you’re going to hell when you thought you were going to heaven. And still more frightening to think that not just a few, but ‘many’ will have this experience.”
Why Does the Book of Acts End So Abruptly?
Why Does the Book of Acts End So Abruptly? – We are left asking several questions historically but the purpose of Acts is more than storytelling.
Caring for the Chronically Ill
Caring for the Chronically Ill – “It’s a long and difficult road for everyone involved, and each situation is unique, but here are some lessons about what to do, what to say, and how to pray for our friends who are hurting.”
How “Conversion Therapy” Bans Are Akin to Apostasy Laws
How “Conversion Therapy” Bans Are Akin to Apostasy Laws – As such bans appear more often, it’s important to be aware and understand their implications.
Sunday, January 9, 2022
A Prayer for a Sunday Morning
A Prayer for a Sunday Morning – Here is a beautiful expression of prayer from J.R. Miller.
Words Kill, Words Give Life
Words Kill, Words Give Life – “Every utterance that escapes our lips matters, which means you’ve never spoken a neutral word in your life.”
Singing with Your Church Family
Singing with Your Church Family “Nothing dilutes a congregation’s singing or undermines our unity faster than forgetting this truth: we are not islands. Today there is a disturbing amount of believers who are drifting away from the habit of gathering weekly with other Christians in a local church.”
Desperate for Distraction: Why We’re Bad at Being Alone
Desperate for Distraction: Why We’re Bad at Being Alone – “Three dangers, I notice, threaten my desire for solitude with God.”
Saturday, January 8, 2022
Nothing Bitter, Only Sweet
Nothing Bitter, Only Sweet – “We’re excited about no longer experiencing sin, no longer walking through suffering, but what if there are things we’ll miss? Will we look back longingly at our life before eternity?”
Be Filled with the Spirit
Be Filled with the Spirit – “Why is there so much confusion about Spirit-infilling? No teaching and wrong teaching. Rather than arguing doctrinal theories, I want to simply make the point that you must be filled with the Spirit to be a healthy, strong, and growing Christian.”
Loved With Everlasting Love
Loved With Everlasting Love – “In November 2020, I celebrated a hundred years of the Lord’s faithfulness to me. I can hardly believe I have reached such a milestone as I don’t feel any sense of aging in my spirit, even if my body is weaker than before.”
Friday, January 7, 2022
Helpful Things to Say to Those Grieving or Suffering
Helpful Things to Say to Those Grieving or Suffering – It can be hard to know what to say and not to say. Here are some helpful suggestions.
New Year’s Habits: Project Self or Conformity to Christ?
New Year’s Habits: Project Self or Conformity to Christ? – “Prayer, Bible reading, intermittent fasting, exercise, sabbath rest—these are wonderfully healthy practices. However, I’m noticing many people taking up these habits as tools for what we might call ‘Project Self.’”
That One Common Ache
That One Common Ache – “What beauty might erupt, if this year we chose instead to press into our own narrative, divinely written by God our Maker? Palms held loosely open, (Your will, God, not mine) humbly and graciously accepting his path, trusting him implicitly by way of adoration and bowed obedience?”
The Strange Fate of Hamilton and Harry Potter
The Strange Fate of Hamilton and Harry Potter – “The moral tastes of popular culture are just that: tastes, and thus subject to fashion and, in our social media age, to easy manipulation. Society has no solid foundation on which to build its moral codes.”
Nature Can Teach
Nature Can Teach – “The biblical writers also assume the relevance of natural law, both in establishing proper customs and testifying to our need for forgiveness. Even still, nature cannot teach us where our deepest hope lies: not in the law itself, but in the Christ who saves the law’s transgressors.”
Thursday, January 6, 2022
The Hardest Season of All: How to Fight for Joy in Winter
The Hardest Season of All: How to Fight for Joy in Winter – “Why do so many people feel crushed after the holidays? Why are so many people hurt, sad, angry, and confused coming off a season usually marked by joy, peace, and anticipation?”
Five 2022 Resolutions for your Consideration
Five 2022 Resolutions for your Consideration – “As you begin your journey into 2022, here are some practical resolutions for you to consider applying this year as you walk with the Lord and relate with others.”
Decluttering Your Marriage
Decluttering Your Marriage – “We always look forward to a new year There is still lots of time for all of us to look to declutter our marriage and family, for this year, just like we declutter our house and garage.”
Does God Forget Our Sins?
Does God Forget Our Sins? – “God ceasing to remember doesn’t mean our sin slips his mind, but that he doesn’t hold it against us. He treats us as if we never sinned.”
I Must Die
I Must Die – “Death is an enemy, no doubt. It’s seeks to undo everything God intended. Yet, the work of dying to self is a sanctifying work, a work that removes, slowly overtime, what is unlovely in our character and replaces it with true life, light, and love.”
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
‘One Anothers’ I Can’t Find in the New Testament
‘One Anothers’ I Can’t Find in the New Testament – “The kind of God we really believe in is revealed in how we treat one another. The lovely gospel of Jesus positions us to treat one another like royalty, and every non-gospel positions us to treat one another like dirt.”
Why Did the Spirit Drive Jesus out Into the Wilderness?
Why Did the Spirit Drive Jesus out Into the Wilderness? – “The Spirit drives him out into the wilderness (fully in accordance with His own pleasure) because this is where humanity has placed themselves.”
Why We Offer Both Physical and Spiritual Care in Christ’s Name
Why We Offer Both Physical and Spiritual Care in Christ’s Name “There’s no conflict between the gospel and social concern and action. In fact, there is a direct connection between them.”
3 Ways to Use Social Media More Wisely in 2022
3 Ways to Use Social Media More Wisely in 2022 – “Social media is at the center of our lives in more ways than we often realize, so I think it would be wise for us to examine the role of social media in our days and do what we can to use it more wisely.”
22 Vital Stats for Ministry in 2022
22 Vital Stats for Ministry in 2022 – “There are some statistical realities we discovered in 2021 that can help us as we think about ministry in 2022.”
Let God’s Word Dwell in You Richly This Year
Let God’s Word Dwell in You Richly This Year – “Nothing can replace Bible memory in forging a connection between the Bible, our minds, and our hearts.”
You’re Not Enough—and That’s Good News!
You’re Not Enough—and That’s Good News! – “Rather than kick against our limitations, we should embrace—even leverage—them.”
The Lord Speaks – The Spiritual Habit of Hearing His Voice
The Lord Speaks – The Spiritual Habit of Hearing His Voice – “I have nothing better to do in this lifetime than to cultivate hearing my Lord speak, and living in love. That’s the Jesus way, and it’s the way I choose.”
What We Would Be Missing If We Didn’t Have the Book of Acts
What We Would Be Missing If We Didn’t Have the Book of Acts – “Acts is a model, a prototype, an exemplar for the renewal of the church.”
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
The One Thing I Do at the Beginning of Each Year
The One Thing I Do at the Beginning of Each Year – “I want to be better in January of 2022 than I was in January of 2021. To do this, I have found that my issue is not prioritizing my schedule but rather scheduling my priorities.”
Our Friends Shape Us More than We Think
Our Friends Shape Us More than We Think – “Without being overly suspicious, cynical, or contrarian, we can occasionally and reasonably step back and ask ourselves how our friends influence our decisions and our doctrine.”
How One Question Revived My Faith
How One Question Revived My Faith – “As I wrestled through these questions, I realized one reason I didn’t trust God was that I didn’t know him. I knew some things about him and who he was supposed to be, but those truths had become distant to me and disconnected from the reality of my life.”
Unwrapping Our Expectations
Unwrapping Our Expectations – “For those of us who take our Christian faith seriously, it feels like an ocean of change is sweeping over us, undermining the ground we stand on, leaving us uncomfortably balancing on the hard knobs of truths that look naive at best, and bigoted at worst, surrounded as we are by the powerful cultural tide.”
Endangered Attention: How to Guard a Precious Gift
Endangered Attention: How to Guard a Precious Gift – “How then can we steward our limited, precious, endangered attention? In short, by living as humans made in the image of God, rather than as gods made in the image of the Internet.”
What Happens When God Speaks to You
What Happens When God Speaks to You – “You aren’t given new information to understand, but new eyes to see.”
Immediate Grace
Immediate Grace – “You’re not sure where the year will take you or what direction you should go. You don’t know what lurks in the darkness ahead or what dangers you’ll face. You can only see immediately in front of you and the choices that need to be made today.”
Monday, January 3, 2022
The Creator of the Stars Knows You by Name
The Creator of the Stars Knows You by Name – “Your life is a miracle, and the Creator of the universe knows you by name. He's big enough to breathe out stars, yet intricate enough to fashion together the trillions of cells that make up every facet of who you are.”
A Heart That Is Free, A Step That Is Light
A Heart That Is Free, A Step That Is Light – “In the great march that is the Christian life, the passing of the years ought to be marked by what has been laid aside, by what has been taken off and tossed away.”
Seeing As Jesus Intends
Seeing As Jesus Intends – “We begin 2022 asking for heart-vision correction, because we need it. We want to see everything from the perspective of your heart, grace, and eternity.”
So It Is With Graces
So It Is With Grace – “Christian, if you are experiencing minuscule growth in your walk with Christ, don’t become discouraged, frustrated, or annoyed. There is certainly value in some discouragement simply because you shouldn’t want to be complacent.”
Back to Basics
Back to Basics – “The reality is that whether we have been a Christian for decades or for only a short time, the foundation is the place to make adjustments.”
What Is an Idol?
What Is an Idol? – “Anything in the world that successfully competes with our love for God is an idol.”
In 2022, Christians Can Be Counterculturally Fearless
In 2022, Christians Can Be Counterculturally Fearless – “As we begin 2022, knowing the world will be inundated with fearsome headlines of every sort, let us live from the fact that God is enthroned. Let’s be winsomely fearless in our anxious age.”
I’ve Never Killed Anyone… Right?
I’ve Never Killed Anyone… Right? – “You don’t hate anybody, do you? That depends. In-person, or online? Are we talking about an individual or a collective identity group?”
Sunday, January 2, 2022
Words Matter Because the Heart Matters
Words Matter Because the Heart Matters – “Words matter because they flow out of our hearts. Communication matters because what the heart is and does matters.”
Repentance for a New Year
Repentance for a New Year – “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
Saturday, January 1, 2022
A New Year Worthy of God
A New Year Worthy of God – “Where, specifically, could you grow abundantly in the next year? What area of your spiritual life and love for others needs to be revived or nurtured toward greater maturity? Find a greater resolve to focus on, and hold onto, as you step into another January.”
An Historic Faith
An Historic Faith – “From the opening chapters of Genesis to the end of the book of Revelation, the entire dynamic of redemption takes place within the broader setting of real space and time, of concrete history.”
How to Resist Sin in 2022
How to Resist Sin in 2022 – “Consider ten biblical incentives to resist temptation this year. Read them. Memorize them. Hide them in your heart against the day of Satan’s attack.”
Comforting Quotes for Those Who Are Suffering
Comforting Quotes for Those Who Are Suffering – I found these to be encouraging.
A Needed Disappointment for the New Year
A Needed Disappointment for the New Year – “The hope is that in the New Year we will reach a greater level of self-improvement or attain a lasting commitment to live better. The turning of a year seems to put us on a quest to become all that we wish we could be.”
Plans for a New Year
Plans for a New Year – “What are your plans for 2022? Perhaps you plan to get married, or continue your studies, or look for a different job, or buy a house, or travel abroad. Whatever your plans may be, I hope you will consider what God teaches in Proverbs 19:21…”
Should or Can in 2022?
Should or Can in 2022? – “Orthodox doctrine, gracious culture and lasting friendships, if widely shared among our churches — by God’s grace, for his glory alone — can accomplish something profound in our generation.”
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