Dear Anxious Heart, I Want You To Know...

Dear Anxious Heart, I Want You To Know... – “Friend, you’re not alone.”

I Despise My Sufferings. And I’m So Thankful For Them.

I Despise My Sufferings. And I’m So Thankful For Them. – “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.”

God Loves to Surprise His Children

God Loves to Surprise His Children – “Parents love surprising their children. God is no different.”

How Social Media Use Can Rival God

How Social Media Use Can Rival God – “There’s a way to use social media that reflects God. And there’s a way to use it that rivals him. Wisdom seeks the first way.”

60 Questions for Pro-Choice Christians

60 Questions for Pro-Choice Christians – “I have 60 questions for any Christian who identifies as pro-choice. These are not meant to be dismissive, snarky, or rhetorical. They are much more helpful than calling an entire segment of people ‘bigots’ or ‘baby murderers.'”

‘In Faithfulness You Have Afflicted Me’

‘In Faithfulness You Have Afflicted Me’ – “This great declaration of God’s great faithfulness was made in the context of severe affliction.”

Marriage Is Messy

Marriage Is Messy – “Sometimes we mess up; and sometimes our spouse messes up (or both of us). Other times messes are thrown in at us from other people, jobs, life circumstances, neighbors, friends, and children.” 

Whose Choice?

Whose Choice? – “In 1973 I was 19 years old and a sophomore in college when the Supreme Court decided the Roe vs Wade case and legalized abortion. Honestly, however, I never expected the Court’s landmark decision to affect me personally.”

 

Why Learning To Move Past an Offense Is the Best Thing for You

Why Learning To Move Past an Offense Is the Best Thing for You – “Whatever wrong, frustration, or offense you’ve experienced shouldn’t become the lens you view everything else through.”

The FAQs: SCOTUS Upholds Religious Freedom in Praying Coach Case

The FAQs: SCOTUS Upholds Religious Freedom in Praying Coach Case – “The Supreme Court issued its ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton, a religious liberty case involving a Washington State high school football coach who lost his job because he prayed silently on the 50-yard line after a football game.”

Sustain Your Prayer Life with Sleep

Sustain Your Prayer Life with Sleep – “Satan puts you to sleep in prayer, most commonly, by tricking you into staying up too late the night before.”

4 Questions To Gauge Your Spiritual Health

4 Questions To Gauge Your Spiritual Health – These are simple and helpful diagnostics.

Why Female Eyewitnesses Authenticate the Resurrection

Why Female Eyewitnesses Authenticate the Resurrection – “The only reason to emphasize the testimony of women—and weeping women at that—is if they really were the witnesses.”

Finding Family

Finding Family – God’s family gathered, the church, is a precious thing in the many ways it is expressed.

How to Help Students Fight a Victim Mentality

How to Help Students Fight a Victim Mentality – “A victim mentality is an acquired personality trait: the person considers themselves a victim of the negative actions of others even when there is contrary evidence.”

Conceited Motherhood: Three Temptations Moms Face

Conceited Motherhood: Three Temptations Moms Face – “We still wage war against selfishness.”

“Let the Little Children Come To Me”

“Let the Little Children Come To Me” – “No doubt, parents have always loved their children, but the world didn’t collectively protect children until the hitherto strange views of Jews and Christians became normalized.”

Supreme Court Sides With Coach Who Sought to Pray After Game

Supreme Court Sides With Coach Who Sought to Pray After Game – “The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.”

4 Thoughts on Spiritual Fatherhood

4 Thoughts on Spiritual Fatherhood – Having recently preached the funeral of a man who served well as my “spiritual father” I found this helpful.

What to Do with Regret

What to Do with Regret – “The pain of regret can do the same for us, instilling a carefulness, sensitivity, and watchfulness we might not otherwise have had. Those features often expand from the particular thing we regret to our walk in general.”

A Wife No Man Would Want: Lessons from the Hardest Marriage

A Wife No Man Would Want: Lessons from the Hardest Marriage – “We don’t know whether Hosea and Gomer had a typical Hebrew ceremony, but their marriage would have received lots of attention. It was meant to. As the two became one, God was seizing the wandering eyes of his unfaithful people.”

Pouring Yourself Out vs. Wearing Yourself Out

Pouring Yourself Out vs. Wearing Yourself Out – Here is the difference between the two.

Letter to a Young Man Desiring to Follow Jesus

Letter to a Young Man Desiring to Follow Jesus – Here’s a good word for young or old, male or female.

3 Foundational Truths for Creation Care

3 Foundational Truths for Creation Care – “Christian theology provides the best framework for knowing the creation’s value and humanity’s uniqueness. It also gives us the best hope for creation’s renewal.”

Is God Present or Absent in Hell?

Is God Present or Absent in Hell? – “The biblical teaching on hell is a reflection of the infinite worth of God and the outrage of scorning it.”

 

Four Compelling Reasons I Am Pro-Life

Four Compelling Reasons I Am Pro-Life – “While much more could be said, these four reasons I am pro-life are reasons that I want to be on the tip of my tongue and that I hope will be on yours, also.”

Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade – Jim Denison provides a good overview of the issues going forward.

 

Seven Surprising Ways To Prepare Yourself To Share the Gospel

Seven Surprising Ways To Prepare Yourself To Share the Gospel – “Here are seven ways to prepare yourself to be a person that God can use to share his good news—and to whom others will actually listen.”

Remember Who Overturned Roe

Remember Who Overturned Roe – It’s important that we remember it’s neither a former President nor a current Supreme Court Justice.

After Roe, How Do We Stand for Life?

After Roe, How Do We Stand for Life? – “There are myriad ways we can practically apply our theology to the pro-life issue. As individuals and churches consider how to engage at this monumental moment, these suggestions are meant to be a starting point, not all-encompassing.”

The Land is Bright

The Land is Bright – “Some desire to downplay this victory or even to lament the manner of it. We should not. Federal law in America once recognized a right to kill unborn children. Now it does not.”

The FAQs: Supreme Court Overturns Roe, Sends Abortion Back to States

The FAQs: Supreme Court Overturns Roe, Sends Abortion Back to States – “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

Love the Church Like Christ Does

Love the Church Like Christ Does – “Through a scrutinizing lens, many scowl at the church with suspicion and sheer amazement that anyone would want to be part of such a seemingly dysfunctional family. Sometimes, the church can seem to be anything but beautiful.”

3 Ways to Sympathize with Women Considering an Abortion

3 Ways to Sympathize with Women Considering an Abortion – “Jesus sympathizes with our weakness, and it’s crucial to know his sympathy before making a decision that is sinful, destructive, and counter to his purposes.”

Christ’s Threefold Ministry from Heaven’s Throne

Christ’s Threefold Ministry from Heaven’s Throne – “How, then, can we recover a deeper sense of all that’s offered to us in the ascension? By taking a deeper look at how Christ continues to act on behalf of his church as our ascended king, priest, and prophet.”

The Uncommon Virtue of Humility

The Uncommon Virtue of Humility – “Christian humility flourishes in the human soul when we stand before the Himalayas of Christ’s grandeur.”

If You Believe the Bible

If You Believe the Bible – There are sure consequences to be anticipated if you believe the Bible.

Worship is a Verb

Worship is a Verb – Here are some good reminders about worship.

The Purpose of Jesus' Most Perplexing Miracle

The Purpose of Jesus' Most Perplexing Miracle – “Jesus’ curse of a fruit tree had multiple layers of meaning.”

10 Characteristics of Healthy Relationships

10 Characteristics of Healthy Relationships – “In the first three chapters of Genesis, based on the way God relates to mankind, I observe at least ten characteristics of a healthy relationship.”

What’s the Center of Our Holiness?

What’s the Center of Our Holiness? – “There is one great work of God weaving all these realities together in the process of making us holy.”

Is Discipleship More Challenging Today? Five Modern Hurdles to Ministry

Is Discipleship More Challenging Today? Five Modern Hurdles to Ministry – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So, no matter the spiritual climate, we offer him to the world with hope.”

How to Make the Case against Abortion in Less Than a Minute

How to Make the Case against Abortion in Less Than a Minute – “Rather than imposing [our views], we are proposing a more just and better way in hopes we can persuade our fellow citizens to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”

3 Ways to Live Humbly Online

3 Ways to Live Humbly Online – “How might we demonstrate that humility is valuable through our engagement online?”

5 Reasons Why We Should Not Stop Using Male Pronouns for God

5 Reasons Why We Should Not Stop Using Male Pronouns for God – “Here are five reasons why we must not stop using male pronouns for God.”

 

Don’t Drink Sand: Trading Self-Help for Living Water

Don’t Drink Sand: Trading Self-Help for Living Water – “Let’s together pursue the living water of true encouragement, beholding Christ in faith until we behold him in glory.”

Can I Mess Up God’s Plan for My Life?

Can I Mess Up God’s Plan for My Life? – “The Christian life is not a tightrope. Life is a very wide, forgiving road.”

The Beatitudes of Leadership

The Beatitudes of Leadership – “What do these Beatitudes look like in leadership? How can we be sure they define us both as followers of Christ and leaders in His church?”

The Paradox of Christ for a Polarized World

The Paradox of Christ for a Polarized World – “We live in times of polarization and fragmentation. In many places, the ties that have historically bound societies together are coming apart.”

The Moments that Matter

The Moments that Matter – “We may know which images may get likes, but we don’t know what moments matter most, even though they’re humble and ordinary.”

The Primary Apologetic for the Christian Faith

The Primary Apologetic for the Christian Faith – “In looking at Paul’s conversion story, there’s at least three elements that I believe will help us share our own personal conversion story with great clarity.”

In The Shadows, It Is Well

In The Shadows, It Is Well – There is hope in difficult times.

 

Before You Worship

Before You Worship – “What am I looking for in church today? What do I expect to happen?”

Teach Us to Number Our Days

Teach Us to Number Our Days – “While we know exactly how many candles should go on our birthday cake (even if we prefer that no one else knew), we still tend to get the math wrong.”

Evangelistic Methods Change. Jesus Doesn’t.

Evangelistic Methods Change. Jesus Doesn’t. – “Our methods of sharing the gospel must change with the times, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Immersed into Mission: Why Jesus Commands Us to Baptize

Immersed into Mission: Why Jesus Commands Us to Baptize – “We disciple the nations by baptizing them and by teaching them to obey Jesus.”

 

3 Ways to Exchange Your Negativity for Gratitude

3 Ways to Exchange Your Negativity for Gratitude – “What we read, listen to, and expel from our mouths is covered in negativity and downright complaints. This is an exhausting spiral. It’s incredibly draining to ourselves, as well as those around us.”

How Are We Doing on This, Evangelicals?

How Are We Doing on This, Evangelicals? – “Which are you more likely to hear an evangelical talk about on social media these days—the culture wars or the glorious privilege of communion and fellowship with the triune God?”

Should Christians Ever Wear an LGBT+ Pride Patch?

Should Christians Ever Wear an LGBT+ Pride Patch? – “We should faithfully prepare our hearts so that our faith is resilient enough to face challenges with a Christlike posture.”

 

3 Ways to Experience ‘The Good Life’ in Jesus

3 Ways to Experience ‘The Good Life’ in Jesus – “By looking at Paul’s words in Romans 8, here are three insights into how we can begin experiencing that kind of a life in Jesus.”

Breaking News: Christian School Caught Teaching Biblical Truth

Breaking News: Christian School Caught Teaching Biblical Truth – “A teacher at Christian Academy of Louisville has been caught red-handed in the act of teaching Biblical truth to students whose families had enrolled them in a Christian school. Now the board and administration of the school must stand on their convictions and face the blast.”

Did Paul Ever See Jesus During Our Lord’s Earthly Ministry?

Did Paul Ever See Jesus During Our Lord’s Earthly Ministry? – “Although most New Testament scholars simply assume that Paul had never seen Jesus prior to Paul’s Damascus Road experience, Stanley Porter raises the fascinating possibility that Paul and Jesus had indeed crossed paths before Paul’s conversion.”

Crucial Texts for Our Hardest Battles

Crucial Texts for Our Hardest Battles – “I don’t think God wants us to live with a kind of vague sense of trust. I think he wants us to have specific promises.”

Difficult Passages To Interpret: The Water and Blood

Difficult Passages To Interpret: The Water and Blood – “This passage has been subject to many symbolic readings throughout church history.”

 

Come, He Needs Nothing From You

Come, He Needs Nothing From You – “Though there are things God requires of me, there is nothing he needs from me. This distinction is important.”

Beneath Our Social-Justice Strife: Four Questions for Both Sides

Beneath Our Social-Justice Strife: Four Questions for Both Sides – “Worship is the issue below the issue, below the issue, below the issue in our social-justice controversies. If we all take a deep breath, and reset our collective gaze on exalting and enjoying God as supreme, what might happen?”

Saw, Loved, Ran, Embraced, and Kissed Him

Saw, Loved, Ran, Embraced, and Kissed Him – “Father, this IS how you love us. Right now, you are running towards us—and after our loved ones and friends who remain strangers to your mercy and grace.”

 

A Loved and Loving Man: Admiring a Christian Father

A Loved and Loving Man: Admiring a Christian Father – “Here is a man, I thought, who walks in humility before God and others.” 

When Groaning Is Our Best Prayer

When Groaning Is Our Best Prayer – “The groaning feels deeper these days, and I don’t think I’m alone. Groaning is common to believers on this side of the resurrection.”

 

Don’t Miss Out On Majesty

Don’t Miss Out On Majesty – “The series of sermons in our New Testament that we call the book of Hebrews, is all about failing to appreciate the majesty right in front of you, and opting for a reflection or mediating experience of it instead.”

ERLCs Elizabeth Graham: Work Will Not End if Roe Reversed

ERLCs Elizabeth Graham: Work Will Not End if Roe Reversed – With a ruling expected from the Supreme Court by early July, we need to be well-versed on the road ahead.

Endure: Eric Liddell

Endure: Eric Liddell – “Finishing the race of life spiritually faster than we began it—and doing so in a manner that brings glory to God—is what I mean by enduring well and finishing strong.”

9 Things You Should Know About Juneteenth

9 Things You Should Know About Juneteenth – “This Sunday, June 19, Americans will observe the nation’s youngest federal holiday—Juneteenth. Here are nine things you should know.”

 

‘Captain America’ Star: Those Who Oppose Same-Sex Kiss in ‘Lightyear’ Are ‘Idiots’; NAMB’s Next Gen Director Has Warning for Parents

‘Captain America’ Star: Those Who Oppose Same-Sex Kiss in ‘Lightyear’ Are ‘Idiots’; NAMB’s Next Gen Director Has Warning for Parents – “As a Christian you CAN do two things. One, you can ‘completely abstain from watching it,’ or two, you can ‘watch it and use that moment as a teaching opportunity with your kids to talk about what God’s best and original design is for relationships and marriage.’”

The Power of a Father’s Faith

The Power of a Father’s Faith – “The Bible talks a lot about generational faith. But a father’s faith doesn’t automatically become his child’s faith.”

Speaking Truth in Marital Conflict

Speaking Truth in Marital Conflict – “Here is a universal rule for marriage counselors: don’t allow couples to speak to each other in absolutes.” 

Developing a Kingdom Mindset

Developing a Kingdom Mindset – “Kingdom thinking, a Kingdom mindset, starts with Jesus.  If Jesus is not worthy of our lives, then we are not thinking Kingdom thoughts.”

 

Is God More Honored or Dishonored in the World?

Is God More Honored or Dishonored in the World? – “In the end, we will be able to see the God-glorifying purposes of God more clearly than we can now.”

God Makes War with Words: Why Teaching Will Win the World

God Makes War with Words: Why Teaching Will Win the World – “The church teaches and teaches and teaches — trusting that through teaching, God will grow and guard his kingdom in lands once ruled by lies.”

The Holy Spirit and Human Flourishing

The Holy Spirit and Human Flourishing – “As human beings, we are most fully embodied and in our proper place when we are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. Thus, there is no path toward true and lasting human flourishing apart from God’s indwelling Spirit.”

Fathers, Lead the Way

Fathers, Lead the Way – “This is successful parenting: To dedicate your children to the Lord, then teaching, training, and guiding them on the path that they must walk.”

How Do I Forgive?

How Do I Forgive? – “How do we lift these wounds up to the Lord for healing so that we can forgive those who betray us?”

Let Your Sins Be Strong

Let Your Sins Be Strong – “We all tend to minimize our sinfulness. We look at the wrongs we have done and do everything we can to try and justify our actions. Doing this, however, fails to take full ownership of our sins.”

What Did You Expect God to Do?

What Did You Expect God to Do? – “Discouragement attempts to persuade Christians to believe that our faith holds no treasure, the cross is emptied of its power, and we cannot trust God to provide for us.”

A Christian Perspective on the Meaning of Life

A Christian Perspective on the Meaning of Life – “You were created to glorify God.”

Some Answered Prayers Hurt: The Hidden and Faithful Love of God

Some Answered Prayers Hurt: The Hidden and Faithful Love of God – “Have you ever received a good gift from the Father that arrived in a package that appeared to be anything but good?”

5 Quick Takes for New Culture Wars

5 Quick Takes for New Culture Wars – “We must not shy away from truthful witness in the political sphere, but our political witness must not outmatch or be overshadowed by our witness in all these other spheres.”

Let’s Get Back to ‘True Religion’

Let’s Get Back to ‘True Religion’ – “Discipleship is not merely about sharing spiritual experiences with others. It’s about living in obedience to the King.”

Do Not Fear to Leave This World

Do Not Fear to Leave This World – “The best moment of a Christian’s life is his last one, because it is the one that is nearest heaven.”

40 More Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life

40 More Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life – This is a list of “random” topics but worth a slow read.

Jesus Christ and Him Crucified

Jesus Christ and Him Crucified – “The phrase Jesus Christ and him crucified explains the difference between Athens ministry and Corinthian ministry.” 

Fragments

Fragments – “Fragments of divided hearts scatter. In the winds of social media. Bits and pieces of pride. Rebellion. Hate. Anger. And the very avenues that can draw people together, turn and twist. Break trust. Splinter relationships.”

3 Necessities for Renewed Christian Living

3 Necessities for Renewed Christian Living – “Living as a Christian in this fallen world is a struggle. Indwelling sin afflicts us. The present evil age squeezes us. Satan oppresses us.”

The Pervasive Problem of Loving Money

The Pervasive Problem of Loving Money – “Judas was a worker of miracles, a preacher of repentance, a minister of the kingdom, and he was a lover of money.”

f "Representation" is the Issue, Where Are Pixar's Religious Characters?

If "Representation" is the Issue, Where Are Pixar's Religious Characters? – “The point here is not that Disney is an evil company that wants to groom your children. The point is that the privileging of sexuality over religion is itself a philosophical commitment that betrays Disney’s (and social justice politics’) stated commitment to pure representation.”

What Will Happen When the Supreme Court Rules on Roe v. Wade?

What Will Happen When the Supreme Court Rules on Roe v. Wade? – “Let’s discuss three relevant questions and then turn to a holistic biblical response.”

 

How To Know When a Child Is Old Enough To Accept Jesus as Their Savior

How To Know When a Child Is Old Enough To Accept Jesus as Their Savior – “Here are the things a child needs to know if they are going to enter a relationship with Jesus.”

Are More Prayers More Effective?

Are More Prayers More Effective? – “Do many prayers have a greater impact on the way God answers our prayers?  There are two dangers we need to avoid when answering.”

 

For Everything There Is a Season

For Everything There Is a Season – “We often find it to be difficult because we enjoying doing the things we love. We far too often find our comfort in productivity, accomplishment, creativity, and influence. However, we are meant to find contentment in what God has for us.”

Faithful in Exile

Faithful in Exile – “The stories of Daniel and Esther are helpful to us in working out how we should navigate the demands of authority. Daniel and Esther were both in exile and we Christians are also living in a kind of exile…”

The Journey of the Seed

The Journey of the Seed – “Our own spiritual growth happens by the same power that brings a seed out of the ground and gives it beauty and usefulness.”

 

The Christian Life is a Waiting Life

The Christian Life is a Waiting Life – “Christianity rests on promises from God to his people. Therefore, waiting is an essential part of life for those who follow Jesus.”

How Do I ‘Wrestle’ in Prayer?

How Do I ‘Wrestle’ in Prayer? – “Even though the word ‘wrestle’ sounds demanding, what it demands above all is faith.”

8 Reasons the Church Is a Light in a Troubled World

8 Reasons the Church Is a Light in a Troubled World – “The Church is the hope of the world. We understand that it is Jesus who is our hope, but it’s the body of Christ who communicates that hope. That’s us!”

What Is Over-Realized Eschatology?

What Is Over-Realized Eschatology? – “This leads to what is sometimes called a prosperity gospel, which is best understood as an over-realized eschatology which expects something which will ultimately happen for those who are in Christ to happen right now.”

Who Are the 144,000? (Revelation 7)

Who Are the 144,000? (Revelation 7) – “Numbers in apocalyptic literature are regularly symbolic. Here we have the number twelve representing the people of God from the twelve tribes in the OT, and the number is squared and then multiplied by 1,000. Hence the number should be understood as a symbolic way of designating the entire people of God.”

 

Find a Storm to Stir You

Find a Storm to Stir You – “So, who stirs your heart out of the soothing calm of complacency? Whose friendship awakens the right kind of conviction, ambition, and joy? And who might need you to be that loving storm for them?”

On Helping Your Wife Become Like Christ by Identifying Her Every Fault

On Helping Your Wife Become Like Christ by Identifying Her Every Fault – There is a better way.

On Trinity Sunday, Delight in the Radiance of God’s Glory

On Trinity Sunday, Delight in the Radiance of God’s Glory – “Echoing the creation account, both John and the author of Hebrews use light’s radiance to describe the eternal Son’s origin. They give us glistening truths that illuminate our understanding of the eternal relations between the persons of the Trinity.”

Seven Principles for Cultivating a Christian Posture toward the World

Seven Principles for Cultivating a Christian Posture toward the World – “We can care for the poor, love one another, and get our tone right, but still, the world will hate those who are not of the world.”

Love Must Feed on Love

Love Must Feed on Love – “We love because He first loved us.”

This Treasure

This Treasure – “Don’t follow your heart. Lead it. Away from sin and to the riches of Christ, who is our treasure.”

Why Your Church Should Be Multi-Generational…and Why It’s Not That Easy to Do

Why Your Church Should Be Multi-Generational…and Why It’s Not That Easy to Do – Here are some good points.

We Are Adopted Into God’s Family

We Are Adopted Into God’s Family – “In Christ, God not only rescued you from the condemnation of the Law but he brought you into his loving family where you are meant to enjoy the full privileges of mature sonship. Why not cry out to your heavenly Father right now?”

3 Trends Making an Impact With Today’s Kids

3 Trends Making an Impact With Today’s Kids – Our Vacation Bible School this week gives testimony to all three of these.

I Don’t Want to Go to Church! Responding to Kids’ Complaints

I Don’t Want to Go to Church! Responding to Kids’ Complaints – Here are some helpful tips for Christian parents.

How to Stoke Your Fire for Evangelism

How to Stoke Your Fire for Evangelism – “In a world that’s broken, hurting, and in search of hope, it’s imperative that we not lose our passion for sharing the hope we have in Jesus. So how can we do this?”

4 Reasons It Matters How You Tell Your Testimony

4 Reasons It Matters How You Tell Your Testimony – “Gaining clarity on the general timeline of your testimony, then, really matters. Here are four reasons why.”

What Is the Goal of Parenting?

What Is the Goal of Parenting? – “What is the goal of parenting? The answer to this question is going to define how you approach the task. Your daily decisions will largely be determined by what you identify as the answer.” 

Was My Life Better Back Then? Why We Escape to the Past

Was My Life Better Back Then? Why We Escape to the Past – “Luke 15 makes a good case that all of us are running somewhere when the present feels difficult to swallow. Here are two sons discontent at home.” 

Hand-Crafted

Hand-Crafted – “We do crave connection and care. We will always be partial to humans over machines because we are humans, and humans are not machines. We are made for more than cold perfection—we are made for connection. We are made to relate.”

 

Embodied Discernment: Learning to Discern with Our Minds, Hearts, and Actions

Embodied Discernment: Learning to Discern with Our Minds, Hearts, and Actions – “Let’s go forward with embodied discernment, that is gospel-assured, as we read and listen to the content we face each day.”

The Gospel Makes Us More Humble, Gentle, Grateful

The Gospel Makes Us More Humble, Gentle, Grateful – The growth in grace makes us more like Jesus.

 

Eight Essentials for Christian Living

Eight Essentials for Christian Living – “All God’s power now, because of the cross and our connection with Jesus, is pouring on us for our good.”

 

Time

Time – “It strikes me, that as Christians we need to be more aware of our finitude. I suspect more of us struggle with wasting time than we are willing to admit. The internet has it’s obvious problems with pornography and online gambling, but the way that it distracts us and robs us of time without our realizing it.”

Your Darkness Is Not Dark to Him

Your Darkness Is Not Dark to Him – “The Holy Spirit used my darkness to illuminate for me the Bible’s clear witness that, for various and deeply good reasons, God sometimes ordains dismaying dark nights of the soul to descend on his children for redemptive purposes.”

Jesus Through Peter’s Mother-in-Law’s Eyes

Jesus Through Peter’s Mother-in-Law’s Eyes – “The healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is the first story of physical healing in Mark’s Gospel, and it comes hot on the heels of the first story of spiritual healing.”

 

The Indelible Conscience and a Month of “pride”

The Indelible Conscience and a Month of “pride” – “If you need the worlds of sports, entertainment, education, media, and government to celebrate your sexuality in order to feel proud, maybe your conscience is trying to tell you something.”

A Bumper-Crop of Spirit-Fruit

A Bumper-Crop of Spirit-Fruit – “Gratefully and needfully, the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-26) are always in season, and we are desperate for a bumper-crop.”

 

Three Pursuits Better Than Being Right

Three Pursuits Better Than Being Right – “Having to be right all the time on every matter comes with a kind of burden that will often hinder our mission and witness.”

 

5 Guideposts on the Road Back to Joy

5 Guideposts on the Road Back to Joy – “We’re all different, but what we have in common is the knowledge and desire for something deeper, an inner sense of joy, and a longing for it.”

The First Lesson of Prayer

The First Lesson of Prayer – “Prayer is essential to our spiritual lives. That’s probably not a surprise to anyone. But what is a surprise is how many of us think we are terrible at praying.”

We May Not Long for Death, but We Long for Heaven

We May Not Long for Death, but We Long for Heaven – “When Jesus annihilates death, it shall be no more. We will not fear it, and it will have no hold on us. Don’t you long for that day?”

20 Scriptures To Guide Our Online Speech

20 Scriptures To Guide Our Online Speech – “May God give us the humility to recognize how our online speech may be out of step with his calling on our lives.”

God’s Sovereignty, Our Suffering, and Robots

God’s Sovereignty, Our Suffering, and Robots – “Christianity faces a tough question regarding the conflict between the Bible’s claim toward God’s sovereignty and our suffering.”

Why Self-Help Is Not Encouragement

Why Self-Help Is Not Encouragement – “Christian, you need encouragement that serves a better purpose than providing shallow compliments, affirming your preferences, inspiring personal bests, or motivating more lucrative sales. God’s people need encouragement that lasts longer than the next 30-day Instagram challenge and is sustained by more than the power of positive thinking.”

Heap burning coals on his head?

Heap burning coals on his head? – “What does the Bible mean when it speaks of heaping burning coals on a person’s head?”

The Lord Is Their Shepherd

The Lord Is Their Shepherd – “We know the Lord is our shepherd who will navigate us through whatever trials our children may experience, but we often have a harder time remembering the Lord is also their shepherd.”

Prayers That God Will Not Answer

Prayers That God Will Not Answer – “There are times when we seek but do not find, knock but do not find the door opened. Why is it that God sometimes does not answer our prayers?”

Grief, but Not Without Hope, from Ames, Iowa

Grief, but Not Without Hope, from Ames, Iowa – “The church can’t be marked by the message of death when she has the One who conquered death.”

Pentecost Was a Reversal

Pentecost Was a Reversal – “Pentecost, in an important sense, is Babel’s reversal.”

Glorified Scars in the Body of Christ

Glorified Scars in the Body of Christ – “The resurrection means he is alive, right now, in glorified humanity, scars and all, at God’s right hand, to know and enjoy forever.”

Our Mini, Mid-Size, and Major Prayers Requests

Our Mini, Mid-Size, and Major Prayers Requests – “Today our prayer lists contain all-sized requests—mini, mid-size, and major. We won’t put them in columns of importance, just bring them all to your throne of grace.”

3 Prayers for My Graduating Daughter

3 Prayers for My Graduating Daughter – “Here are 3 prayers I pray for my daughter as she enters into her next season of life.”

 

Showing Up Mattered

Showing Up Mattered – “They had a God that was working in their hearts even when I couldn’t see it.”

The Darkest Deception in the Church

The Darkest Deception in the Church - “The worst deception in the church is self-deception on this point: that we believe we’re not self-righteous.”

Affirming God’s Image

Affirming God’s Image – “Less than a generation ago, few would have dared suggest that there is no necessary link between biological sex and gender identity. Today, though, it is commonly believed that a person with a female body may actually be a man or a person with a male body may actually be a woman.”

God Gives Our Waiting Purpose

God Gives Our Waiting Purpose – “Waiting patiently for the Lord (Psalm 40:1) is a common theme in the psalms.” 

A Case for the Longer Ending of Mark

A Case for the Longer Ending of Mark – “An argument for Mark 16:9–20 as the original, canonical ending, written by Mark but added by his colleagues.”

Welcome to Pride Month, Christian

Welcome to Pride Month, Christian – “If anybody wants to understand what is happening to the public square in America—indeed, if anyone wants to know how America, or at least her ruling class, wishes to understand itself, they need look no further than Pride Month.”

The Intermediate State of the Dead in Christ

The Intermediate State of the Dead in Christ – “A recent death in our Church generated much lament. The brother was so young, and so actively useful in our ministries. What is more, he had no known precondition. This event drove me to refresh the subject of the intermediate state of the righteous.”

Your Home Is a Hallway Out of Hell

Your Home Is a Hallway Out of Hell – “This phenomenon is the call and wonder of Christian hospitality.”

Did Jesus Disregard the Sacrificial System?

Did Jesus Disregard the Sacrificial System? – “Christ’s sacrifice was so complete, so glorious, so full, so decisive that it secured an eternal redemption.”

 

Help! I’m terrified of evangelism!

Help! I’m terrified of evangelism! – “Many Christians are terrified of evangelism. It is the kind of thing we know we should be doing but we don’t get around to, like flossing or exercise. It is easy to come up with all kinds of excuses not to tell other people about Jesus.”

 

Post-Roe America May Get Ugly: Next Steps in the Fight for Life

Post-Roe America May Get Ugly: Next Steps in the Fight for Life – “The post-Roe world may get ugly. The hour calls for pro-life Christians to move from attitudinal opposition to behavioral opposition to abortion…Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

4 Questions about the Lord’s Supper

4 Questions about the Lord’s Supper – Here are some good reminders and challenges.

How Did Jesus ‘Make Disciples’?

How Did Jesus ‘Make Disciples’? – “As we seek to live and minister more like him, we own afresh that Jesus is indeed unique. All authority is his. The commission is his. The church is his. The promise of divine presence is his. We worship him, and disciple others to do the same.”

Lessons From Mainline Decline

Lessons From Mainline Decline – “Relevant Christianity doesn’t stay relevant for long. Reinterpreted Christianity may appeal to the deconstructing, but it does not win the hearts and minds of the lost.”

Five Ways the Return of Christ Motivates Our Obedience

Five Ways the Return of Christ Motivates Our Obedience – “Frame expounds on five ways the doctrine of the Second Coming motivates our personal, daily obedience to the Lord.”

How I Would Explain a Christian View of Transgenderism to a Non-Christian

How I Would Explain a Christian View of Transgenderism to a Non-Christian – “We all know deeply held beliefs can be wrong. The question is which ones.”

The Hundred-Year Prayer Meeting

The Hundred-Year Prayer Meeting – “As amazing as it seems today, the Moravians kept up their round-the-clock prayer ministry for over a century. In fact, it has become known as the Hundred-Year Prayer Meeting.”

God Matures Us through Suffering, Not Miracles

God Matures Us through Suffering, Not Miracles – “Can it be that seeking regular miracles in our lives isn’t what God intends for us?” 

How to Watch for Wolves: Three Signs of False Teachers

How to Watch for Wolves: Three Signs of False Teachers – “In order to get close to sheep, a wolf employs deceptive tactics to keep the sheep from discerning his dangerous presence before he can achieve his aims.”

How to Decode the Prophets

How to Decode the Prophets – “There are parts of the Bible—like the prophets—that can be confusing without certain tools at our disposal.”

9 Things You Should Know About Muhammad

9 Things You Should Know About Muhammad – Here are some basic things to know.

We Are Certain in Our Uncertainty

We Are Certain in Our Uncertainty – “I am certain of Him, so I will be content with all those things I’m uncertain of.”

The Christian’s Confidence in Christ’s Compassion

The Christian’s Confidence in Christ’s Compassion – “When we confess our transgressions, we can trust that in God’s compassion He will forgive us.”