Though My Flesh May Fail: Reflections on Chronic Suffering from the Hospital Bed

Though My Flesh May Fail: Reflections on Chronic Suffering from the Hospital Bed –  “Amidst temptations to doubt, God continues to reveal His good purposes for me in my affliction.”

Put Your Anger to Bed

Put Your Anger to Bed – Here is some good advice for young couples (and older couples) who are learning to engage with each other in healthy ways.

When You Hear of a Scandal

When You Hear of a Scandal – As noted here, it is a good time to audit your own heart.

4 Comforts for Anxious Christians

4 Comforts for Anxious Christians – “The real evidence of spiritual maturity isn’t found in the absence of mental health struggles but instead in how we respond to them.”

Talk about an Awkward Term

Talk about an Awkward Term – “We should not approach the subject of sex with a casual or glib attitude, as if it is all no big deal. This is God’s house, and what you do with it matters. Standing on holy ground is not easy, but it is life-giving.” 

Hey Christian, Don’t “Quiet Quit” your Faith

Hey Christian, Don’t “Quiet Quit” your Faith – “Quiet quitting the Christian life is the third soil that Jesus speaks of: those who bear no fruit because of the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things. Or as we might put it today ‘everyday life’.”

Live Your Virtues, Don’t Just Signal Them

Live Your Virtues, Don’t Just Signal Them – “The Scriptures invite us to be much more concerned with virtuous living than virtue signaling.”

 

A Lesson From a Culture Gone Wrong

A Lesson From a Culture Gone Wrong – “In the short Old Testament book of Jonah, we see a culture in this great city that’s gone so wrong God is preparing to destroy the entire city! But in the final outcome, the city was spared and a culture was dramatically impacted.”

 

3 Ways to Act Like Jesus in Any Situation

3 Ways to Act Like Jesus in Any Situation – “There are at least three simple things you can always do in any situation if you want to act like Jesus.”

 

Playing Home

Playing Home – “There is something carved into the deepest layer of who I am that longs for a life that’s realer than this. That lasts longer. That means more, that hurts less.”

 

Sometimes I Struggle With the Bible

Sometimes I Struggle With the Bible – “When I read Scripture, potential distractions abound. So many things seem more urgent and alluring—things like email, text messages, social media, the day’s news cycle, to-do lists, the latest Netflix series or music release, or opportunities to connect with actual, in the flesh human beings.”

What Is Eternity-Minded Stewardship?

What Is Eternity-Minded Stewardship? – “People are more open even about their sexual struggles than about battling materialism, which may be the final frontier.”

I Didn’t Want to go to Church

I Didn’t Want to go to Church – “Christian, when you don’t want to go to church—that is all the more reason to go. You’ll be blessed and a blessing to others.”

When God’s Blessings Flow

When God’s Blessings Flow – “This makes me wonder how many times God has blessed the people around us because of our prayers. Just because he doesn’t send angels to tell us that he has answered our prayers doesn’t mean he doesn’t answer them just as freely.”

Can I Be Angry with God and Be Holy?

Can I Be Angry with God and Be Holy? – “God always acts justly. He always acts wisely. He always acts with love toward his people. He never wrongs anyone. He is never blameworthy. He is always pure, and holy, and righteous, and good.”

Trusting in the Absence of Peace

Trusting in the Absence of Peace – “We often think that trust means we won’t have any anxiety. But what if the goal isn’t to rid ourselves of anxiety? What if the goal is to learn how to trust in the midst of anxiety?”

Admire Before You Imitate: Resting in the Attributes of God

Admire Before You Imitate: Resting in the Attributes of God – “Savor the simple moments of joy and pleasure in your day and realize that, no matter how trivial, God’s joy echoes your joy in those moments like parents watching their child play with Christmas presents.”

The Response of the World Christians Can Strive For

The Response of the World Christians Can Strive For – “We want to force a response.”

God Has Something to Say in Your Worship Service

God Has Something to Say in Your Worship Service – “The Scriptures … [teach] that worship is not where we gather together to speak about God; rather, worship is where God summons us into his presence in order to speak to us. To be sure, we will speak as well, but only as a response to what first God says to us.

How God Feeds and Keeps Spiritual Leaders

How God Feeds and Keeps Spiritual Leaders – “God’s plan for his leaders so that their hearts not turn away, is that their hearts be formed and fed daily by God’s word.”

 

God Has Thrown Some Husks

God Has Thrown Some Husks – “The Jewish rabbis report (how truly is uncertain) that when Joseph, in the times of plenty, had gathered much corn in Egypt, he threw the chaff into the river Nile, that so, flowing to the neighboring cities and nations more remote, they might know what abundance was laid up, not for themselves alone, but for others also.”

How to Love Annoying People

How to Love Annoying People – “If we approach these relationships seeking to love the people who annoy us, we may be surprised by how God will work.”

 

Bruised Reeds, Flickering Candles, and Non-Posing Friendships

Bruised Reeds, Flickering Candles, and Non-Posing Friendships – Here’s a good reflection on relationships that cover years together.

Life in the Blood

Life in the Blood – “When Jesus invites us to drink his blood, he is saying that only in his endangered life can we find life. When he invites us to eat his flesh, he is saying the same thing. Only in him and his coming sacrifice will we have life.”

When Life Doesn’t Turn Out Like I Think It Should

When Life Doesn’t Turn Out Like I Think It Should – “God’s brilliant work is sometimes hidden within our soul’s anguish.” 

You Must Walk Through Brokenness Before You Appreciate Grace

You Must Walk Through Brokenness Before You Appreciate Grace – “We’ve lost our tolerance for pain and given ourselves to whining.”

Is Your Device Controlling You?

Is Your Device Controlling You? – “God created you to have control over creation. He didn’t intend for you to be controlled by your device.”

There’s a Reason We Call Them “The Lost”

There’s a Reason We Call Them “The Lost” – “Lost animals and lost children can find themselves in very dangerous situations without even realizing it. So can the Lost.”

Social Media Is Terrorizing Our Prayer Lives

Social Media Is Terrorizing Our Prayer Lives – “The more stressful our calendar gets, the greater the demand of the urgent over the important, and the easier it is to shuffle off a little prayer and Bible reading for a calmer date that never quite comes.”

The Remnant is Like a Fuse

The Remnant is Like a Fuse – “Today, in North America, the visible church as a whole seems to be in a time of decline. Many churches are shrinking or closing, and many others are giving into the spirit of the age. They are salt that is losing its saltiness. A time of decline is never the time for the faithful follower of Jesus Christ to grow fainthearted.”

Wade In The Water

Wade In The Water – “We are often faced with situations where we must choose if we will trust God’s promises of provision, or turn away from where he is leading us in order to blaze our own path, by our own means.”

A Little Theology of Dinosaurs

A Little Theology of Dinosaurs – “What then can we learn from such incredible creatures? Among other lessons, consider three.”

How Dangerous Hermeneutics Can Inform False Teachers

How Dangerous Hermeneutics Can Inform False Teachers – “One sign of a false prophet is when a religious leader invents novel and fanciful interpretations of Scripture, interpretations completely divorced from the original context.” Here is a clear example.

CRT vs. Classical Liberalism vs. Christianity

CRT vs. Classical Liberalism vs. Christianity – “The Bible holds out a vision for working toward societies that benefit everyone, not just liberalism’s associations in which no one is to blame or CRT’s perpetual struggles of one group against another.”

How to Care for Someone Walking Through Trauma

How to Care for Someone Walking Through Trauma – “Generally, someone who experienced trauma needs a safe place to process their trauma and a safe person whom they can process the trauma with.”

How to Guard Against Over-Reliant Discernment

How to Guard Against Over-Reliant Discernment – “In all discernment, we must always seek to be guided and driven by the truth of God’s word, not what our favorite teacher says, not what a discernment blogger decides.”

15 Engaging Questions To Ask Your Kids After School

15 Engaging Questions To Ask Your Kids After School – These are a lot better than “How was school today?”

The Lord’s Prayer: Antidote to Expressive Individualism

The Lord’s Prayer: Antidote to Expressive Individualism – “The Lord’s Prayer reinforces our primary relational identity of Christians as children of God. This helps us to look not only inward but around to our relationships, backward and forward in the biblical story we inhabit, and upward to God, our Father.”

The Two Greatest Questions in the Universe

The Two Greatest Questions in the Universe – “The two big issues in the Bible and in the world are these: How do you save the soul so that it’s not destroyed? And how do you glorify God so that he’s not belittled?”

Sometimes I Struggle With the Bible

Sometimes I Struggle With the Bible – “So many things seem more urgent and alluring—things like email, text messages, social media, the day’s news cycle, to-do lists, the latest Netflix series or music release, or opportunities to connect with actual, in the flesh human beings.”

Don’t (Always) Be Efficient

Don’t (Always) Be Efficient – “Sometimes it’s better to be inefficient and let time slip away while we immerse ourselves in something (or someone) that isn’t a task to accomplish or a to-do box to tick. Efficiency is wonderful for jobs, and terrible for relationships.”

‘I Lost My Mom to Facebook’

‘I Lost My Mom to Facebook’ – “Pastors need to be aware that every day of the week their church members are being instructed—and, most likely, their mentor is an algorithm.”

Why We Sleep (And the God Who Doesn’t)

Why We Sleep (And the God Who Doesn’t) – “Knowing God better really should help us to sleep more soundly.”

 

Praying Down Divine Blessing

Praying Down Divine Blessing – “A prayerless church is a powerless church. A prayerless congregation will trend toward becoming a loveless congregation. A prayerless people will ultimately become a self-reliant people.”

 

The Elusiveness of Contentment

The Elusiveness of Contentment – “The truth is most people spend most of what they earn, regardless of how much they take in. We can’t just blame the economy. We need to look inward.”

 

Does God Actually Get Angry?

Does God Actually Get Angry? – “God relates to his creatures, especially those made in his image, in a manner suitable to their creatureliness.”

One Subtle Rebellion Against God

One Subtle Rebellion Against God – “We are still there, in the garden, failing to believe that we are limited creatures, and failing to trust God enough to know that limits are for our good.”

How Long Will it Last? – “‘He’s going through a religious phase.’ How often did you overhear that being said about you in your early days as an openly professing follower of Jesus Christ?”

Why It Matters That Jesus Was and Still Is Human

Why It Matters That Jesus Was and Still Is Human – “One of the doctrines in the area of Christology that is difficult for some Christians to fully grasp is the permanent humanity of Christ.”

How Do Passions Wage War Against the Soul?

How Do Passions Wage War Against the Soul? – “The life of the soul is found in being satisfied with God.”

 

Who are the “Sons of God” in Genesis 6?

Who are the “Sons of God” in Genesis 6? – “Genesis 6 reminds us that though sin abounds, the grace of God abounds all the more. Noah builds an ark that saves all who take refuge within. Thousands of years later, God provides another ark of salvation.”

Who Or What Is Discipling Us?

Who Or What Is Discipling Us? – Every voice you encounter is trying to influence your life, heart, and beliefs. Be Discerning.

Yes, the Devil is Real

Yes, the Devil is Real – “Do I believe there’s an actual devil? You bet I do. And here are a few reasons why.”

Unless Providentially Hindered

Unless Providentially Hindered – When it comes to excuses for missing the weekly church gathering, we are most likely to chose inferior reasons. There are some humorous examples included.

The Spiritual Gift of a Closed Door: How Waiting Serves Ministry

The Spiritual Gift of a Closed Door: How Waiting Serves Ministry – “Sometimes God makes us wait for doors to open in ministry because unwanted waiting is some of the best preparation for ministry.”

3 Unlikely Expressions of Faith

3 Unlikely Expressions of Faith – “There are other times when less dramatic but not less important steps of faith are taken. What are those more unlikely expressions of faith?” 

Does Rahab Show Us That It’s Sometimes Okay to Lie?

Does Rahab Show Us That It’s Sometimes Okay to Lie? – Here’s a good discussion of a complicated ethical story.

Finding Peace in an Unanswered Prayer

Finding Peace in an Unanswered Prayer – “I still have unanswered questions. But I also have peace.”

 

Show us the Father: Grace for Prodigals

Show us the Father: Grace for Prodigals – How happy is the Father to see us?

Loving Those That the Woke Leaves Broke

Loving Those That the Woke Leaves Broke – “The gospel of Jesus Christ is sufficient to heal the broken hearts of those who will carry on their bodies the wreckage caused by the Enemy, and it is our call to help them set their gaze upon our blessed hope.”

God Can Handle Your Crisis

God Can Handle Your Crisis – “Psalm 46 teaches us God can handle the earth’s undoing and nations raging against his people — and that if he can do that, he can be a very present help in our trouble.”

How Do Passions Wage War Against the Soul?

How Do Passions Wage War Against the Soul? – “The desires of the flesh become evil when they are disconnected from the will of God and become sovereign.”

Time to Bring Out the Fruit

Time to Bring Out the Fruit – Here’s an interesting perspective on hospitality in various cultures and lessons we can learn.

The Christian Life Is Church-Shaped

The Christian Life Is Church-Shaped – “A committed Christian is a committed church member.”

You’ve Never Heard This (Spiritually) Before

You’ve Never Heard This (Spiritually) Before – “Why sow seed that just seems to get eaten by the birds, rich truths that seem to immediately get suppressed and later forgotten? Simply because this is the only way that spiritual understanding comes about – through the unrelenting sowing of God’s word.”

Praying Down Divine Blessing

Praying Down Divine Blessing – “Prayer for other believers is one of the chief marks of divine love functioning among fellow Christians.”

10 Common but Illegitimate Reasons to Divorce

10 Common but Illegitimate Reasons to Divorce – “Many people—even Christians—offer reasons to divorce that are not sanctioned by God.”

Christian Employees: They Either Love Jesus Or They’re Obsessed with Sex. Right?

Christian Employees: They Either Love Jesus Or They’re Obsessed with Sex. Right? – “Here’s what really ticks off Christians seeking to live faithful lives in workplaces that are aggressively pushing the Sexular Age onto their employees.” This is a good word for our complicated work-world.

Other Billy Graham ‘Rules’? The Modesto Proposal

Other Billy Graham ‘Rules’? The Modesto Proposal – “We will do well to remember not just one infamous Billy Graham “rule,” but all four resolutions, and particularly the one we may be most prone to conveniently overlook: cherishing the local church.”

Check Your Fleece at the Door: How to Discern God’s Will amid Tough Decisions

Check Your Fleece at the Door: How to Discern God’s Will amid Tough Decisions – “Do Christians need observable signs to discern God’s will? Is this what we’re to learn from Gideon’s story? If not, what do believers need when facing tough decisions?”

 

What’s the Difference Between Faith and Hope?

What’s the Difference Between Faith and Hope? – “Biblical hope is biblical faith in the future tense.”

Gospel Focus Motivates, Makes Southern Baptist Crisis Relief Unique

Gospel Focus Motivates, Makes Southern Baptist Crisis Relief Unique – “he capacity for help from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) is high. In fact, one key SBDR leaders says it ranks right up there with the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army in resources available to people in crisis.”

A Gospel for the Broken

A Gospel for the Broken – “Believer, God’s plan for your life is better than anything you could have expected because what is broken will not only be restored but redeemed.”

2 Simple Steps to Trust God More

2 Simple Steps to Trust God More – “Surely you know what it’s like to come to God in a moment of need and, deep in your heart, know that you don’t really trust Him. Or at least trust Him as much as you would like to. So what do we do with that?”

Should We Want Our Children To Be Happy?

Should We Want Our Children To Be Happy? – “Yes, we want our children to experience happiness—the happiness that comes from knowing and following Christ and living a life that is pleasing to Him.”

What were the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age?

What were the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age? – “Archaeologists are fond of dividing up time into different ‘ages’. This can be quite confusing to the uninitiated, for several reasons.”

Simply Divine: Worshiping a God Who Lacks Nothing

Simply Divine: Worshiping a God Who Lacks Nothing – “The self-existent, simple God is the only God who is not lacking. He is the only God who is inherently loving, abundant, and inclined to be gracious.”

GAFCON Leading the Way

GAFCON Leading the Way – Churches in Australia are dealing with cultural wars too. “The Bible is clear, our moral practitioning is connected to other essential Christian beliefs about God and about sin and salvation and more.”

The Lasting Legacy of Ordinary Believers

The Lasting Legacy of Ordinary Believers – “Think about who has been most influential on your faith. The odds are that these people won’t be named in a history book for their influence, but they made a massive difference through their faithful, quiet work.”

Traditional Methodists Search for New Path Forward

Traditional Methodists Search for New Path Forward – “Churches offering only affirmation, without expectations or the possibility of transformation, haven’t commanded loyalty or made new converts.”

Making Time to Read the Bible

Making Time to Read the Bible – “Here are a few ideas for making time to read the Bible.”

7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special

7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special – “What exactly makes John so different? Given that John loves the number seven—as one example among many, his gospel is structured around seven ‘signs’—let me offer seven things that makes John so special.”

Three Different Ways to Dismiss Divine Commands

Three Different Ways to Dismiss Divine Commands – “I’ve noticed that people (believers and non-believers alike) have a propensity to skirt the Bible’s precepts. They usually do it in one of three ways.”

5 Reasons to Be ‘All In’ at Church

5 Reasons to Be ‘All In’ at Church – “You cannot be joyfully obedient to Christ with nominal or no commitment to a church.”

Why Do So Many Reject Jesus?

Why Do So Many Reject Jesus? – “As long as the public banishes the light, there are enough people to admire the sinful behavior that you don’t feel shame but approval. As long as the light of Christ is kept out of the sphere in which you’re acting out your evil, public sin is in the dark.”

The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Being “Political”

The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Being “Political” – “If a pastor is better known for his views on COVID-19 or for his analysis of the latest shooting than he is for his views on the Trinity, the person of Christ, and the gospel, then something is wrong.”

 

Negotiating With God

Negotiating With God – “Have you ever tried to bargain with God? Is there an ongoing negotiation right now in your spiritual life?”

What Does Disunity Say? Three Common Types of Division

What Does Disunity Say? Three Common Types of Division – “Christian relationships encounter all the temptations common to man. That’s why Christian churches will rarely experience a kind of unity that knows no conflict or struggle.”

Nine Important Facts about Muhammad

Nine Important Facts about Muhammad – “As more Muslims come to this country, I believe American Christians need to know more of what Muslims understand about their prophet. Here are nine things you should know about Muhammad.”

Serve the Lord with Gladness

Serve the Lord with Gladness – “We will be cheerful in even the most mundane tasks when we remember who we are ultimately serving. When we lack joy in service we should check ourselves. Are we truly aiming to please Jesus?”

How to Read the Psalms

How to Read the Psalms – “The Psalms have been a source of worship renewal for 100 generations of Christians! Here are few pointers for ‘working out’ in this spiritual gym.”

What We Miss When We Skip the Book of Ezra

What We Miss When We Skip the Book of Ezra – “The centrality of worshiping God is a central pillar of Ezra. Even the first two themes I mentioned in this article are connected to worship. (God’s work in kings helped the people build the temple; radical repentance was needed because the people were being led away from worshiping God.)”

The Gospel of John (Outline)

The Gospel of John (Outline) – There is much more here than just an outline of John (which is well done).

 

When Downcast, Look to the Throne

When Downcast, Look to the Throne – “I am not sure what you are facing. I do not know what hardships or persecutions are bringing you down or what sins have caused you to mourn, but I know you can look to the throne. In looking at the throne, we see the one who sits upon it, and he loves us.”

5 Questions to Help Change Unwanted Thoughts

5 Questions to Help Change Unwanted Thoughts – “We have to consider how our stories, relationships, emotions, and bodies influence our thought patterns as well. Here are five questions to help you explore your unwanted thoughts.”

To Walk by the Spirit, You Need Adaptive Capacity

To Walk by the Spirit, You Need Adaptive Capacity – “Here are some questions to help you confidently approach changing circumstances in a way that’s anchored to both the Scriptures and your local church.”

When Death Does Us Part: Last Words of a Long Lost Love

When Death Does Us Part: Last Words of a Long Lost Love – “When it works as it should, marriage is a tragedy.” It ends as a beautiful testimony too.

Five Words

Five Words – From the story of prodigal son, we find five ways God will relate to us today.

Is Your Gospel an Urban Legend?

Is Your Gospel an Urban Legend? – “If you talk a big game about ‘the gospel,’ but don’t live like it’s true, the people you do life with will begin to suspect you don’t actually believe it. Worse yet, they may begin to disbelieve it themselves.”

For Those who Thirst

For Those who Thirst – “What do you thirst for? Hope? Meaning? Where have you been left scraping the dry ground of futility, longing for a healing rain?”

Another Friendly Reminder

Another Friendly Reminder – “Here’s the good news: Most Americans are not hateful conspiracy-theorists who want to destroy their wrong thinking neighbors. Here’s the bad news: The hateful conspiracy-theorists who want to destroy their wrong thinking neighbors dominate social media – they’re on it all the time.” 

Why Keep Reading the Bible?

Why Keep Reading the Bible? – “Rather than going into general reasons to read Scripture, I’m just going to list reasons to keep reading it once we’re fairly familiar with it.”

Our Gentle and Terrifying God: How Justice Holds Out Mercy

Our Gentle and Terrifying God: How Justice Holds Out Mercy – “Mercy and justice are not at odds here, but beautifully joined together. Because he is just, God will be merciful to you, in his perfect timing. His grace to you, in Christ, is justice. The purest enforcement of justice ever conceived or executed delights to show mercy.”

Who Will Judge the World?

Who Will Judge the World? – “Every single human being will be held personally accountable before the Maker of the universe.”

What Catholicism Teaches About the Supper

What Catholicism Teaches About the Supper – “Here in Rome, Italy, near the heart of Roman Catholicism, it is not unusual to pass by one of the city’s countless Catholic churches and see people prostrate on the floor or on bended knee as the priest carries around the bread of the Eucharist.” 

Get Hold of the “Is” in “This Is My Father’s World”

Get Hold of the “Is” in “This Is My Father’s World” – “Thank you for helping me understand the Gospel isn’t just about preparing to die, but coming alive and living as yours in your world.”

 

God Means To Make Something Of Us

God Means To Make Something Of Us – “We pray that God will deliver us from our trials, but sometimes he does not. We pray that he will relieve us of our burdens, but sometimes they remain pressed hard against our shoulders. Why?”

Martyr or Madman? The Unnerving Faith of Ignatius

Martyr or Madman? The Unnerving Faith of Ignatius – “In the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch we possess one of the richest resources for understanding Christianity in the era immediately following that of the apostles”

Senior Saints, We Need You

Senior Saints, We Need You – “They need encouragement to finish their race with endurance, resilience, and joy.”

 

Can the Devil Make Us Sin?

Can the Devil Make Us Sin? – “How much of an impact does the devil have on our society today? How do we know whether something is an act of Satan or just our sinful nature?”

That They May All Be One? Why Unity Is Still Worth Pursuing

That They May All Be One? Why Unity Is Still Worth Pursuing – Unity is not an option and it’s a lot of work.

How to Help Teens Who Are Anxious and Depressed

How to Help Teens Who Are Anxious and Depressed – “Preteens and teenagers are more anxious, overwhelmed, and depressed than the generations before.”

How Ordinary Worship Is both Reverent and Relevant

How Ordinary Worship Is both Reverent and Relevant – “What the church needs is to have faith that worship, as God has given it to us, is reverent enough and relevant enough to make lasting change in our world and in our own lives.” 

Sowers Not Inspectors

Sowers Not Inspectors – “Jesus has left His church to scatter the seed of the Gospel in this world knowing that the seed will fall on many who will not receive it, remain in it, or bear fruit that lasts. My fear is that somewhere along the way we have traded the duty of sowing the seed for that of inspecting the soil.”

Effective Prayers for Evangelism

Effective Prayers for Evangelism – “Prayers for evangelism not only open the door for effective outreach but it also prepares our hearts to evangelize more effectively.”

The Stories of Jesus

The Stories of Jesus – Jesus’ parables reveal nothing less than the kingdom of heaven and the power of almighty God expressed in both judgment and grace. They illuminate God’s character and the hardness of sinful human hearts.”

Who Are the 144,000 in Revelation 7?

Who Are the 144,000 in Revelation 7? – “Who will escape the wrath of God at the final judgment? Only those who belong to God, those who are sealed by him, who are numbered by him.”

How Are We Born Again?

How Are We Born Again? – “We didn’t make our first birth. We don’t make our second birth.”

An On-Going Battle

An On-Going Battle – “To put in a flower bed, you clear the ground of rocks, debris, and weeds. You use good soil and quality plants. You stand over your work and admire it, but weeds are starting to pop up in just a few days. These weeds will take over the bed and choke out the flowers if left unattended.” Sin works the same way.

Five Conversations You Need to Have Before Getting Married

Five Conversations You Need to Have Before Getting Married – There are also a good reasons to participate on premarital counseling.

5 Truths We Must Defend: Lessons from China

5 Truths We Must Defend: Lessons from China – “Each of these five truths and the imperatives that flow from them will be challenged by totalitarian regimes. Our faithfulness—or lack thereof—will hinge on our response to these challenges.”

5 New Stats You Should Know About Teens and Social Media

5 New Stats You Should Know About Teens and Social Media – “Let’s look at a handful of stats that provide a clearer picture of how these forms of media may be shaping teenagers.”

Swath of Committed Christians Don’t Attend Church Monthly

Swath of Committed Christians Don’t Attend Church Monthly – “Most of the youngest generations who identify as committed Christians likely do not attend church at least once monthly.”

Knowledge Is Not A Bank

Knowledge Is Not A Bank – “Knowledge is not a bank. It’s more like a garden.”

4 Things Creation Teaches Us About God

4 Things Creation Teaches Us About God – “Genesis—and the creation account specifically—helps us to understand how God is revealing himself to us throughout the rest of our Bibles. Here are four important realities that passage teaches.”

When God Took Away: His Goodness in My Grief

When God Took Away: His Goodness in My Grief – “There is a deep mystery to suffering. While the Bible makes it plain that we must expect to encounter times of sorrow and loss, of trial and grief, we often don’t know why these times come.”

Love Grows in the Soil of Forgiveness

Love Grows in the Soil of Forgiveness – “The daily awareness of our own sinfulness will lead us to regularly ask God for his forgiveness, which will then keep our heart tender and forgiving toward those who wrong us.”

Dishes and Divorce: Why Little Things Can Lead to a Breakup

Dishes and Divorce: Why Little Things Can Lead to a Breakup – “How do couples come to a place where something as small as a plate on the counter has them contemplating divorce? I believe it comes down to one basic reality: the little things either communicate love, or they don’t.”

Why Christian Teens Have an Identity Crisis

Why Christian Teens Have an Identity Crisis – “Beginning a theology of identity with who we are leaves out the most important piece of the story—who God is.”

How Money Fears Kill Our Worship

How Money Fears Kill Our Worship – “When you magnify God through not being afraid about money, you worship.”

Christ’s Crucifixion Isn’t Child Sacrifice

Christ’s Crucifixion Isn’t Child Sacrifice – “In an age of political correctness, Christianity is a prime offender. It’s not only Scripture’s sexual ethics that get canceled. Even bedrock creeds like Christ’s crucifixion are on the chopping block.”

You Aren’t a Slave to Sin, Even if You Feel Like One

You Aren’t a Slave to Sin, Even if You Feel Like One – “Being in Christ puts you in a new position in relation to sin. Sin is still your enemy, but it is no longer your master.”

Give Him Your Acorns

Give Him Your Acorns – “All of our treasures will find their greatest hope enveloped in his safe hand.” It’s a good illustration to remember a timeless truth.

Bored with Christianity?

Bored with Christianity? – “Tasting something good is a reason to continue not a reason to stop. Salvation is described as the first fruits not the final harvest, the foretaste not the main course, the betrothal not the marriage supper. There is more to come, and we are just getting started.”

 

Can I Vote for a Sinful Political Candidate?

Can I Vote for a Sinful Political Candidate? – “Paul’s teaching frees the conscience of Christians to vote for political candidates that display radically unchristian behavior. This is because Paul is taking for granted that the rulers in Rome are depraved pagans, yet he instructs the Roman church to engage in a symbiotic relationship with them.”

Where Will They Learn to Work? Teaching Children a Lost Ethic

Where Will They Learn to Work? Teaching Children a Lost Ethic – “How do we as parents instill this biblical work ethic in our children? What might diligence look like in their lives? Let’s approach this task by answering the why, when, how, and what.”

Complementarianism, the Regulative Principle

Complementarianism, the Regulative Principle – This is a practical and biblical approach to what can easily become over-reach on what the Bible “really says”.

An Illustration to Help Understand God’s Purpose in Creation

An Illustration to Help Understand God’s Purpose in Creation – “We do not exist to fulfill something lacking in God; we exist because there is NOTHING lacking in God.”

What Makes Christian Love Different?

What Makes Christian Love Different? – “The difference between secular love and Christian love is that secular love is not rooted in the cross of God’s Son, and is not sustained and shaped by the power of God’s Spirit, and is not acted for the glory of God the Father.”

Parents, Be Careful What You Affirm in Your Kids

Parents, Be Careful What You Affirm in Your Kids – “Affirmation is like fertilizer. Whatever you put it on tends to grow.”

Not Now: The Surprising Joy of Waiting on the Lord

Not Now: The Surprising Joy of Waiting on the Lord – “As a society and culture we don’t like to wait. Yet, we miss surprising spiritual benefits and blessings when we fail to head God’s imperatives and call to wait on Him.”

 

Slow to Anger: The Beauty of God’s Perfect Patience

Slow to Anger: The Beauty of God’s Perfect Patience – “If we were God in heaven, we would have grown impatient with people like us long ago. Our anger rises quickly in the face of personal offense. Our frustration boils over. Our judgments readily fire.”

If I Was the World’s Only Christian…

If I Was the World’s Only Christian… - “I need not fear, for the wonderful fact is that the Christian church is as diverse as the world itself. And this is a source of deep blessing and a reason for great confidence.”

 

Why Christians Should Beware the Trap of Toxic Positivity

Why Christians Should Beware the Trap of Toxic Positivity – According to one definition, “toxic positivity can be described as insincere positivity that leads to harm, needless suffering, or misunderstanding.”

Luxury Beliefs

Luxury Beliefs – “According to one Cambridge academic, permissive attitudes about sex, marriage, drugs, and religion are “luxury beliefs; more status symbols for cultural elites than blueprints for the way they live.”

Put Your Anger to Bed: Five Lessons for Young Couples

Put Your Anger to Bed: Five Lessons for Young Couples – “While many (rightly) turn to Ephesians 5 for a vision for marriage, the verses immediately before that chapter also hold valuable weapons in the fight to love each other well.”

 

Pray Your Uncensored Thoughts

Pray Your Uncensored Thoughts – “God invites us into his presence where he can transform even our uncensored thoughts.”

Water from the Rock for Undeserving People

Water from the Rock for Undeserving People – “Story after story after story in the Bible, including this one, is God’s roar from heaven: ‘Trust me.’”

Fearing Our Dryness and Coldness More Than “Spirit-Imbalance”

Fearing Our Dryness and Coldness More Than “Spirit-Imbalance” – “May we take Jesus’ great love, sovereign rule, and sure return more seriously than ever.”

Sin is Only as Hidden as God Allows

Sin is Only as Hidden as God Allows – “If we have been nursing secret sin and we have not been exposed, that is because up to this point, God has not decided to reveal it. 

How Often Do You Think About Heaven?

How Often Do You Think About Heaven? – “According to these verses, we evangelize by pointing people’s gaze to the restoration of all things as well to the cross. Yet few of us regularly preach, sing, pray, or evangelize about heaven.”

8 Reasons Why Non-Believers Don’t Always Listen to Us

8 Reasons Why Non-Believers Don’t Always Listen to Us – “Here are some of the reasons.”

Closeness Comes Through Fire: How Suffering Conforms Us to Christ

Closeness Comes Through Fire: How Suffering Conforms Us to Christ – “This is one way suffering sanctifies: it brings us closer to God.”

The Lord’s Prayer Is Meant to Be Lived

The Lord’s Prayer Is Meant to Be Lived – “The Lord’s Prayer is not just a prayer; it’s a vision for life in Christ’s inbreaking kingdom.”

20 Quotes on Jesus and Women from Rebecca McLaughlin

20 Quotes on Jesus and Women from Rebecca McLaughlin – These are great obvservations.

Wired for a Life of Worship

Wired for a Life of Worship – “Your mission is to turn your place in life into a place of true worship. To do whatever you do in a way that will reflect God’s heart to those around you.”

Why We Sleep (And the God Who Doesn’t)

Why We Sleep (And the God Who Doesn’t) – “To think about God’s greatness, we naturally tend to talk about what God can do. We, however, are going to consider what God can’t do—and when you realize what God can’t do, his greatness might just blow your mind.”

How to Read and Understand God’s Word

How to Read and Understand God’s Word – “It is an unfortunate fact that many Christians have read parts of the Bible but have never read the whole Bible. They have read parts of the narrative, but never followed it all the way through.”

The Hard Work of Grace

The Hard Work of Grace – “Some are given a free ride to an Ivy League school. Others hear a word of warning generations before the great and terrible day of the Lord. We all are given God’s grace to become fellow workers in the family business.”

Why Did My Life Have to Be Hard?

Why Did My Life Have to Be Hard? – “Psalm 90 and Ecclesiastes encourage me to look only to God and not to anything or anyone in this world for every good thing (Psalm 90:13–17).”

Do People Die Too Soon?

Do People Die Too Soon? – “God has the date of every person’s death in his calendar, and there is nothing that anyone can do to have this divinely made appointment cancelled or postponed.”

6 Simple Strategies That Help Me Pray More

6 Simple Strategies That Help Me Pray More – Here are some suggestions for enriching and growing your prayer time.

Why Don’t I Care? Steps to Overcoming Spiritual Apathy

Why Don’t I Care? Steps to Overcoming Spiritual Apathy – “I want to pose three questions that may help diagnose the possible issues underlying our apathy.”

Who Will You Be After God Leads You Through the Desert?

Who Will You Be After God Leads You Through the Desert? – “Wherever we’re from around the world, most of us can identify with desert-like experiences in our own nations, churches, families, and lives.” 

2 Ways to Encourage Our Sport-Playing Kids

 2 Ways to Encourage Our Sport-Playing Kids – “You see the value in sports, but at the same time, do not want your child to fall into the trap of bowing down and worshiping those sports as so often happens?”

The Filthy Will Still Be Filthy

The Filthy Will Still Be Filthy – “Sin is filth. It is soul pollution. It makes us vile in the eyes of God, and no matter how much pride we take in our sin now, we will one day even be offensive in our own eyes.”

Entrusting My Treasure

Entrusting My Treasure – “Let’s surrender our fears and ambitions for our children and let the Lord write their stories according to His perfect wisdom.”

Why Christians Must Do More Than Just “Be the Church”

Why Christians Must Do More Than Just “Be the Church” – “God doesn’t ask us to choose between going and being. In fact, choosing to be the church without going to church robs us of the power Christ offers as he calls us outward to serve.”

Ancient Promises

Ancient Promises – “In the Pentateuch, the entire New Testament is concealed, yet the revelation therein opens a gateway for us to understand all of the rest of the revelation that God provides from Joshua through Revelation.”

The Story of the Carrot, the Egg, and the Coffee Bean

The Story of the Carrot, the Egg, and the Coffee Bean – How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

From Rage to Repentance

From Rage to Repentance – “Hamid unexpectedly walked in just as the service was beginning. At once I felt anxious chills in the back of my head and neck, my body’s way of telling me that it feels threatened.”

You Won’t Find Yourself Within

You Won’t Find Yourself Within – “The gospel teaches that you are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19). In the age of expressive individualism, a more countercultural statement is hard to imagine.”

 

When Prayer Weeps

When Prayer Weeps – “Most of us don’t often weep over the spiritual needs of others. Perhaps that’s because we don’t see people the way Jesus sees them. And we don’t see the broken heart of a holy God whose mercy and grace have been rejected. For when we do; our hearts will break with His.”

Do the Prophets’ Judgment Oracles Apply Today?

Do the Prophets’ Judgment Oracles Apply Today? – “The prophets’ oracles of judgment set up a definitive contrast between God’s kingdom and all competing worldviews.”

Maturing Toward Childlikeness

Maturing Toward Childlikeness – “Christian growth is a gradual downward movement toward the maturity of childlikeness.”

Gospel Drift — and How to Avoid It

Gospel Drift — and How to Avoid It – Here are some good encouragements.

God’s Plan Was Better Than My Plan

God’s Plan Was Better Than My Plan – “The will of God is never exactly what you expect it to be. It may seem much worse, but in the end, it’s going to be a lot better and a lot bigger.” 

How Job Teaches Us to Grieve With Hope

How Job Teaches Us to Grieve With Hope – “When deep pain and sorrow come into our lives, we experience a crossroads of sorts. We can either turn away from the Lord—deciding that God is not who he says he is and that he is holding out on us in some way— or we draw closer to God, believing that God’s character is unchanging and is always good”

Grief: A Wound That Time Won’t Heal

Grief: A Wound That Time Won’t Heal – “Your church needs your wounds. Your local congregations may not have realized it yet, but it needs the wisdom birthed by all that you have endured”

It Can’t Be Both Depending on How We Feel

It Can’t Be Both Depending on How We Feel – “As justifiable and proper as devastation at the loss of a child is, so too ought we to be horrified by the wanton destruction and murder of such same unborn children. But it clearly cannot be both.”

The FAQs: Anglican Conference in Conflict over Same-Sex Marriage

The FAQs: Anglican Conference in Conflict over Same-Sex Marriage – “Division within a once-in-a-decade assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion has erupted over the issues of homosexual ordination and same-sex marriage.”

23 Ways to Ask Your Kid ‘How Was Your Day at School?’

23 Ways to Ask Your Kid ‘How Was Your Day at School?’ – Without Asking ‘How Was Your Day at School?’

Coming Out as Christian at Work

Coming Out as Christian at Work – “Living out our authentic selves at work can be one of the greatest blessings to God, to the people we work with, and to us.”

Overcoming Sinful Anger

Overcoming Sinful Anger – “The heart of man is exceeding prone to undue and sinful anger, being naturally full of pride and selfishness; and we live in a world that is full of occasions that tend to stir up this corruption that is within us.”

How to Love People at Church Who Drive You Crazy

How to Love People at Church Who Drive You Crazy – “You can’t really claim to be the kind of person who loves God unless we learn to love others, including those who drive you crazy.”

How God Uses Pain

How God Uses Pain – “The prosperity gospel people have it wrong. God is probably more interested in our response to testing than he is in showering us with material blessings.”

Walking Through the Valley

Walking Through the Valley – “My hope is that whenever you may find yourself walking through the valley of the shadow of death you will be helped by these reminders.”

Why Is It Right for God to Seek and Demand Glory?

Why Is It Right for God to Seek and Demand Glory? – “When someone goes on and on about their accomplishments because they want to be praised, Christians regard that as prideful. It’s selfish. We call such a person a ‘glory-hound.’ Yet Christians seem to give God a pass when he does exactly the same thing.”

None Righteous

None Righteous – “The equation is simple. If God requires perfect righteousness and perfect holiness to survive His perfect judgment, then we are left with a serious problem.”

Why Did Jesus Need to Suffer and Die Publicly?

Why Did Jesus Need to Suffer and Die Publicly? – “The horrific public shaming and sufferings of Christ were scripted down to the details.”

How to Worship With Our Wallets Apart From the Worship of Money

How to Worship With Our Wallets Apart From the Worship of Money – “Freedom from the worship of money to worship God with our Money.”

 

Everything in God Is God: How to Think About His Attributes

Everything in God Is God: How to Think About His Attributes – “God doesn’t have attributes in the way that you and I have attributes. He’s not composed of attributes or qualities or excellencies or perfections. Whatever God has, God is.”