Oh my. I had no idea. I had heard of it and even read reviews praising it and describing it as exceptional. But I didn’t know it would be this good, this powerful. I opened it up on my iPad during a long flight over the Atlantic, then sat physically transfixed and emotionally moved as…
Few things are sadder to witness than people who once professed faith leaving it all behind. This is especially true when those people were raised in Christian homes by God-fearing parents. These children were given every opportunity to put their faith in Jesus but determined instead to turn their backs on him. Why would they…
What are people willing to give for joy? What price are they willing to pay? Consider what people spend on vacations, luxury goods, entertainment, and stimulants and it’s clear the cost is sky-high. And yet all that time, money, and effort never seems to be enough. For so many people, joy remains elusive. And if…
There is something deep within the human heart, even the regenerate human heart, that enjoys evil. There is something within us that is drawn, almost magnetized at times, toward those things that are improper or even outright vile. At times each of us wants to see, taste, touch, or experience what God forbids. We want…
God tells each of us that we are responsible to faithfully parent our children, and that ultimately our task is to raise our children to be fellow disciples of Christ. Through his Word he instructs us how to go about so daunting a task. Yet even while God sets the challenge and provides the instruction,…
I once had an unexpected, startling confrontation with another Christian. I was a speaker at a conference and walking from one event to another when an individual came charging up to me. He got right up in my face, like a batter arguing strikes with an umpire, and began to tell how I had offended…
A friend asked the question: How do I pray for unbelievers? How do I pray effectively? I trust that every Christian regularly prays for family or friends or colleagues or neighbors who do not yet know the Lord. And while we can and must pray for matters related to their lives and circumstances, the emphasis…
I wonder if in all of human history there has been a generation that has had as much ambition, as much self-confidence, as the millennials. You believe that you can make a difference, that you can change the world, and you have the ambition to get out there and attempt it. I like that. I…
One of the reasons Christians don’t use marijuana is because doing so is against the law, in the United States at least. But what about when the law changes and suddenly, overnight, it’s (supposedly) legal? For some of you, that’s your reality. For others, it will likely be your reality in the not too distant…
It happens with alarming, distressing regularity. And it hurts every time. It hurts every time we see a person we love or admire fall into a great sin or deny a precious doctrine. We are always left asking ourselves how it happened. What went wrong? How did we not see this coming? How did they…
The disciples were afraid. Terrified, even. The wind was howling, the waves pounding. Several of them were fishermen by trade and they knew this water, they knew of colleagues who had been swept away and lost in these sudden, vicious squalls. They knew the situation was fast becoming perilous. Yet Jesus slept, resting contentedly at…
I have always enjoyed the part of the worship service we call “the offering” or “the collection.” This is the time when the deacons pass the plates and each of us gives our financial gifts. It is a moment of both joy and solemnity as we express gratitude through generosity. It is an act of…
Tomorrow is sure to be quite the day. The whole world will be watching as Americans head to the polls to elect a new president, finally bringing an end to what has been one of the longest, nastiest, and most divisive election seasons ever. Whoever wins tomorrow will face an especially difficult challenge as he…
Few things bring sorrow and break hearts like dealing with wayward people—people who have determined they will pursue their sin, that they will reject their roles, forsake their promises, ignore their counsellors. When dealing with such people we need to ask, what is the mindset, the worldview, the value system of a wayward man or…
In our family devotions we have been sharpening some big beliefs, learning some big truths. We have been doing this with help from David Helm as he has led us through the Westminster Confession of Faith. This was a confession that played an important role in my younger years, but one I had neglected until…
Today’s Kindle deals include: Passport through Darkness by Kimberley Smith, How to Read the Bible Book by Book by Gordon Fee, Life in the Balance by Joni Eareckson Tada, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? by D. James Kennedy, and Depression by Ed Welch. How God Is Moving on Secular Campuses Owen Strachan brings…
My family doesn’t do sleepovers. Before our children were even old enough to ask, Aileen and I talked it through and determined that we would not allow them. We would simply take sleepovers off the table altogether. A couple of years ago I wrote about this in an article titled Why My Family Doesn’t Do…
God is good to give us pastors. The very fact that God calls certain men to “care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28) proves that the church is in need of care. God gives us pastors because we need pastoring. But what is this ministry? How does a pastor minister to his people in…
San Francisco’s Millennium Tower is in trouble. The 58-story tower is home to some of the city’s wealthiest people, its apartments among the most expensive and desirable in the city. But recently its residents have begun to notice some troubling issues. Engineers who studied the building have been alarmed to find it has sunk 16…
It’s a metaphor I heard from a friend and one that has stuck with me ever since. It illustrates a common, perhaps even universal, experience within marriage—sexual intimacy is good and wonderful but, maintaining healthy intimacy through all of life’s ups and downs is a life-long challenge. The illustration goes something like this. You are…