As you might imagine, I receive a good deal of email from people who read this site. Probably the most common questions I receive (other than those mentioning The Shack) deal with books and reading. I guess I’ve established a reputation as a bookworm and people often ask just how I find time to read…
I have written a lot of articles through the past 6+ years of blogging. Within all of the “every day” have been a few that I consider favorites–articles that, for one reason or another, stick with me even months or years later. I’ve often thought about collecting some of those together and allowing this to…
A couple of months ago I began an effort to memorize Scripture with other people who read this site. My initial projection of having thirty people interested in participating was quickly shattered and there are now more than 1100 participating. Those who have been participating from the beginning have now memorized Psalm 8, Psalm 103…
As you may know, I decided to read through both of the Finding God in The Shack books released this month (two books, two authors, one title). Last week I reviewed the first of these (see: Finding God in the Shack (1)) and in a day or two I will review the second. But first,…
A couple of weeks ago I reviewed The Christian Lover by Michael Haykin, a collection of historical love letters sent from one Christian lover to another. Despite feeling like a bit of a voyeur, spying on private communications, I enjoyed reading these letters, and highly recommended the book. But it got me thinking about my…
Here is some good, light fare for a Saturday afternoon. A few weeks ago we found, on sale, the complete Pixar collection (not including Wall-E). We have had fun going back in time and watching each of these movies. I still remember going to see Toy Story when it was in the theaters and marveling…
Those of us who are participating in the “Memorizing Scripture Together” program have come to the close of our second long passage. Those who have followed along from the beginning should now have stored away in their hearts and minds both Psalm 8 and Psalm 103. To those who have managed to do one or…
A few days ago somebody posted at Amazon a rather unique review of my book. Though he gave the book only one star out of five, I was far from upset or outraged when I read it. I was more perplexed. In fact, I didn’t quite know what to do with the review and thought…
Today I want to step into dangerous territory and discuss free will. This is a massive topic with implications that stretch to almost every part of the Christian faith. I want to look at just one small part of it. I want to deal with a statement I’ve heard and read time and again. I…
Christians love their conferences. Calvinists love their conferences. Put the two together and, well, you’ve got an awful lot of events in any given year. Many major ministries offer their annual conferences along with a selection of regional conferences; churches offer small conferences designed to serve a local constituency; ministries like Together for the Gospel…
A couple of days ago I was a guest on a radio program, discussing my favorite books from 2008. At one point the host asked what books I am looking forward to reading next year. I thought I’d share just a short list here. This is based only on books that have been announced or…
On Saturday night, Aileen and I joined some friends to take in a performance of Handel’s Messiah. And what a performance it was. It featured the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. It was, in a word, sublime. Conductor Noel Edison clearly understood the piece (I guess I should say “the oratorio”) and…
The name Ryan Ferguson may be familiar to some of the readers of this site. Ryan has appeared at a couple of conferences where he has recited long passages of Scripture. I first saw him at WorshipGod ’06 where he dramatically recited all of Hebrews 9 and 10 (though he had memorized the entire book).…
Today we arrive at our third week of reading through Mere Christianity. The first week we read the Introductory bits while last week we read the first book, “Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe.” This week we read the second book, “What Christians Believe.” Discussion In Mere Christianity Lewis…
The fifth chapter of John presents us with a pitiful scene. It is the Sabbath day and in Jerusalem, gathered around a pool by the Sheep Gate, is a great multitude of men and women. Some of them are lying on the ground, stricken with sores. Others are paralyzed or have shriveled limbs. Still others…
As I’ve said before, the bulk of the Memorizing Scripture Together effort is happening via email, but I do want to provide the occasional update on the blog. Because we are beginning a new passage today, it seemed like an appropriate time to mention it here. Those of us participating in the program have just…
There’s always an element of frustration when I read the gospels. I read of these men who traveled with Jesus, who followed him month after month, who drank in nearly every word of his earthly ministry. And yet somehow they just did not get it. Somehow the full reality of who he was and what…
I’m not quite sure how many books I read this year, but it is probably in the neighborhood of 80-100. I recently combed through the list, looking for the books I read in 2008 that were also published in 2008. And as I did that, I built a list of my favorites. Now do note…
Read an outside view on Calvinists or Calvinism, and you are sure to read something about God’s wrath. The God of Calvinism is a wrathful, vengeful God, boiling over in anger against any part of creation that has turned against him. He is no God of love, this. Sure, he may have some love for…
It is my intention to primarily use email to update the participants in the Memorizing Scripture Together effort (click here to learn about the program). However, this morning I logged in to the software I use to send those emails only to find that it is down for maintenance until 9 AM tomorrow morning. And…