Our world is filled with false teachers. As lyrically expressed by Martin Luther, “This world is filled with devils.” It always has been (2 Cor 11:13–15; Titus 1:10–11; Jude 4). It always will be (Matt 24:11; Acts 20:29–30). Scripture warns us to “beware” of them (Matt 7:15–16; Mark 12:38).   Read More

Just as muscles are developed through pain and metal is sharpened through friction, so “love and good works” are cultivated by being “stirred up.”   Read More

As the world continues to reel over the events of this past week, we are witnessing what is perhaps the great awakening of this generation. There is a renewed boldness and conviction taking hold of Christians which feels reminiscent of the early church (Acts 4:31). There is a clarity and a directness to our words. The endless nuancing, caveating, qualifying, softening, and tiptoeing has suddenly been replaced with something unabashedly clear.   Read More

I came across a magazine article this morning with a curated list of activities for families to do on Memorial Day Weekend. It included things like camping, parades, visiting small towns, decorating, lawn games, berry picking, backyard barbecues, patriotic cupcakes, etc. I had two thoughts as I perused these celebratory suggestions.   Read More

If someone were to ask you what God is like, what would you say? When you’re walking through the valley of shadows, no question is more pressing than this: What is God like?  Read More

As I consider the world in which my children are being raised, one of the greatest threats they will ever face in today’s Western culture is the onslaught of pornographic images.  Read More

This past summer, my church family blessed my family with a 10-week sabbatical. This means that I had zero pastoral responsibilities for over two months. I could write a monograph about the experiences we had and the lessons we learned, but I’ll table that for another time. Here, I simply want to highlight “twelve habits of rest” that we gleaned during the sabbatical.  Read More

But what about when the life of a woman is legitimately at stake in her pregnancy? What choice does a follower of Jesus have when a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother?  Read More

It wasn’t until I began to see just how far the American political landscape had trespassed their political boundaries (venturing into the ecclesiastical pulpit and hijacking biblical morality for their own political platforms) that I began to sense a growing need for faithful Christians to “get political” – with their pastors leading the way. Let me explain...  Read More

Orphaned children, agonizing starvation, debilitating diseases, horrific wars, corrupt governments, abusive parents, manipulative pastors, rampant divorce, heart-wrenching miscarriages, devastating natural disasters, crushing poverty, and seemingly endless etceteras. How could someone believe that God is good when He allows such unspeakable sorrow? It’s the epitome of absurdity. If God exists, He is either powerless or cruel.  Read More

One of the most important truths of the Christian faith is that (1) there is only one God and that (2) He has eternally existed as three persons: Father, Son, Spirit.  Read More

The first words recorded in the Bible: "In the beginning...God."   Read More