Clik here to view.
What If the Worst Happens?
I found myself growing fearful. Not a heart-stopping, all-encompassing fear, but the kind of constant gnawing that occurs when you look at the discouraging trends of the present and assume things will...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Your Happiness Is So Important to God
No one puts it as bluntly as Blaise Pascal in his Pensées:All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Books Boomers Will Never Read
Starting January 1, 2011, 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day until December 31, 2029. The boomers were born from 1946 to 1964. I am almost the oldest (January 11, 1946). Only 100,000 of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Was Richard Dawkins Right?
“Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.”Richard Dawkins recently tweeted the above in response to a woman who wondered what she should do about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Give the Blessing of Rebuke
One of the most loving things you can do for someone is tell them when they’re wrong.While it’s tough enough to embrace the blessing of rebuke when you find yourself the recipient of some corrective...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Do You Hate to Wait?
Anxiety is the slave song of the human heart under the tyranny of insignificance. Impatience is an acute strand of anxiety — played in a certain key — that can mesmerize and trap a soul in an infinite...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Don’t You Know Jesus Is Real?
The apostle John shows us a vision in Revelation 5.There is a Lamb standing as though it has been slain. It has seven horns and seven eyes — eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Precious Lessons of Rebuke
Last spring I spoke flippant words and those words hurt someone in the church. And although we talked about it openly and everything was made right, a weird remnant of insecurity hung over my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lay Aside the Weight of Irritability
Sunday morning. The Bloom family is bustling to the van for church and a debate arises between two or three about who’s going to sit where. We’re cutting it close for time as it is. Out of my mouth...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Joy Designed
Left to ourselves, we are stuck in the mud of our total depravity— the centripetal wrapping of our affections around ourselves. We turn away from God for our joy, and choke ourselves with the slavery...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are You Leaching the Local Church?
When I was a teen, I bought into the very fashionable assumption that the local church would only cramp my style and put a barrier to “authentic spirituality.” I stopped attending for a while until I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Big God in Your Small Group
What do you want from your small group this fall?You might be hoping for more effective ministry to friends and neighbors. God, how can we see more people meet Jesus? You might be excited to study more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where Do Others Fit in Your Schedule?
“All of life is a medium for relationship,” says Matt Reagan. In some cultures in the world, this statement would seem so patently obvious that folks would look at you funny if you said it. “Yes,” they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Are You on the Earth?
George Herbert’s poem called “Praise” contains a verse that has been taped to my computer monitor since I first read it years ago.Of all the creatures both in sea and land Only to man Thou has made...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two Big Reasons Evangelism Isn’t Working
One in five Americans don’t believe in a deity. Less than half of the population attends religious services on a regular basis.People simply find our evangelism unbelievable.Why?While a person’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Gossip Says About God
What we say reveals what we believe. We can’t hide it. Fresh water, salt water, and the like (James 3:11–12). Some forms of speech reveal in a more straightforward manner: “I believe the sun will rise...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pray for the Strength That God Supplies
We weak people frequently need to pray for strength. “Oh Father, please give me strength for ___” is a wonderful prayer. It’s a necessary prayer, and it’s a God-honoring prayer because it recognizes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three Things to Remember When You Read the Bible
You can never just read the Bible.There is something deep happening. It’s something more glorious than the universe. Whether you open these pages before dawn, over midmorning coffee, or at the dinner...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why We Neglect Our Bibles
We assume every Christian has a Bible that looks like this one — worn down, marked up, and paired with a journal stuffed with multicolored spiritual reflections.But that’s often not true. Many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Learning How to Boast
An individual’s worth and consequently his respect in the community was dependent on the status he was able to project. . . . It was a time when everyone yearned for an admiring public. The pursuit of...
View Article