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I was a youth at the time when I heard the story. An older woman came to her pastor and said, "Pastor, I don't know what to do. My adult son lives at home. I've been supporting him with my nursing work since he lost his job. He hasn't looked for another since. But now I've been diagnosed with a problem that will prevent me from working. What will we do?" The pastor talked to her about prayer and trusting God and such, but then he asked her, "Think it through. What's the worst that can happen?" "Well, we won't have any income." "And then?" "We…  ( Click for more )

All Christians are "repeat offenders." In general, none of us in this life are free of the sin from which we are saved (1 John 1:10; 1 John 2:1). And each of us have what we call "besetting sins," those particular sins that just keep coming back. We commit them, we repent, we confess, we turn, we call out for help ... and a day or a week or a month later we find ourselves right there again. It is true for all of us. Paul wrote what we all feel. "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24) We all have…  ( Click for more )

Forgiveness. It is in very short supply in our society today. Ours is the "cancel culture." Violate one of our cardinal rules and you are not only in violation -- you are out ... as permanently as we can make it. (That is, as long as your not one of the insiders.) Forgiveness, however, is critical. When the disciples asked their Teacher to teach them to pray, one of the fundamental components of prayer offered by Christ was "forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). What can we learn from this? Since this is a fundamental…  ( Click for more )

The most common description of "relationship status" these days seems to be, "It's complicated." Well, welcome to everyday living. It's complicated. We all have a stack of things we're juggling all the time. There is family and friends, work and play, culture and faith. We have all the concerns of physical, emotional, economic, and religious well-being along with every other factor. We have our plans and our dreams, our shortcomings and our disappointments, our successes and our tragedies. So we try to pick our way through all of this to arrive at what's best for…  ( Click for more )

We are a culture largely shaped by media. I mean all media. There is news media and there is social media and there is ... you get the idea. We live in this sea of media, this constant tide of public opinion and perspective. And like the tide, they relentlessly beat on us trying to sway us to their perspective. And it is never without a bias.

We like to think that the news media in particular is reporting "just the facts." What we often fail to see (besides the fact that they never do) is that the very nature of the news concept is biased. You see, no one prints…  ( Click for more )

If you've been around much at all, you've heard the accusation. "You Christians pick and choose which verses you're going to obey." Pretty common. Why do they say it? Well, at the bottom, of course, it's because they figure if they can cast aspersions on us, they can use that as a reason to ignore God. Fine. But what is the more surface reason? Well, it's largely based on the fact that we don't follow the Jewish laws of dress and food and animal sacrifice but do aim to follow the moral law, not for salvation, but to obey the God we claim to follow. Because of the fact that…  ( Click for more )

The Problem of Evil is the complaint about God that if evil exists, He doesn't. You know. If God is all good and all powerful, why doesn't He eliminate evil? Must not be there. Another way this question is put to the believer is this. "Do you think this is the best of all possible worlds?" It's a tricky question. We all dream of utopia. Stories are written about it. In large and small ways we figure out how things would be better. "If only" is the phrase. And then there's heaven. Surely that is the best of all possible worlds and this is not heaven. So we must…  ( Click for more )

In Acts 8 we are introduced to a character named Simon. He is a magician (however that is meant) (Acts 8:9). Up until Philip arrived preaching the gospel, Simon was regarded as "the Great Power of God" (Acts 8:10), but when Philip showed up it says, "Even Simon himself believed" and was baptized (Acts 8:13). Well, now, this is good stuff. An evil "magician" repents and comes to Christ, baptism and all. So it's a bit strange how the story plays out. Some time later Peter and John arrived and started praying over new converts. They laid hands on them and…  ( Click for more )

Well, it has happened again. Another "Christian singer" has defected, has "deconverted," has declared his allegiance to "no God." He's done it in typical "deconversion" style by not only saying, "I don't believe anymore," but adding, "And neither should you." Or, to put it more clearly, "I no longer have any hope, and neither should you." How should we view this? Jonathan Steingard, frontman for the "Christian rock band" Hawk Nelson, was a pastor's kid playing in a "Christian band" and "having…  ( Click for more )

I was looking at an article the other day entitled How to Become an Expert. Generic enough. Not "an expert in" anything particular. Just ... an expert. The overarching answer they gave was "deliberate practice." This refers to practicing whatever it is in order to improve your skills more and more with specific goals, feedback, etc. Interesting. So ... what if we want to become "experts" in being a follower of Christ? I read the other day, "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up…  ( Click for more )

I think I've mentioned this in the past. All of my life I've had a problem with poor self-esteem. Now, of course, I'm one of a very few that despises the term, "self-esteem." It's not the same as self-image. Self-image refers merely to how one views oneself without regard to valuation. Self-esteem refers to how much one values oneself. That's entirely different, and I'm pretty sure that our self-valuation is not accurate. But I've struggled all my life with "not good enough" and "a failure" and that kind of self-talk. Many loved ones have tried to correct…  ( Click for more )

It's a common complaint among many. "I've looked for a good church in my area, but I can't find one." Maybe the music is too loud or too boring. Maybe the preaching isn't ... whatever. Not enough of the Word. Too much of the world. "I'm not being fed." "I'm not able to worship." "I don't feel welcomed." Lots of things. I've seen both "They're King James Only" and "They're not King James Only." Lots of things. So what do you do if you can't find a church? There is a tendency among many to join the "Nones", the…  ( Click for more )

When Barack Obama was in office, he famously quoted Scripture for a cause of the moment. He referred to Jesus's words, "As you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40) It is part of the Social Justice mantra. "The least of these." "Look," they say, "it refers to the needy." Because, in context, Jesus speaks about the hungry and the thirsty, the stranger and the naked, the sick and the imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-36). "So we're all supposed to care for 'the least of these,'" they tell us. But…  ( Click for more )

It's a simple fact. do need prayer. And I mean that in two different ways. I'm sure the first that comes to mind is, "Oh, he has something he needs people to pray for him about." Yes. That's one. I have lots of things and concerns about which I pray and I need people to come alongside and join me in that prayer. We all need that. But I mean it in the other sense as well. I need prayer. For me, for my life, for my well-being, I need prayer. That is, prayer itself is something I need. And so does every believer. Perhaps you haven't run into this yourself, but, as it turns…  ( Click for more )

Everyone ... it seems like literally everyone ... knows what we call "the Golden Rule." They can even quote it word for word from Christ's lips. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Complete with King James language. It's not in there, of course. You can't find that phrase in the Bible. In the actual text Jesus said, "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7.12" data-version="nasb95" data-purpose="bible-reference" target="_blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;…  ( Click for more )

Okay, so it's somewhat of a large passage. But it's necessary, so I'll put it down here and then refer to it as we go: Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands,…  ( Click for more )

Some time ago I was leaving my family at home while I drove to the airport for a business trip overseas. I prayed as I went. "Dear Lord, please watch over my family while I'm gone." It was one of the few times I felt like I actually heard a response from God. "Did you think it has been you watching over them when you were there?" And I was reminded of my own arrogance. It has always been God. We live in difficult circumstances. We're rightfully concerned (to varying degrees) over this whole "How many are going to die from this virus?" problem. Our…  ( Click for more )

In this COVID-19 panicked world, my wife posted a (very brief) video recently that showed our "watching party" -- us two and 6 other people gathered from our church to be together in small fashion to worship during the online service. We didn't exceed any suggested limits. We didn't come in close contact. We just were in the same place worshiping together. A small "communion of the saints." Because one of the absolutely bottom-line key components of Christian ethics is "one another." We are, at the core, supposed to love one another, to bear one another's…  ( Click for more )

This week we have the convergence of two events. One is the pandemic crisis and the other is the celebration of the Resurrection. How do these relate?

Paul was writing to the church at Thessalonica. He wanted to reassure them about those who had died. He wanted them to know that because Jesus died and rose again, "even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). What Paul is saying here is significant. We know that Christ died for our sins. His death demonstrated God's justice (Romans 3:23-25). That's good. We…  ( Click for more )

"You're not understanding that text correctly." I've heard it; I've said it; I've been told it. Now, some will argue that the Bible is not a reliable book. Setting that idea aside (because "You're not understanding that unreliable text correctly" is a pointless concept), is it possible to get at least a portion of the Bible to be clearly understood by God's people? I think so. I don't even think it's that hard. So here are some thoughts on properly understanding the Bible. 1. The Bible is the God-breathed truth. It is written by human authors under the inspiration…  ( Click for more )

We who have placed our faith in Christ are saved. That's what Scripture tells us (e.g., Acts 16:31). Let's just all agree with and start with that premise. But for what purpose? We understand what we are saved from -- wrath, hell, eternal torment, etc. -- but what are we saved for? I suspect we have an idea, but I'm not entirely sure that it's the same idea that God has. We like to think that God saved us because He likes us. Okay, too simplistic. But certainly because He loves us. I mean, isn't that straight out of John 3:16? And that's it, right? Saved so we can spend eternity…  ( Click for more )

Since we are told not to love the world (1 John 2:15) and that the world will oppose us because it opposes Christ (John 15:18), it stands to reason that some, perhaps a lot, of Christianity will be countercultural. It will run against the grain of the world's point of view. And, to the extent that we've bought into the world's point of view, it will also run against the grain of our own ideas. This is an example. In his epistle to the church at Ephesus Paul explains about how we should become "imitators of God" and "walk in love as Christ loved us" (Ephesians…  ( Click for more )

She's a good ol' gal, but too many of us don't know her. She has been around a long time, but too many of us wouldn't recognize her if she slapped us in the face. Who? Wisdom. Solomon portrays wisdom as a woman to be heard and highly valued. Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?" (Proverbs 1:20-22) Get wisdom; get…  ( Click for more )

I've been reading through the Psalms of late. Not a short read (150 chapters, including the longest chapter in the Bible: Psalm 119). I came across this interesting prayer from David. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their…  ( Click for more )