Looks are everything. That’s the thinking of Western culture today. We live in a society centered on branding and slick advertising where organizations and even individuals swim in the deep water of social media image maintenance. Perception is key. How you look is what you are. Only you can define your own identity. You are … Continue reading 5 Foolish, Simple Things God Uses
Your Imagination Is Sacred
Dragons. Elves. Rocket ships. Those are the sorts of things that come to mind when we hear the word “imagination.” Stories, myths, and child’s play are all the stuff of imagination. And as we grow older, we lose our sense of imagination—or at least, our imaginations turn rather drab. Instead we fantasize about the weekend, … Continue reading Your Imagination Is Sacred
Sin Doesn’t Keep Its Promises
Imagine witnessing the devastating plagues against Egypt, walking through the splitting of the Red Sea, looking on as the sea fell on the Egyptian soldiers, seeing the Ten Commandments engraved by the finger of God, and deciding in the end, “I don’t trust the God of Israel.” Why would God’s people make such a foolish … Continue reading Sin Doesn’t Keep Its Promises
We Are the Prostitute
When people write stories that represent bigger truths, it’s called mythology. When God writes stories that represent deeper realities, it’s called history. God has an incredible way of speaking to us through real events of the past. So when God raised up the brand-new nation of Israel to bring justice and invade the evil, twisted … Continue reading We Are the Prostitute
This Is Your Sign From God
Do you want a "sign from God"? We all do, at times. We hope for some mysterious guiding voice from Heaven, some weird convergences of coincidences, or some other phenomenon to give us a divine nudge in the right direction. Is that wrong? Only if we let it keep us from obeying what God has clearly … Continue reading This Is Your Sign From God
How to Know if You’re Good Enough
Our culture can smell a Pharisee from miles away. No one likes hypocrites—especially the religious type. But that’s just one flavor of hypocrisy. What’s at the root of hypocrisy? It's trying to behave righteously without being righteous. The dirty secret of the Bible is that righteousness is a gift from God, not an achievement of ours. In … Continue reading How to Know if You’re Good Enough
One Thing American Christians Won’t Do
There was a big problem in Malachi’s day. The people had stone cold hearts. The Levites—the priests, unique men called to represent the entire nation before God—was asleep at the wheel, mistreating their wives and withholding tithes. Worst of all, they were questioning God—not humbly or sincerely, but as if to challenge him. The people … Continue reading One Thing American Christians Won’t Do
Slaughtering Self-Pity
Self-pity is suffocating. It is necessary and biblical to mourn over one’s circumstances or sins. But self-pity is of a different nature; it renders you unable to serve others, hope, or pray earnestly. It stems from faithlessness and introspection. It’s a stubbornness of heart, head, and hands. We’d do ourselves well to admit that most … Continue reading Slaughtering Self-Pity
Why We Struggle to Carry Our Crosses
Perhaps the hardest words ever spoken by our Lord on earth are in Luke 14:27: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” I can recall late nights with my college roommate wrestling with this passage, searching desperately for a theological silver bullet that would kill any tension … Continue reading Why We Struggle to Carry Our Crosses
Further Clothed, Not Unclothed
When the believer suffers affliction, the Holy Spirit places within him a certain yearning. For relief, indeed. But properly understood and experienced, the sort of craving relief from affliction imparted by God is of wholly different nature from man's regular self-preservation instinct. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, … Continue reading Further Clothed, Not Unclothed
