Firmly Setting Our Faith
I am convinced people lose hope because they’ve first lost faith. They have heard many sermons and read many books, but they see examples all around of shipwrecked faith. Christians who once espoused the gospel are now giving up their trust in God. Where do people turn for hope? The Spirit once said to me,…
Seeds of Jealousy and Envy
We all have seeds of jealousy and envy in us. The question is who among us will acknowledge it? A Puritan preacher named Thomas Manton said of the human penchant for envy and jealousy, “We are born with this Adamic sin. We drink it in with our mother’s milk.” It is that deeply a part…
Faith in God’s Forgiveness
As Christians, we are quick to offer the grace of our Lord to the world, but we often parcel it out meagerly to ourselves. To me, this is the most difficult part of forgiveness. Consider King David, who committed adultery and then murdered the husband to cover up his offense. When his sin was exposed,…
Legitimate and Illegitimate Desires
In Genesis 2, God is talking to Adam, “You need somebody suitable to help you. I’m going to make somebody for you. It’s going to be just right for you.” God brings all the animals and says, “Let’s see what we can find.” So Adam’s naming all the animals. You have to wonder, though, why…
Praying for Our Enemies
Scripture solemnly commands us, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:12-13, NKJV). Bearing with someone and forgiving them…
The Importance of a Good God
God doesn’t look at what is right and then try to do it. Righteousness is not something God’s attempting; it’s something he is. Out of his sovereignty, he exists as a righteous being. He’s not trying to be powerful; he is power. He doesn’t simply have a massive wealth of facts and insights; he is…
Love Begins at Home
There is no getting around it. If I am to become the man and minister God has called me to be, my wife must be able to say honestly before heaven, hell and all the world, “My husband loves me with the love of Christ. He makes mistakes, but he’s growing more patient and understanding…
Knitting through the Storm
I love the story of this one woman who was on a plane en route from Los Angeles to Boston. They hit some really bad weather for almost the entire trip. Everybody on board was panicking because the plane was getting tossed around. Some people were starting to legitimately worry about whether they were actually…
Christ’s Love in Us
To be Christ-like is to acknowledge Jesus in others. In my travels, I meet many precious men and women whom I know are given wholly to the Lord. The moment I meet them, my heart leaps. Even though we’ve never met before, I have a witness from the Holy Spirit that they are full of…
A Way Known Only to God
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23, NKJV). The Hebrew word for ‘ordered’ in this verse means fixed or pre-planned. God doesn’t work with a day planner. He doesn’t plan out our path a day, week or year ahead. No, he has an…