When I was a kid, William Shatner hosted a program called Rescue 911. The show reenacted actual calls to 911. What made the reenactments frightening was the depiction of the family’s life before tragedy struck. They were always going about their normal day–they were on the way to school, traveling to work, dropping by the grocery store on the way home, etc. Then, disaster came calling. Those reenactments scared me because they depicted what like is like in reality. We... Read more
I have been using the Moment app for several years now to track the time I spend on my phone. No matter how long I think I have been on my phone, this app always tells the truth. Most telling is not just the daily time tracker, but also the tracker showing how much time I spent on my phone over the last 7 days. It shows how minutes and hours from day to day add up over the course... Read more
Early in my Christian life, I heard the famous quote from the English pastor and theologian John Owen, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” While that quote may sound a little radical, for any person who truly knows himself, he understands that his sin can kill him. He feels in his bones the havoc that sin reeks on his joy, his walk with the Lord, his relationships and his witness. Dealing with our own personal sin also... Read more
For the better part of two decades, Christians have appealed to emotion and enthusiasm as the driving force behind our spiritual growth. I often think about my senior year of college in the late ‘90s, when one of our campus ministries adopted the slogan “Are you excited?” to motivate Christians throughout the year. There are many ways to motivate me to follow Jesus, but loudly asking me “Are you excited?” before I have finished breakfast is not one of them.... Read more
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes along and examines him.” Proverbs 18:17 Solomon’s wisdom echoes through the ages. Many people think a book written almost 3,000 years ago cannot have anything to say to our technological age, but Proverbs feels especially relevant in our foolish age. Solomon’s words on money, words, work, marriage, and family cut through our foolish notions and reorient our hearts towards God’s wisdom. The proverbs often confront us in... Read more
My life has been enriched by great books. Through reading, my walk with Christ has been deepened, my understanding of the Bible has grown, my small corner of the world has been enlarged, and my uninformed opinions have been challenged. Every year, I make my way through a variety of books using a plan I first ran across in a post from Al Mohler a few years ago. He suggests reading books on theology, biblical studies, church life, cultural studies,... Read more
There aren’t enough songs for sad Christians. I realize most people like to pretend that “sad Christian” is a category that shouldn’t exist, but it does. Have you read the Psalms? Too many of our songs today sound overly triumphalist. We only experience “victory” now. We only see “freedom” and “joy” now. We do experience victory, joy, and freedom in this life, but it is in part and it is not the whole story. Joy in this life is mixed... Read more
We will never truly understand life until we understand that every person in the world wants to be happy. Blaise Pascal summarized this tendency well when he said, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they may employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this... Read more
If you grew up in the United States you have spent your entire life hearing that we are on a progressive march towards a society that is more caring, prosperous, intelligent, and healthy than the societies that preceded it. We mock ideas by appealing to what year it is and marveling that people still hold to what we see as outmoded notions in our wise, sophisticated, and tolerant culture. Any survey of life in our culture in the year 2018... Read more
Have you ever heard someone say something when you were younger and it didn’t make the sense at the time, but over time it made sense to you? I still remember the sunny Sunday afternoon when I was driving in my hometown and listening to John Piper’s biographical sketch of Charles Spurgeon. He focused on how Spurgeon preached through adversity and shared an illustration I shall never forget. He spoke of how the pressures of ministry can create a hall... Read more
One Degree to Another
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