Like many psalms, Psalm 71 contains both complaint and praise: Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you? Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of... Read more
Have you ever wished you had a better memory to recall the people you’ve met throughout your lifetime? I have often wished I could call up recordings of conversing with people I’ve met at churches, conventions, airports, and many more places. I suspect we will be able to recall conversations and “chance” meetings when we see those people again in Heaven, and instantly bond over what we had once completely or largely forgotten. I think that will be delightful, and... Read more
A thoughtful young man asked me: My wife and I were talking about idols, and wondering to what degree marriage, or your significant other, can become an idol? We talked about the idea that something is an idol if you would be discontent without it. But we know that marriage is such a gift from the Lord, and you are more united to that person than any other person. We thought of you, and wanted to ask your thoughts on... Read more
Corrie Ten Boom wrote, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” In her journal kept during her cancer years, my wife Nanci reflected about life’s uncertainty: Lord, I don’t know what’s ahead of me on this earth. Even the plans which are made change—almost daily. Uncertainty has always been difficult for me to handle. I like knowing what’s going on... Read more
I attempted my first novel, back in the 90s. I emphasize the word attempted because it really was an experiment. To be honest, I made more mistakes in writing Deadline than any other fiction book I’ve written, not surprisingly, because the first house built will not be his best house if someone continues to build. And yet, God has really used that novel. I think because the plot was sound and a lot of imagination went into it, people still read it. (But I would... Read more
I’m excited that my children’s book Wait Until Then is once again available, reprinted by our ministry. It’s been almost 17 years since it was first published, but the story is timeless—it is just as applicable now as it was then. (One of the main changes we had to make was adding all five of my grandsons’ names to the dedication. When it was first published, only the first three had been born, and even they were very young!) It’s a very... Read more
The world says, “You can never go home again.” It means that while we were gone, home changed and so did we. Our old house may have been destroyed or sold, been renovated, or become run-down. In contrast, when this life is over—and particularly when we arrive on the New Earth—God’s children will truly be able to come home for the very first time. Because our home in Heaven will never burn, flood, or be blown away, we’ll never have... Read more
Psalm 107 begins, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this.” The psalmist details the sufferings of God’s people, wandering in desert wastelands, without homes, hungry, and thirsty. “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress” (verse 6). For their deliverance he says, “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds... Read more
When Zacchaeus said he would give half his money to the poor and pay back fourfold those he had cheated, Jesus did not merely say, “Good idea.” He said, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). This is amazing. Jesus judged the reality of this man’s salvation based on his willingness—no, his cheerful eagerness—to part with his money for the glory of God and the good of others. Then there’s Zacchaeus’s counterpart—the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30; Luke... Read more
What will it be like on our resurrection day, when we return with Christ to this old Earth, when we are given new bodies in the knowledge that we will together colonize a New Earth (whether that is immediately, or after a thousand years)? At the end of my novel Safely Home, I tried to catch a flavor of what it may be like: The battle cry of a hundred million warriors erupted from one end of the heavens to the... Read more
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