I experienced profound grief when my mother died when I was in my twenties. She wasn’t only my mom; she was one of my very closest friends. I had the joy of leading her to Jesus a year after I became a Christian in high school at age fifteen. I’ll never forget the Sunday morning when I arrived at our church, which my mom had also attended. Though she had died that week, I decided to preach anyway. A very... Read more
I’ve heard critics of biblical inerrancy say, “I believe the Bible was written by human beings, not God.” This statement shows a fundamental ignorance of what people who affirm biblical inspiration and inerrancy actually believe. I’ve yet to meet anyone who believes God wrote down the words of Scripture Himself. True, He did inscribe on stone tablets the words of the Ten Commandments, which Moses later wrote in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. But that’s a very small portion... Read more
In my book Heaven, I share how years ago, Nanci read me letters we’d never before seen translated, written in 1920 by her grandmother Anna Swanson to her family in Sweden. Anna suffered severe health problems. While she was in Montana, cared for by relatives, her husband, Edwin, was in Oregon, working and caring for their seven children day and night. (Anna and Edwin are with five of their children in the picture; two more were to come. Nanci’s mother, Adele,... Read more
Jim Abernethy, a well-known diver and underwater photographer, works primarily with sharks. Years ago in the Bahamas, Jim encountered a large tiger shark he named Emma. Unlike most tiger sharks, Emma was friendly and curious, and as their relationship developed, Jim saw her respond to touch and learned she loved to be petted on the head. She kept coming back to him for a repeat performance. Emma continued to seek Jim out in his frequent dives and a deep bond... Read more
Recently I shared Isaiah 43:19 with our Eternal Perspective Ministries staff. I was so moved by that verse that I looked it up in every translation, via Bible Gateway. Keep in mind that each of these nine versions I chose was translated by a team of Hebrew scholars who had reasons for rendering it as they did, and each has a just little different nuance or two that I loved hearing. Maybe one or more of them in particular will... Read more
We asked commenters on my Facebook page, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). What excites you most about living on the New Earth? Wow, the responses were so great. Here are a number of them, and I hope they encourage you to anticipate our eternal home: No more heart attacks, widowhood, teenage boys having to deal with losing their Dad right before Christmas... Read more
For every American who believes they’re going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they’re going to Heaven. This optimism stands in stark contrast to Christ’s words in Matthew 7:13-14: “…wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” As C. S. Lewis wrote, “The safest road to hell is the gradual... Read more
January 24 marked the March for Life in Washington D.C., which is held on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. This story shared at the march by Josiah Presley, an abortion survivor, is powerful: A commenter wrote in response on Instagram, “There are thousands of us survivors of failed abortions. I know the world would never have missed me, had I not survived, but what a much darker place it would be, without my two... Read more
Two seriously ill men occupied the same hospital room. The man next to the window was able to sit up, while the other couldn’t. Each day the man by the window described in picturesque detail what he saw—including a lake, ducks, and children sailing model boats. This meant the world to his roommate, who had no outside view. Witnessing these sights secondhand brought him daily happiness. Eventually the man by the window died. His saddened roommate requested a move to... Read more
Our ministry sometimes hears from those who are grieving and feel completely hopeless and purposeless in life. There’s no doubt that grieving a loved one’s death is a long, often lonely, always painful process. But I encourage those of you who might feel you now have no purpose: don’t throw away the calling God has for you to serve Him here until your time is done and He takes you home. (Let me preface this blog by saying: if you have... Read more
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