A writer friend was at an event many years ago when he witnessed the following: He was standing near a woman confined to a wheelchair. Suddenly a well-known woman, who had written and spoken extensively about her gift of healing, marched up to the lady in the wheelchair, dramatically laid hands on her head, and prayed loudly that God would heal her, claiming God’s promises to do so. The healer’s entourage enthusiastically agreed with the prayer, some praying in tongues.... Read more
As we start a new year, it’s common to ponder where we’ve been and where we’re headed. It’s also a very good idea to take a long look at who we’ve become and line it up with who God says we should be. If you dream of living the “good life” I urge you to put checking your definition against Scripture at the top of your goals this year. Socrates said, “Not life, but a good life, is to be... Read more
A few years ago, my friend Greg Laurie (senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship), along with Ellen Vaughn, wrote a book called Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today. Rarely have I read a book so entertaining, informative, and spiritually significant. I relived many formative historical events of the 60s and 70s—Jesus transformed my life when I was an unchurched fifteen year old about to start my sophomore year of high school. Now the... Read more
“To die will be an awfully big adventure,” says Peter Pan. But it will be a wonderful, big adventure only for those who are covered by the blood of Christ. Those who die without Jesus will experience a horrifying tragedy. Of course, dying is not the real adventure. Death is merely the doorway to eternal life. The adventure is what comes after death—being in the presence of Christ. Just before he was hanged by the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer prayed aloud, “Oh, God,... Read more
G. K. Chesterton has been widely credited with saying, “Jesus promised His disciples three things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.” It might be argued that most Western Christians aren’t any of these three . . . but least of all “absurdly happy.” We tend to perceive Christianity as being about tradition and morality, not happiness. I make no apology for believing in morality. But some Christians, in the name of moral obligation, wear frowns,... Read more
My life has been shaped by all kinds of writings that have pointed me to God’s Book. As an author, I love writing different books to reach more people in more ways, by God’s grace, with the life-changing truths of His Word. I wrote 50 Days of Heaven by selecting the material most suitable from my book Heaven for a devotional, then rewriting it in a different style. Why write different sized books on one subject? Because they’re designed to reach different audiences with... Read more
I always enjoy anytime I get to have a conversation with Sean McDowell, who teaches at Biola/Talbot and has a very engaging and helpful YouTube channel on apologetics. Sean and I did another Q&A on Heaven recently, with some different questions and answers. How did your belief in Heaven frame your loss of your wife? (1:00) How do you deal with doubt? (3:31) What gives you hope? (6:02) Is Heaven real? (8:26) How will Heaven be exciting if there’s no risk? (13:25) Are there... Read more
I was recently asked this great question: The word “glory” keeps coming up in my reading of Scripture. I read about the “weight of glory” in 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” And, “For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and... Read more
Last month, I visited First Baptist of Leesburg, Florida and spoke at their weekend services on the subject of my book The Treasure Principle (I’ll share the video of that message in a separate blog soon). I absolutely loved being there at this church. I spent a lot of time with Pastor Cliff and his wife Suzy—such wonderful people, as are so many others I met. The ministries on that church campus are remarkable. I visited their pregnancy care center and met the... Read more
“If there is no absolute beyond man’s ideas, then there is no final appeal to judge between individuals and groups whose moral judgments conflict. We are merely left with conflicting opinions.” —Francis Schaeffer Of all truths in the universe, the most important is the truth of who Jesus is. After all, Truth is not merely an impersonal moral standard. It is a living Person who loved us so much He bears on His hands eternal scars because He rescued us.... Read more
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