Last month I had a conversation over Zoom with Steve Silver of Men’s Golf Fellowship. Steve is a great brother who founded a ministry that uses golf to help men grow in their relationship with Jesus. Steve’s wife Sandy went to be with Jesus last December, just three months before Nanci died. We can both understand each other’s pain of loss, but also the intense anticipation for and comfort of Heaven now that our wives reside there. Because of the unique way... Read more
Several years ago, when Nanci and I answered questions at the young moms’ gathering at our home church, one of the moms asked, “How do busy people set aside time to rest, reflect, and recharge?” Here are some thoughts about the importance of setting priorities, and saying no even to good things in order to do what’s most important: In the video, I mentioned my article I wrote years ago: Planned Neglect: Saying No to Good Things So We Can Say Yes to... Read more
Nanci and I spoke at our church’s young moms group a number of times, and she was always great. One of the questions we answered when we spoke in 2014 was, “How can I escape the cycle of discontentment? What are some practical ways to stop this cycle?” Nanci gave some ideas and encouragement, and shared some Scripture: Nanci talked about perspective, and what we choose to dwell on, rather than our circumstances: “Who you are and where God has placed... Read more
We long for a return to Paradise—a perfect world, without the corruption of sin, where God walks with us and talks with us in the cool of the day. Because we’re human beings, we desire something tangible and physical, something that will not fade away. And that is exactly what God promises us—a home that will not be destroyed, a kingdom that will not fade, a city with unshakable foundations, an incorruptible inheritance. God has encouraged me with memories of... Read more
Most readers have likely heard about individuals having a crisis of faith. We’ve learned terms such as “exvangelical” and “deconstruction.” We are sometimes familiar with entire churches, even denominations, who have lost their faith. But while it is not the first to do so, a poll released last week should serve as a dramatic wake up call to evangelical churches and their pastors. One of several examples: 73 percent of evangelicals who took the poll agreed with the statement that “Jesus is the first... Read more
Dead people don’t come back and tell us what they’ve experienced. But we can know some things based on the Bible’s explanations. We don’t just disappear after we die. We live on in another location. Followers of Jesus go to live with Him in Heaven. On the cross, Jesus told the thief crucified next to Him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). In Christ’s story about the rich man and Lazarus, at the moment of death,... Read more
In my dialogues with lifelong evangelicals, I’ve found that a surprisingly large number apparently believe they will spend eternity as disembodied spirits. I sometimes ask, “You do believe in the resurrection, right?” They will say yes, knowing they should, but they go right on to question whether in the eternal Heaven on the New Earth there could be eating and drinking, swimming, running, biking, hugging, reading, painting, and any other activities embodied human beings do. God’s revelation concerning the resurrection... Read more
“How sweet Your word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth.” (Psalm 119:103, HCSB) “The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.” —A. W. Tozer George Müller (1805–1898), an Englishman who... Read more
Late one rainy night years ago, my wife and I were leaving a movie theater when Nanci noticed an older man in the parking lot leaning on a walker, struggling. I helped him get into his car. Since he was so exhausted, I asked if I could drive him home. He declined, but I said we’d follow him home in case he needed help. As he pulled out, driving erratically, we prayed he wouldn’t find the street. Our prayers were... Read more
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When “Blessed” Means “Happy”
Growing up in an unbelieving home, I never heard the word blessed as a child. After I came to Christ, I heard it often. I didn’t know what it meant; I just knew it sounded holy and spiritual. It was “white noise”—one of many undefined church words whose meanings are masked due to frequent use. Years later, I heard someone say that in passages such as Psalm 1 and the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 and Luke 6, blessed actually means “happy.” If blessed meant “happy,” I... Read more