The angel’s message to the shepherds at Jesus’ birth condenses the gospel to its core. He said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). The gospel isn’t for some; it’s for all. The Greek adjective translated “great” here is megas—this isn’t just news, but good news of “mega-joy.” It’s the best news there has ever been or ever will be. What characterizes this good news is a deep, everlasting joy for... Read more
Sociologist Christian Smith’s study on generosity yielded this observation: “People rightly say that money cannot buy happiness. But money and happiness are still related in a curious way. Happiness can be the result, not of spending more money on oneself, but rather of giving money away to others. . . . The data examined here show this to be not simply a nice idea, but a social-scientific fact.” Sure, receiving a gift is great, and our hearts should be full of praise to... Read more
I shared a version of this on Facebook last week but wanted to also post it on my blog, and add a few more things. Last week was the anniversary of the day Nanci and I met 55 years ago, December 7, 1968. The photo at the top of this blog was taken exactly one week earlier on her 15th birthday. The night we met, Nanci was wearing that same outfit. I remember her exactly as the photo portrays, including that impish... Read more
I shared these reflections on my Facebook page last Wednesday, but I wanted to also share them on my blog and add some other important things about C.S. Lewis. Wednesday, November 22, flooded me with memories of exactly 60 years ago, as a nine-year-old third grader at Orient Elementary School. I remember the exact place I was standing on the stairs, walking from one room to another about 10:40 AM when a teacher, also on the stairway, said, “President Kennedy has been... Read more
Stress studies show that a sense of control is essential to mental health. Those who survive captivity with the fewest mental scars are those who maintain as much control as possible even when so much is out of their control. They may treat their cell as a home, rearrange the “furniture,” save food and share it with others, write notes to themselves, make plans for their days, order their lives in simple ways. Prisoners who lose their sense of control... Read more
In this video from my class Eternity 101, I talk about how anticipating Heaven motivates us to live life differently now: In Below is an expanded transcript of what I share in the video: Charles Spurgeon wrote in his classic devotional Morning and Evening, “Christian, meditate much on Heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the... Read more
I once spoke to eighty college students about a sensitive theological question: “Can true Christians lose their salvation?” First, I asked them to commit themselves to a yes or no answer. I separated them, according to their answers, on opposite sides of the room, breaking them up into small groups. Next I gave everyone a handout featuring twenty passages of Scripture. After reading these aloud, the students were to discuss in their groups and decide: “If these were the only... Read more
Common grace is one of my very favorite doctrines. I so love it and wish it were better understood and more often celebrated. “Common grace” points out that God loves the whole world, and exercises patience and kindness even to those who ultimately reject Him. In his excellent book Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem says, “Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation. The word common here means something that is... Read more
People often say, “We don’t understand now, but in Heaven we’ll know everything.” Is this true? Definitely not. God alone is omniscient. When we die, we’ll see things far more clearly, and we’ll know much more than we do now, but we’ll never know everything. (If we did, we’d be God!) The apostle Paul writes, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know... Read more
It was six years ago, but I remember like yesterday when Nanci and I traveled to Jamaica, where I spoke at a donors’ conference to help raise funds for Operation Mobilization’s ship Logos Hope. We were very familiar with it from a distance, partly because of a close relationship with OM founder George Verwer. I asked if it would be possible for Nanci and me to stay on board the ship after the conference. It turned out that it was one... Read more
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