Being a hero is something entirely different than being a celebrity. Fame is one thing. Virtue is another. The two aren’t even remotely related. In fact, the more famous you become the harder it is to cultivate and retain virtue. Celebrities are just people with good looks, talent, money, and the ability to draw attention to themselves. Heroes are people who stand courageously for what is right, often against the tide of public opinion, and at great cost to themselves.... Read more
I read someone’s argument on social media that “Human life occurs at the moment God breathes into [naphach] the biological life the breath of life [neshamat chayyim, ‘soul life’]. This happens at birth.” When several other commenters pointed this person to what Scripture has to say about God forming the unborn, they responded, Job 31:15 & Psalm 139:13 refer to God’s involvement in the “mediate” creation of biological life, which began after God created Adam & Eve through “immediate” creation. Biological life... Read more
I became a Christian as a teenager, and by the time I’d known the Lord two years I wanted to go to Bible college and study God’s Word. At first, I wanted to be a missionary and felt a strong pull to go overseas, but God had other plans. I was 22 and Stu Weber, my youth pastor at the church where I came to Christ, was 31 when we were asked to participate in a Bible Study of forty... Read more
In our society many people look to cosmetic surgeries, implants, and other methods to remodel and renovate our crumbling bodies. We hold to youthfulness with a white-knuckled grip. Ultimately, it’s all in vain. But the gospel promises us eternal youthfulness, health, beauty, and happiness in the presence of our God and our spiritual family. It’s not ours now—but it will be, in the resurrection of the dead. The following diagram illustrates the biblical view of the future for those who... Read more
One time I was driving with Luis, a thirteen-year-old boy I was mentoring. I took a road I hadn’t been on for a few years and found myself stuck at a long red light in a left-turn lane. A twentysomething woman called to me from the sidewalk, “Got change for a dollar?” The lane between our car and the woman had no traffic, so I beckoned her over, gave her some money, and then handed her my little book Everything You... Read more
On Friday, September 24, the Courageous movie was released in select theaters in honor of the 10th anniversary of its original release. Some of you may know that I wrote a novel by the same title that was based on the screenplay of the movie. Both the movie and the book center on police officers and fatherhood and, not surprisingly, COURAGE for men in their homes and personal lives. Of course, no movie and no novel are sufficient to change a life for the long haul.... Read more
Meditate on these profound words from Scripture: “There shall no longer be any curse” (Revelation 22:3). The hope, the promise, the anticipation of this verse is inexpressible— it is weighty, thick with promise and joy. In preparation for a message I shared at my home church this summer, titled, “No More Curse,” I wrote out a list with two parts: what we will forever more experience on the New Earth, and what will we NOT experience on the New Earth because of... Read more
In times of crisis we try to make sense of life. We crave perspective for our minds and relief for our hearts. We need our worldview realigned by God’s inspired Word: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). God promises that His Word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). A woman self-consciously... Read more
In writing my book If God Is Good, I interviewed dozens of believers who have experienced deep suffering firsthand. One of those people was Robert Rogers, whose entire family drowned in a 2003 Kansas flash flood. In a moment he lost his beloved wife and all four of his children. (If God Is Good is dedicated to Robert and many other faithful sufferers, whose extraordinary stories touched my heart.) The Christ-centered Rogers family went to church, tithed, read the Bible, and prayed... Read more
These are some great thoughts from Puritan Samuel Annesley (c. 1620-1696) on how we can find spiritual rest. (By the way, one of Samuel’s daughters, Susanna, was the mother of John and Charles Wesley, making Samuel Annesley the grandfather of John Wesley.) How can we live with a conscience that is pacified by the blood of Christ? Christians, be persuaded to practice these: 1. Take heed of every sin, count no sin small. 2. Set upon the healing duty of... Read more
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