2020 was a rough year for many of us, and rougher still for the poor and needy around the world. The calendar change to 2021 didn’t make life easier, and for many it is increasingly difficult. We have elderly people in care centers whose loved ones aren’t allowed inside to sit with them and hug them. Here in Oregon (it’s different in many other places), my grandson Ty is a freshman in high school but though most of the school... Read more
30 In February Nanci and I had to say goodbye to our beloved Golden Retriever Maggie, who had been diagnosed with cancer only six weeks earlier. I have tried to write this blog multiple times, but each time I’ve stopped. It will be long, even though I cut out a lot. I have too much to say. Nanci’s and my grief has been weighty. The house seems empty without Maggie. Of course, our God and King is with us always.... Read more
Puritan preacher Thomas Brooks said, “God is the author of all true happiness; he is the donor of all true happiness. . . . He that hath him for his God, for his portion, is the only happy man in the world.” English evangelist John Wesley said, “When we first know Christ . . . then it is that happiness begins; happiness real, solid, substantial.” Happiness is what we all want, and believers throughout the centuries, like Brooks and Wesley,... Read more
The book of Ecclesiastes is the most powerful exposé of materialism ever written. Solomon recounts his attempts to find meaning in pleasure, laughter, alcohol, folly, building projects, and the pursuit of personal interests, as well as in amassing slaves, gold and silver, singers, and a huge harem to fulfill his sexual desires (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). The more Solomon had, the more he was tempted to indulge. His indulgence led to sin, and his sin brought misery. Solomon makes a series of... Read more
Last year I did a series of blogs on what Scripture has to say about the power of the tongue. The cumulative weight of those verses is stunning. In today’s social media world, which allows us to publish comments to the world with the mere push of a button, more than ever we as God’s people need to read and meditate on Scripture, and examine our heart and habits. We need to be slower to anger and slower to speak, and quicker... Read more
In her article How ‘Christian’ Should My Small Business Be?, Laura Baxter offers five principles for business owners wondering how to honor Christ with their companies. As she emphasizes, Christians in business should set fair prices and honest scales (Deuteronomy 25:13-16; Proverbs 16:8; Proverbs 20:10). Believers will tell the truth—the whole truth—when they sell a car, house, product, or service. They know that God is watching and will hold them accountable for how they conduct their business (2 Corinthians 5:20). I... Read more
I don’t normally do the “flip the Bible open and put my finger down” method of reading Scripture. However, I used to mock that practice, and I don’t anymore. “Mock” is perhaps too strong of a word, but I used to think, Come on, don’t study the Bible that way. But I’ve often done it and been richly rewarded for it. It’s certainly not my usual way of opening God’s Word each day, but one real positive is that no matter what,... Read more
I’m glad to say—and some readers will be very glad to hear—this is my final blog in a series about sexual purity, and how best to address the problem of immorality in the body of Christ. There has been a lot of pushback on my attempts to learn lessons from what happened with Ravi Zacharias. One said, “There is no lesson to learn.” A number said, “I don’t believe Ravi did that.” Someone wrote, “You should repent for speaking this way... Read more
My goal in this series of blogs is for us to wake up and do what it takes in our own lives, families, churches, and ministries to confess and repent personally, as well as identify what is going on in our midst that fuels these things. If we can change things so that fewer Christian leaders fall, then there will be less need to talk about this! But neglecting to talk about it in a biblical and productive way has been one... Read more
My next few blogs will follow up on my three previous posts and continue to allude sometimes to what happened with Ravi Zacharias. Why? So that as Christian leaders and laypeople, we can learn from it and avoid sexual immorality ourselves. I believe this is right despite comments on social media such as this one: “What a bunch of sanctimonious sensationalism to gain attention. Why don’t these ‘godly’ commentators lead millions to faith in Jesus Christ first and then talk about ‘living like... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In