Years ago, I interviewed a young man from Burundi who told me something profound: “If I fear death as unbelievers do, I have nothing to offer unbelievers. Only when you are free from the fear of death are you really free.” Though as believers we know that Heaven awaits us after death, many of us still wonder about or fear the moment of death. What will it be like? Will it be frightening to experience the soul’s departure from the... Read more
Have you ever seen a sink hole? Cars can be parked on a street day after day, and everything appears normal, then one day the asphalt caves in and cars disappear into a gigantic hole. Everybody says, “That hole came out of nowhere.” But they’re wrong. The hole appears suddenly but the process that led to it has gone on for many years. The underground erosion was invisible, but it was there all along. Likewise, sometimes when a man commits... Read more
If we believe that sin is never in our best interests, it will clarify many otherwise hard decisions in which we imagine we must choose between helping people do right and helping them be happy. It will also help us understand what true, Christlike love looks like. Read more
On his blog, Tony Reinke interviewed author and podcaster Alastair Roberts about smartphones and how they change us. Alastair shared ten helpful questions to help us think through whether our personal smartphone habits are healthy, or need adjustment. He writes: Do our particular uses of our smartphones, and our use of a smartphone more generally, have the actual effect—not just hold the theoretical possibility—of making us better servants of God and of our neighbors? Are our smartphones tools that facilitate... Read more
A character in the movie Pirate Radio says, “You know, a few months ago, I made a terrible mistake. I realized something, and instead of crushing the thought the moment it came . . . I’m afraid it’s stuck in my head forever. These are the best days of our lives. It’s a terrible thing to know, but I know it.” This fictional character is absolutely right: for people with no faith in God, who deny the Resurrection, these are the best days, and... Read more
Wouldn’t it be better just to take the money spent on short-term trips and send it to the mission field instead? Read more
I want to share about a new book, This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Year, written by a teenager specifically with teenagers in mind. It’s grounded in God’s Word, interesting, and well-written. Jaquelle Crowe is an outstanding writer, not just “for a teenager,” but for anyone. Writing takes work, as does following Jesus, and in This Changes Everything, the author has done her work well. Reading this book was a pleasure; it’s biblical, challenging and refreshing. Jaquelle’s... Read more
In 50 Days of Heaven, I write: If we are honest, we must admit that we are not daily and consciously looking forward to Heaven, much less to a New Earth. We’ve reduced Heaven to an otherworldly state, and we’ve ignored the clear biblical promise of a redeemed universe over which we will serve as God’s delegated rulers. We’ve become blinded to the truth, and we’ve lost our vocabulary of wonder and our anticipation of the great and glorious plan... Read more
Over the last several weeks, I’ve spoken at three great conferences across the country. I thought I’d share a short report on each in today’s post, along with some pictures and videos. In early February, I spoke at the 2017 Linger Conference in Texas, which was hosted by Stonebriar Community Church, where Chuck Swindoll is senior pastor. I enjoyed speaking at Linger two years ago, at Watermark Church, and this year’s conference was wonderful as well. They had a great... Read more
Recently a reader sent me this question: What is your perspective on the documentary Poverty, Inc.? We are giving generously to the Kingdom and are saddened by the waste we see in this film. Do your recommended organizations overcome these issues? If you’ve not yet heard of the documentary, here’s the synopsis: The West has positioned itself as the protagonist of development, giving rise to a vast multi-billion dollar poverty industry—the business of doing good has never been better. Yet... Read more
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