Test Everything

“Test everything. Hold on to the good.” -1 Thessalonians 5:21 I have always loved this verse. Paul wrote this, among other final instructions, to the Thessalonians. But it is as useful to us today—Christians living amid the noise of too many voices, too many teachers, experts, scholars, mentors, coaches, influencers, etc. Sometimes we ourselves are …

Thoughts on Marriage: 1/Good Days and Bad Days

More so than in any other relationship, iron sharpens iron in a marriage. You sharpen one another, push one another towards God, yet also go to each other for the tenderness of an embrace, the quiet assurance in simply being held. And my, what volumes does an embrace speak, what depths.

The Apostle Paul’s Impossible Command

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."Philippians 1:27 This, in a letter from a Christian in chains, imprisoned, alone, suffering in the body. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves worthy of the gospel. That whether we are laughed at because of our declaration that Jesus is Savior and Lord, whether we …

32

This year, I turn 32. It sounds like an age when you have everything figured out. But here I am--I still feel like a kid. I feel no more mature than I was when I was 20. Sure, I've experienced some, gained some, lost some. I know a few things about the world now, and …

Last Things

I used to say to people, when asked where a person goes when he/she commits suicide, that a person who commits suicide was never saved in the first place. I used to say that if a person is truly born again, he would not act in such a way as to succumb to final hopelessness, …

Who Do You Say You Are

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those …

Higher Pleasures

​"I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?" declares the Lord. - Jeremiah 30:21b The desire to draw near to God comes from God.  Just as by nature we are sinful and our appetites are inclined to wicked …

Same New Thing

It's the beginning of a new year. The main thing remains the same: All I need is still only Jesus, I still am a mess apart from his grace, it still is good news that his mercies are new every morning. It's a necessary reminder that even when I get the things that I hope …