Who Will Rescue Me?

I'm getting rather tired of me. I grow weary of the same temptations, the same struggles, the same excuses. I ask the man in the mirror, "Is this really the best you can do?" I'm not convinced by his answers.

I hate the pain and suffering in this world. I hate the evil that men do. But I'm most tempted to despair over the evil that I do.

The Lord Knows Those Who are His

Let me tell you about "Bill." If you know Bill, he's the best guy you know. He's honest, generous, and hardworking. He helps everyone, even people he doesn't particularly like. If you're lucky enough to have him as your neighbor, he's the best neighbor ever. Bill's a better person than most of the "church people" he knows. Because of that, he has no interest in the gospel. He doesn't need Jesus. Christians have taught him that.

How Long, O LORD?

I managed to grow up basically untouched by the problem of evil. Whether I was blessed or just blinkered may be up for debate, but even into my young adulthood, pain and suffering was something that, in my experience, mostly just happened as you got old.

That illusion was ripped apart one day. 

Preparing for Christmas

Every year more and more of my neighbors have their Christmas decorations up on November 1. I understand the impulse. The older I get, the more this fallen world wears on me, the more I look forward to the hope and joy of the Christmas season. But every year we also hear more people complain about the struggle to "get in the Christmas spirit" or to "keep the Christ in Christmas." I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the best way to get the most out of Christmas, to get into the spirit of Christmas, and to keep Christ in Christmas can be summed up in one word: Advent.

Joy in a World Gone Mad

This may have escaped your notice, but we live in world full of pain and suffering, turmoil and fear. Anxiety is the default mode for a lot of people. The rich, famous, and beautiful aren't sheltered from it by their wealth, so what hope to the rest of us have?

I want to tell you about a book that offers a compelling answer to that question. It's "a book about joy" written "to help you experience life to the fullest."

Election Reflections

We've all had a week to mope or exult over the election, but now we should stop and think about the big picture. It's important to put this in the proper perspective.

Let's Talk About Abortion

Recent studies show a decline in church attendance among young women. For centuries, women have tended to be more likely than men to attend church. What's changed?

The problem is apparently the ways traditional Christian teaching disagrees with the teaching of our culture. When we allow the schools, the media, and the internet to disciple our children, we shouldn't be surprised when their beliefs differ from ours. Now it's necessary to address their specific objections to the teachings of traditional Christianity, and no issue seems to be more important to them than abortion.

I'm putting this out after the election intentionally. While I want more voters to be pro-life, this isn't not about votes; it's about girls letting this issue draw them away from Jesus. I hope they will one day be fully pro-life, but in the meantime we want them in church hearing the gospel and learning to follow Jesus.

The Contrast of God

Some time back we looked at the story of Jonah and how it illustrates God's preference for showing mercy. The book of Nahum is sort of a sequel to Jonah, and like a lot of sequels, it's a darker, grittier tale. But it's not all dark, and both the dark and the light tell us something important about God.

Who may live on your holy hill?

The old saying goes "familiarity breeds contempt." In my experience, though, it's more likely to breed complacency: We tend to take the people we know best for granted. We don't even notice street signs on roads we regularly drive.

And we rarely notice anything new in our favorite Bible passages. So it's nice, if a little jarring, when one of them jumps up and grabs us with something we've never seen before.

Meditations on Being Laid Off

I lost my job. I'm not needed anymore. Apparently I did such a good job I made myself redundant. Even though I tried not to, I find that I had based a lot of my identity in that role, so now I face the need to reinvent myself.

Don't worry about me starving; I have a source of income, but it's just a way to pay for what's important. What's important has become the question. What do I do with myself now?

Be Good for Satan's Sake

Does the devil want me to be bad?

There is an interesting quirk in Christian theology that is easily missed. The average man on the street, even the average believer in the pew, has a view of Satan and temptation that doesn't quite take in the whole picture. Let's poke at it a bit and see if we can get a more nuanced understanding.

The flannel board theology we were all taught is simple: The devil is bad. The devil wants people to go to hell. Sin makes people go to hell. Therefore the devil wants people to sin. I'm going to argue that this view is ... incomplete.

Our Proper Penance

What do you do when you've wronged someone?

Stereotypically, men who get themselves into trouble buy their wives flowers or, if they really messed up, a car. A wife may make her husband's favorite meal or buy him that fishing pole he's been eyeing. But what do we do when we really, really mess up?

Bending the Knee

Why is faith necessary to be saved? Even if faith isn't "blind faith", why should it be necessary for God to save people? Why can't God just save everyone?

There is an element in salvation that doesn't get a lot of air-time these days, so a lot of American Christians get the gospel wrong. This results in many raised in the church not understanding salvation. It also aids those outside the church in misunderstanding or misrepresenting the gospel and Christian teaching.

What is Faith?

Is faith opposed to reason? Does faith mean you don't have evidence? Is faith "believing what you know ain't so"?

Many people have trouble with the idea of "believing in Jesus" because the very notion of faith seems irrational. How can you expect people to check their brains at the door? And why should you have to?

But what if that's not what faith is at all?

The New Challenges

I recently had a conversation with someone who sees himself as a sort of evangelist for moral relativism. His mission is to "teach people" (his words) that the world would be a better place if we all realize no one's right, no one's wrong, no-thing is wrong, and all our values are merely beliefs that are no more than our opinion. Is he a liberal philosophy professor? Nope. Kooky hippy hanging out in the park? Hardly. He's a trainer at a local gym. He chats with people about these things while he trains them.

And he's an example of the minefield the world has become. It's not everywhere you go, but it can be anywhere. The world is now full of people who think Christianity is not the solution but the problem. And they're coming for the children.

The Foundation of Christian Political Thought

As we enter the fall political season, people naturally ask what the Bible says about our many political issues. It's true that the scriptures do not tell us explicitly how to run a government, but the Lord did not leave us without guidance to answer the most important political questions of our age. Let's look at some passages that can help us navigate our political world.

A Visit with the Classics: 1Clement

When I was a teenager, the church where I was baptized ran the pastor off, not because of misconduct or poor performance, but because he got on the wrong side of the wrong people. It's the kind of ugliness that can cause church splits (of course, Baptists can split over almost anything) and even make people walk away from the church entirely. It turns out this is nothing new in church history.

I've made it a goal to read the early church fathers, particularly the pre-Constantine writers. I hope to learn from their experience of trying to follow Christ and defend the faith in a pagan culture.

First up, "The Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians," also known as 1Clement*, probably written in the last years of the first century AD.

Of Sons and Promises

Sometimes the smallest things in the Bible can pack a lot of punch.

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

The first verse of Matthew is easy to rush by. It seems like it’s a title or just introducing the genealogy that follows (that we also rush by). But it’s actually packed with meaning. The author is telling us quite a bit about the subject of the genealogy and the rest of the book.

Remind Yourself

I'm forgetful. Not that I have a bad memory. In fact, my memory is full of easily accessed trivia from decades ago. But when I really need to remember something, what's right in front of my face tends to overshadow everything else.

I don't think I'm alone in that. We easily lose sight of what's important because of what's pressing, so it's easy for us to forget important truth because of life. For that reason, I'd like to share something I observed in our small group over the last year.

Lewis on the Dangers of a Christian Political Party

CS Lewis' work is so timeless it's perpetually timely. When I read him, I frequently find myself saying, "This had to be written last year, not in the 1940s." I'd like to share one of his lesser-known essays that has a lot to say about our era.

The Strength of Gentleness

One of the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. In several places various NT authors exhort us to gentleness. Jesus is described as being gentle. So we know this is important. But what is it? Too many seem to think gentle is a synonym for milksop. What does it really mean?

As an illustration, I'd like to turn to one of the greatest scenes in all of television.

A Root of Anger

I know the rules: "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires" (James 1:19-20), but like so many, I struggle with anger, often over what are ultimately silly things. But I noticed something about myself that made me think.

A Lived Faith

I came across an off-hand comment on a blog that grabbed me: "the average Christian’s faith doesn’t touch the sides of their life." He went on to say that most Christians' lives are "largely indistinguishable" from those around us. He's not wrong. It's so easy to live as an average Westerner, to go with the flow the same as our neighbors.

What does it look like when our faith shines through every part of our life?

The James Factor

When we talk about the evidence for Christianity, whether we're trying to encourage the faithful or persuade the unconverted, I don't think we really appreciate the gift we have in James. His story raises a pretty powerful question, one that both doubters and unbelievers would profit from wrestling with.

Translated and Re-Translated?

"The Bible's been translated and re-translated so many times, no one knows what it means."

I was in college the first time I heard those words. The accusations went on: "Modern Bibles just change the King James into modern English, and it was translated from Latin. No one knows what the Bible said when it was written."

It's hard to believe someone can fit so many inaccuracies into such a small space.

Every skeptic isn't necessarily as poorly informed as that person was, but it's still common to hear that we cannot trust the Bible because it's been "translated and re-translated". How do we respond to that?

Taking A Hard Look

There are lots of places in the Bible I would remove if I could. Whether it's a rule I don't want to follow or a judgment that just seems too harsh for modern sensibilities, my fallen flesh would love to apply a bottle of white out to many verses. There's one place, though, that's nothing like that. It's convicting without doing either of those things. Right in the middle of one of my favorite passages in the Bible sit a few simple words that always make me squirm.

The Power and Danger of Habit

I like to say I’m a creature of inertia. An object at rest will stay at rest; an object in motion will stay in motion. That’s me. If I can get going, I’ll keep going. But if I stop ... oof! So what I really am is a creature of habit. If I can form a good habit, I’ll just keep cruising.

I used this to my advantage several years ago when I got in the habit of working out at lunch three days a week. I reached that point fitness gurus talk about where I didn’t ask whether I was going to the gym; it was Monday, so I needed to pack my workout clothes. I got into a routine and stayed with it. I was feeling better and looking better. I was happy; my wife was happy. It went on that way for a couple of years. Then circumstances changed. Life broke the habit.

Making It Right

If it hasn’t happened already, it will soon enough: someone will do you wrong. They may take advantage of you, steal from you, even physically harm you. And they’ll get away with it. Maybe the law won’t catch up with them; maybe the law won’t even care. When that happens, you’re going to long for justice. And when that day comes, you’ll find you love something about God that tends to be very unpopular.

Let’s Start a New Religion

Picture, if you will, a world in which you have founded a new religion. It does not matter whether the religion is about peace and love or the collection of unusual cabbages. What matters is that you will not write any of the holy books for this religion. Who would you allow to write your new Bible?

What Do We Do About False Teachers?

The problem of false teachers comes up in several New Testament books. Christ predicted them, and they quickly became a plague on the early church. One book gives very practical guidance on how to respond to this situation, but it can be easy to get lost in the weeds and not really see what we’re getting.

When we talk about Bible study, I think we usually picture digging deep into the text, looking at the minutia like verb tenses or repeated terms or doing a word study. Taking a microscope to scripture is important. But so is getting a macro view. I recently shared several resources that talked about outlining. Outlining is not cool, and you don’t need high powered tools to do it. But I want to share an example of how it can open up a passage to us.

The Lesson in the Stars

You don’t have to be an astronomy buff to love the stars. Most people, when they take the time to look at the night sky, are grabbed by the beauty and the scale. We now know there are billions of stars in each of billions of galaxies. Some, though, are put off by that. Why so much? What’s the purpose of all that empty space? If there is no other life in the universe — or even if there is — why do we need so many stars?

Where’d the Miracles Go?

We look around at this world and see so much sickness and heartache. It’s natural to ask, where is the power that was so active in the Bible? Miracles were happening left and right back then. What changed?

Let’s take a look at a blink-and-you’ll-miss it passage that may shed a little light on this and give us a new perspective.

When the Bible Challenges Your Cherished Beliefs

You ever have one of those dreams where your friend turns into a monster and attacks you? Um, yeah ... me neither.

We go to the scriptures for comfort and guidance and to know our Lord better. When we study the Bible, our problem is usually things we don’t understand. But sometimes the scriptures seem to turn on you. What do we do with passages we think we understand but seem to call our cherished beliefs into question?

Bible Study Ideas

Today I’d like to share some things I’ve come across that help you dig into the scriptures while getting a bird’s eye view of the scriptures.

A Lesson in Humility

My daughter wears a torture device around her neck. Please don’t think this makes me an unfit parent; it was her idea. Kids these days, right? But no, it’s not just the kids, lots of people do it. “Crazy Americans”? No, it’s not even just an American thing. Why would people voluntarily wear a torture device around their neck?

Let’s look at a passage that is both a powerful statement of the gospel and also a powerful lesson on how to live the Christian life. If you ever wondered what it means to live like Jesus, this little stretch of scripture gives an unforgettable picture of just what that looks like.

Prepare for the Race

Dear friends,

In my last letter I wrote of preparing your mind for battle. Now let’s think about your bodies. Few can get up from a relatively sedentary lifestyle and run a race. You have to slowly prepare your body.

Physical training is uncomfortable and takes a long time, but the results can amaze you. What we need to concern ourselves with now, though, is not physical strength but the lives our physical bodies display before the world around us. Examining and improving our character can be just as difficult and painful as preparing our bodies to fight a war or run a race, but it is essential.

Suit Up

Dear friends,

I want you to take a moment and think about this question: If you knew you were going to be in the fight of your life in six months, how would you prepare?

Before soldiers are sent into battle, we try to prepare them by training their minds, strengthening their bodies, and teaching them to use the weapons of war. Christian, you will be going into battle, and you need to prepare.

The Value of Persecution

Dear friends,

Every life has its troubles. Painful toil, disobedient children, health problems, or the sinful actions of other humans can bring hardship into our lives. But sometimes it is granted to us to suffer because of Christ. When that happens, rejoice!

Remember the Gospel

Dear friends,

I do not know the world you will live in, but I know the Lord said, “In this world, you will have trouble,” so I want to give you some advice on how to continue to honor Christ when that trouble comes. There are so many things I’d like to be able to share with you, so many precious truths that can comfort your soul and transform the way you live. But if I only have the opportunity to tell you one thing, let’s make it this: No matter what happens, when life is easy, and especially when life is hard, remember the gospel!

Letters from Babylon

No one wants to suffer; we’re going to avoid it if we can. But “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2Tim 3:12). So what do we do when it comes, when it’s unavoidable? We have more wisdom from “Babylon” on that matter.

The early church saw Rome as a new Babylon, embodying its power, wickedness, and oppression. Peter, writing from there, saw what was coming for the church and wanted to help them not just survive but honor Christ under persecution.

Anything

In June 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped 20-40 inches of rain on the Houston area in just a few days. Thousands of houses were flooded, including the homes of some of the couples in our “newlyweds” Sunday school class. Our class of mostly 20-somethings descended on those houses hauling out furniture, ripping out carpet, and tearing out drywall.

Utterly Insignificant

Isaiah 40-45 is one of my favorite stretches in the Bible. When I’m feeling down, this passage picks me up. It paints several pictures of who God is. And those pictures are big, which is why I love it. Because when God is big, everything else seems small.

The Importance of a Balanced Diet

Man cannot live by broccoli alone.

A diet of nothing but broccoli would lead to malnutrition. A healthy body requires a variety of foods to get the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats that the body needs to operate properly.

A healthy mind and soul needs variety as well.

Pulling Weeds

As we read the scriptures, we will come across boring parts. In the Old Testament, we find long lists of numbers. In both Old and New we find genealogies. In the epistles we find sections that seem like filler, where the author is basically saying hi from everyone here to everyone there. It’s natural to want to skim or even skip over those parts.

Don’t. A little effort can sometimes find some powerful truths hidden in those passages.

Good Medicine

My thirtieth birthday brought me the gift of a chronic stomach problem. I’d taken the day off from work, but I woke up feeling bad, and it only got worse as the day progressed. But stomach bugs happen, and I fully expected it to last no more than a day or two and then life would get back to normal. I was wrong. That was the new normal.

I struggled with that condition for years. I spent most of 2006 nauseous. Finally they found a medicine that helped. It didn’t cure it, but it made the symptoms manageable. Ten years or so later, the doctor wanted to wean me off the medication and see how it went. By God’s grace it went well. I still have the occasional flare up, but nothing like the way it began. So the medicine worked. How do I know? I got better.

When a Man Loves a Woman

I’ve got this friend, let’s call him Bill. He’s had it pretty rough. But we can learn a lot from his tale of woe.

Bill met this girl and fell hard in love. I have no idea what he saw in her. She wasn’t pretty, wasn’t smart, wasn’t even very nice. But he was crazy about her. They got married, and she cheated on him before the ink was dry on the license.

A Predictable God

The story of Jonah is a staple of children’s Sunday school classes. However, the big fish gets more of the attention than the theology of the book. As adults, I’m not sure we do it much more justice. The fish goes from an amazing story to a topic of debate. We need to let Jonah teach us an amazing truth about God.

Maintaining the Tension

Much of Christian theology is composed of two seemingly competing truths held in tension. Error creeps in when that tension is not maintained. Sometimes this results in heresy. Sometimes this results in misbehavior by the church. And sometimes this results in our failing our children and our culture.

All Sin is

There’s a common misconception among Christians. I’m not entirely sure where it comes from. I used to hold it myself, but I don’t know why. I don’t remember ever being taught it. Perhaps it’s a natural misunderstanding of some biblical truths. But it’s not true, and when we repeat it, we do harm to the cause of Christ and the reputation of our God. So let’s look at it.

Begging Jesus

Familiarity breeds boredom. When you’ve read a passage in the Bible countless times, it’s easy to assume you know it and breeze through, just trying to make it to the end. Slowing down and reading closer can make the familiar new.

I’ve been reading through Mark, but only a pericope or two at a time, repeatedly. I’m trying to read it like someone who’s never heard of this Jesus guy before and to keep an eye on the broader story Mark is telling. When I came to the account of Gadarene demoniac, a familiar story I’m quite fond of, I saw something on my third pass through I would probably not have seen if I wasn’t reading with a pen in my hand.