What is Christian Revival? Three Resources to Help You Understand Revival

A Christian revival is a moment in history when 1) the hearts of many of God’s people are awakened to greater love and commitment to Christ, 2) many who consider themselves Christians (but are not) get converted, and 3) many people who have never known Christ are drawn to faith in Christ through what God … Continue reading What is Christian Revival? Three Resources to Help You Understand Revival

“Based”

Last semester a young college friend challenged me (dared me?) to try to use the contemporary slang word “based” during one of my college class lectures. Honestly, it was a bit tricky, since I first had to figure out what my twenty-something-year-old students meant when they used this word. But once I got a basic … Continue reading “Based”

Seven Favorite Christian Books of 2022

I read a lot of helpful Christian books this past year, but here are my seven favorites. Surprisingly, I read the first five before the end of January! Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament, by Mark Vroegop. The author first teaches how to lament, and then moves on to explain what we … Continue reading Seven Favorite Christian Books of 2022

Should You Pray to the Holy Spirit?

The short answer, I believe, is that there is nothing wrong with offering a prayer to the Holy Spirit since God the Spirit is, of course, fully God, just as is God the Father and God the Son. However, most prayers in the New Testament and in the church of the second and third centuries … Continue reading Should You Pray to the Holy Spirit?

Nurturing the Spiritual Lives of our Children: 14 Tips

A few years ago, Trudi and I led a session at a parenting seminar. We offered 14 “tips” for nurturing the spiritual lives of one’s children. I’ve included the 14 teaching points here for your own consideration. Our prayer is that many parents will take on the call to intentionally train their children in the ways of … Continue reading Nurturing the Spiritual Lives of our Children: 14 Tips

How to Change from a Prayer Worrier into a Prayer Warrior

Are you a Prayer Worrier or a Prayer Warrior? What’s the difference? Prayer Worriers only pray about things that they’re worried about. The only items that some people pray about are the matters that make them anxious. A person who only prays about their worries is a classic Prayer Worrier. Prayer Warriors, in contrast,battle in … Continue reading How to Change from a Prayer Worrier into a Prayer Warrior

What Does “As the Deer Pants for the Water” Mean (Psalm 42:1)?

I used to love Psalm 42. I still do. But now it’s for a slightly different reason. When I was younger, I often quoted the first words of the Psalm as an expression of passion for God. I understood it to be an expression of zeal to know God…an intense longing to be close to … Continue reading What Does “As the Deer Pants for the Water” Mean (Psalm 42:1)?

Personas, Platforms, and Profits

About a year ago I spent a couple hours talking with my long-time friend, Adam Day (a professor at Tyndale Seminary in Amsterdam, the Netherlands), about the question of how much and in what manner it is appropriate for a Christian author to promote his or her writings. We talked about pitfalls, motivations, and the … Continue reading Personas, Platforms, and Profits

The Chronicler Teaches Us What it Means to “Seek” the Lord

I recently stumbled upon a delightful biblical discovery while doing a word search on the word “seek.” I discovered that the most common place in the Bible where the word shows up in connection with God is 1 and 2 Chronicles. Who would have guessed that? This suggests that seeking God is an important theme … Continue reading The Chronicler Teaches Us What it Means to “Seek” the Lord

Wordle or God’s Word?

What is the average amount of time it takes to solve a Wordle puzzle? I can’t locate any hard data on this question, but a guy who wrote a computer simulation to figure out the best two starting words for Wordle—and who claims he has played Wordle “a million times”—estimates that it takes about 15 … Continue reading Wordle or God’s Word?