Keeping Promises

She broke her promise. She vowed to love, respect, and stay faithful to her husband—for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, till death parted them. But she was enticed by an immoral man, and after the first, others like him. Her unfaithfulness became a habit, and her habit a lifestyle. … Continue reading Keeping Promises

A Thousand Years is Like a Day: A Thought Experiment

Here’s a thought experiment. Suppose that we were to take the statements in Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 about a thousand years being like a day literally (which are probably not literal in their literary settings). Then let’s assume that the difference is not just how God sees time, but also represents the difference … Continue reading A Thousand Years is Like a Day: A Thought Experiment

How Wrestling with Hard Bible Passages Expands our View of God

My thoughts wandered this morning on my prayer walk.[1] I kept bringing my mind back to prayer, but my mind was wandering from my very first steps. I decided to use the Lord’s Prayer to guide me—I sometimes do this when I’m struggling with mind-wandering—but I still had trouble concentrating on prayer. (By the way, … Continue reading How Wrestling with Hard Bible Passages Expands our View of God

A Devotional Reading of Hebrews 12:18-24: Expand Your Awe of God

This morning I spent time in Hebrews 12:18-24 during my morning reading in God’s Word.[1] I found myself particularly attuned to some things I had never previously noticed. In the middle of a warning passage—a passage written to caution professing believers not to be passive or turn away from reverent submission to an awesome God—I … Continue reading A Devotional Reading of Hebrews 12:18-24: Expand Your Awe of God

What Would Happen if You Became a Christian? A Thought Experiment

Let me invite you into a thought experiment. What if you became a Christian? What would change? I’m talking about an actual disciple of Jesus, not a Christian in name only. What would be different if you became a Christian?[1] If you became a Christian, you would automatically become a spiritual brother or sister with … Continue reading What Would Happen if You Became a Christian? A Thought Experiment

Anything We Ask “According to His Will” (1 John 5:14-15) Will Happen, but What is “His Will”?

A spiritually-minded friend of my wife and me recently made this comment: “I struggle with the idea of praying according to the will of God. Since I know that some things are clearly according to God’s will, why can’t I just pray directly about those things and know for certain that they’re going to happen? … Continue reading Anything We Ask “According to His Will” (1 John 5:14-15) Will Happen, but What is “His Will”?