10 Things I’m Thankful for in 2011
Today is Thanksgiving. This year (2011) I have much to be thankful for. I could fill pages. But I distilled them down to ten: Nine years of marriage to a beautiful and godly woman, Angela who has faithfully stood with me in ministry, trains our children in the Lord every day, and enjoys watching crime […]
Children as Image-bearers
I ran across this terrific article at the Gospel Driven Life blog on parenting (HT: Trevin Wax). It discusses our children as image-bearers. The author says about our kids: They are image bearers. They are creatures, made by God and for God. They are given glory and honor by God. They have inherent value, of […]
Why We Need Music
I once heard a well-meaning Christian leader say something like this, “Ahh, music is so overrated. You don’t need music. If you were stranded on an island, you would get along fine without music.” I actually believed him for a time and used to think this. But then, when I faced some of my darkest […]
When Gratitude is Tested
I wrote about the difficulty of gratitude in hard times for my weekly Crosswalk devotional. Here’s an excerpt: We can only summon the strength to gratitude when we understand the goodness of a sovereign God. James reminds us that God uses our trials to shape our character, so that the perfect life of Christ is […]
Dads Should Lead on Thanksgiving
In the last few years, the Thanksgiving holiday has slowly been redefined by overeating, crank in-laws, lots of NFL football, and early Christmas sales. Now, I enjoy all of those things (yes, even the cranky in-laws). But if we are not careful, we can allow a grand moment for worship and thanks to pass us […]
Russell Moore on Forgiveness:
When we forgive, we are confessing that vengeance is God’s (Rom. 12:19). We don’t need to exact justice from a fellow believer because justice has already fallen at the cross. We don’t need to exact vengeance from an unbeliever because we know the sin against us will be judged in hell or, more hopefully, when […]
Friday Five: Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine; he authored the “Foolish Things” column for CT. Stan writes opinion pieces for Crosswalk.com and BreakPoint.org. His articles have been honored in the Evangelical Press Association’s Higher Goals in Christian Journalism competitions. Stan has appeared on National Public Radio’s “Tell Me More,” WGN’s Milt Rosenberg program, ABC’s Nightline […]
Should We Go Forward or Should We Go Back?
“We need to take our country back.” “We need to get back to a time when . . . .” These are refrains you often hear from well-meaning Christians. I’ve actually said them myself. But there are a few problems with this kind of language. It may convey something we don’t intend. When conservative Christians […]
Mini-Reviews #6
I’m back with another batch of mini-reviews. Today I discuss three outstanding books: King Solomon by Philip Graham Ryken. Solomon is not a Bible character typically covered in depth, so this book by Philip Graham Ryken is a welcome one. Ryken is the former pastor of the historic 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia and the new […]
Friday Five: Alisa Harris
Alisa Harris is a former New York-based journalist who has covered education, poverty and cultural issues. She writes on the intersection of faith and politics for Patheos.com and recently released a book entitled, Raised Right, How I Untangled My Faith From Politics. I posted a mini-review here. Alisa was kind enough to stop by and answer […]
The Discipline of Going to Church
Going to church can become routine. I know it, because I grew up going to church three times a week (at least). It was not a choice my parents gave me. It was something we did, part of our regular routine. As a 2nd Generation Christian, I know full well the dangers of making spirituality […]
Penn State and The Danger of Insular Communities
The news from Penn State University continues to shock, anger, and sadden all of us. A once-proud University, known for it’s commitment to excellence and integrity is now humbled by the revelations that it allowed one of it’s longtime coaches to abuse children on their campus. The allegations are still forthcoming and most of us don’t know […]