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Short Story: Only Sunshine? It’s raining again, Tommy the tomato plant complained to himself. Why does it always have to rain? I wish we could always have sunshine. Being just a tomato plant, Tommy didn’t know that the rain is exactly what gave him the water he needed to grow strong and...

How Does Evil Differ from Suffering? It’s bad enough to do evil and abstain from good. But God condemns the moral sleight of hand by which we confuse good and evil: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and...

Peacemaking in a Polarized World In this article, we think about how to resist what scientists are calling “polarized information ecosystems.” Polarization is widely discussed. But widely discussed subjects are rarely well-discussed. Too many commentators continue to utilize the increasingly...

Trump’s Angry Rhetoric vs. Christian Values: It’s not Normal Trump’s communication style has been normalized by the way American Evangelicals wholeheartedly endorse him. This is reinforcing the idea of many outside the Church that Christians are defined by their hate for those who are...

Why Does Hosea Warn That God’s People ‘Perish For Lack of Knowledge’? Traditionally dated to somewhere in the 8th century BCE, the Book of Hosea is a book filled with warnings to God’s people; warnings given because of their consistent “unfaithfulness” to their deity and His revealed Law...

Out of Touch with Reality I recently taught a message on wisdom as found in the book of Proverbs. I took a somewhat unusual approach by asking the participants, what is the opposite of wisdom? The response, of course, was “foolishness.” In the Bible, there is a great deal taught about...

Simple Questions About Christian Faith Needing Answers We learn to cherish and challenge our questions about Christian faith at different times. Not everything in the Bible makes perfect sense to the average Bible reader and churchgoer, but it does create a fascinating study. Some of those...

A Journey of Gratitude: Tri Robinson’s Call to Slow Down In a world filled with noise, constant distraction, upward mobility, bad stewardship, and the relentless pursuit of more, it can be hard to hear the still, small whispers calling us to live with intention and simplicity. Recently, I read...

Don’t miss this moment I was in the stands along with other long-suffering parents. We were all there for a T-Ball game with kids just a little young for Little League. It’s a chance for them to get out, run around, and get dirty. But for the parents, you know the drill. It’s kind of like...

Attributes of God: Righteousness Cremer, The Christian Doctrine of the Attributes of God: 2. The Righteousness of God, pp. 29-43 This is an invitation to comment for those who have read this portion of the book. Others may ask. In about one week I will comment on the second half of this...

No Lone Ranger Christians We often think of the Apostle Paul as the Lone Ranger, gallivanting solo about the empire, leading everyone to Christ, never afraid, never struggling, often alone, but never lonely. Scripture corrects this impression as Paul recounts for the Corinthians one of his...

Lord, Give Us A King to Lead Us Note: These are my thoughts and mine alone. This is also raw, as I’m sure it is for many reading this. I just had to write some words down on it. “Make America Great Again” was a great slogan when Reagan used it and it’s been a great slogan for the years that...

Miraculous Change [ 1 min read ★ ] For the grace of God has appeared—Titus 2:11-12 For us men to truly, in our hearts, want to repent of our sins, repent of our screw-ups—for us to truly want to turn our...

Confession Isn't Sufficient [ 1 min read ★ ] But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins . . . he shall surely live—Ezekiel 18:21 Confession is necessary, but it is not sufficient. Sufficiency is...

Where is Peace in Our Chaotic Anxiety Ridden World? Circumstances that Cause Stress The events of the last six months have unveiled an almost unending barrage of human suffering. Uvalde, Ukraine, and a major church denomination scandal had inundated the headline news. We struggle through an...

3 Tips to Help Find Common Ground It is difficult to have good conversations today. Sometimes, conversations can be nearly impossible if participants are so committed to their worldview that they cannot look beyond themselves to find common ground. As social media continues to exacerbate the...

At the Heart of Worship You can don ancient vestments, light candles, and chants prayers amid clouds of incense; you can preach like Martyn Lloyd-Jones, sing great hymns accompanied by pipe organ, and love the dappled rainbows the stained glass throws; you can put up the largest LED screens...

What’s the meaning of “blood is thicker than water”? What is the meaning of the phrase “blood is thicker than water”? We’ve all heard this idiom, but are you sure you understand it? Search the internet for a while, and you’ll find out very quickly that its origins are anything but clear. The...

Keep Watering in Hopes of New Life We have experienced scorching heat several days this summer. As a result, one or two plants in our yard have died. Other foliage has not yet recovered from sun shock. One or two forms of vegetation didn’t even get that far. They never emerged from winter...

If We Fear God, We Can Trust His Provision There are people who reason, If I give generously, I’ll have to worry about where the money will come from to replace what I’ve given. But Jesus actually says the opposite. Immediately after He commands us not to store up treasures on Earth but store...