Articles

Memorial & Funeral Arrangements for My Son

Though these have been the two most difficult days of our lives, my family has been immeasurably blessed. We have received encouragement from close friends and distant strangers alike, each telling us of their love and their prayers. (I have gotten more emails and messages than I could ever respond to, but please know I have read each and every one.) We have been the beneficiaries of generous hospitality here on the campus of Boyce College and the Southern Baptist …

My Son, My Dear Son, Has Gone To Be With the Lord

In all the years I’ve been writing I have never had to type words more difficult, more devastating than these: Yesterday the Lord called my son to himself—my dear son, my sweet son, my kind son, my godly son, my only son. Nick was playing a game with his sister and fiancée and many other students when he suddenly collapsed, never regaining consciousness. Students, paramedics, and doctors battled valiantly, but could not save him. He’s with the Lord he loved, …

Become a Patron

How To Lead and How To Follow

Even people who have no use for Jesus affirm the importance of his Golden Rule: “As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them” (Luke 6:31). This is a call for each of us to live thoughtfully, to live selflessly, to live in such a way that we consider not only ourselves, but others. In the Golden Rule we get a glimpse of the world as it ought to be, a glimpse of the world as …

Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Trust)

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Trust, who also sponsored the blog this week. Martin Luther is one of the most significant figures in church history. The movement that started after his posting of the Ninety-Five Theses led to the recovery of the gospel. How did this happen? How did God use a monk with an uneasy conscience to set the world ablaze? Ligonier Ministries is offering two free Reformation resources that can help …

What Makes a Really Good Study Bible?

Many Christians can attest that of all the resources that have deepened their understanding of God’s Word, few have proven more important than a really good study Bible. A study Bible combines the text of Scripture with notes that help with both interpretation and application. Of course we acknowledge that there is a distinction between the words of Scripture and any other words that appear with them. Justin Taylor is correct when he says, “The most important feature in a …

What’s The Point Of Family Devotions?

We don’t have little kids around here anymore. In fact, most of the time we now just have one kid around here, and she’s well beyond the little years. We’ve moved past parenting tiny children and into parenting young adults. Toilet training, bike-riding, and grade school drama have given way to navigating graduate programs, assessing romantic relationships, and even planning wedding ceremonies. Our family life has changed dramatically. But one habit that has stuck is the habit of family devotions. …

The Influenced Will Be Like the Influencer

We are easily influenced. It is a feature of humanity (and not a bug) that we learn best by example, by imitation. We are natural imitators and thrive on a combination of formal instruction and observable example. It is little wonder then that we cast about for teachers, for mentors, for people who can influence us, people we can imitate. All the while we know that we must find truthful and trustworthy influencers. With this in mind, we’d do well …

A Mighty and Glorious Revival of Religion

It was in the darkest of days that God spoke the most glorious of words: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). Here Martyn Lloyd-Jones comments on the encouragement this should bring us today: King Nebuchadnezzar has had that dream which Daniel alone …

Random, Granular Tips for Christian Bloggers

I quite often have people get in touch to ask me for tips on blogging. (No, blogs aren’t dead and yes, there is still a place for blogs in 2020. To that end, the forthcoming book Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World is worthy of a pre-order.) Earlier this year I offered some tips on starting out in blogging and today want to follow up with a few random tips for Christian bloggers. Most of these tips are …

Why We Need a Better Definition of “Conspiracy Theory”

Irecently pointed out that new conspiracy theories tend to arise around shifts in power and that they often originate from those who have lost power or seen their power threatened. As you worked your way through that article, I wonder if you noticed that I didn’t define “conspiracy theory,” something that, in retrospect, may have been unwise. Nevertheless, I deliberately left it undefined because I wanted to demonstrate that we all have a working definition of the term. Perhaps it …