Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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Today is my 5,000th consecutive day of blogging. A one-year challenge I began back in 2003 has somehow morphed into a 5,000-day marathon and a full-time vocation. I love what I do and am honored that I get to do it. Before I say or do anything more, please accept my gratitude for reading the site. It is your visits that continue to make it possible. A few days ago I broadcast via Facebook and Twitter that I’d be glad …
Every few weeks I like to share an example of one of our services at Grace Fellowship Church. I hope that by doing this others will follow suit! I love to learn how other churches worship and often find myself both challenged and encouraged as I see how other congregations worship God in their unique contexts and cultures. This service’s cast of characters included Steve K (one of our Assistant Ministers) as the preacher, Brian as the lead worshipper, Peter …
It’s the time of year when my Bible-reading plan takes me through the book of Proverbs. There’s something almost absurd about reading this book at a pace of three chapters per day. That’s like quickly crunching through a whole bag of peppermints rather than slowly savoring each one. Yet reading the proverbs in great swaths does make it easier to identify its themes. Just as we can miss the forest for the trees, we can miss the themes for the …
Money can’t buy happiness, right? We have all heard the maxim and on an intellectual level know it’s true. But still, it certainly looks like money could purchase us a little fix of joy. We have no trouble conjuring up a fantasy in which we are both filthy rich and overwhelmingly happy. And it’s no great work to dream up another scenario in which we’re dirt poor and wretchedly unhappy. So just what is the connection between money and happiness, …
Christians enjoy the inestimable privilege of walking with God. As we proceed through life, we do so in fellowship with the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. We enjoy a relationship of true familiarity and intimacy. God pleads with us to tell him our cares and to make known to him our concerns, and he carries those burdens on our behalf. We, in turn, plead for his wisdom and guidance and he graciously gives it to us. There is …
Back in my days as a university student, I had one instructor who was, to my mind, the ultimate professor. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of his field and a deep passion for it, and knowledge plus passion is always a powerful combination. I had this professor for a couple of courses, both of them related to military history. He was and remains my all-time favorite. He liked to discuss the differences between the two world wars, and one of …
Every Christian is a minister. According to the book of Romans, every Christian is called upon by God to minister the Word of God to other believers (see Romans 15:14 and the words “able to instruct one another”). But what does that actually look like? How can normal people like you and me fulfill this responsibility? Truthfully, there are as many ways as there are Christians and congregations. Still, let me offer a few common ways you can minister God’s …
“I just don’t know if I’m ready to settle down yet.” He had recently celebrated his 30th birthday but was still content to live in his parents’ home, to eat their food, to enjoy their rent-free accommodations. He told me how he enjoyed his girlfriend and sometimes joined her in her parents’ home for weeks or even months at a time, but he still wasn’t quite ready to go to the next level by purchasing that engagement ring. Kids were …
I tend to think the best comedy is the kind that is universal. It picks up on themes we can all readily identify with, no matter who we are. Brian Regan does a great little bit on getting a new pair of contacts, and it always makes me chuckle. He talks about the long procrastination so many of us endure before we finally do something as simple and rewarding as getting new lenses. When we finally get around to visiting …
I’m asked the questions all the time: What does it take to be a writer? How can I be a better writer? How can I be a more successful writer? They may dream of launching a blog or getting published in a magazine or completing their debut novel. My reply is always the same: Writers write. It’s the most obvious advice in the world, I know. But it’s advice every writer needs to hear and take to heart. Writers write. …