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  • The Kindness of God

    God’s Goodness in a Cruel World

    There is much to love and appreciate about our God, much for which we ought to give him praise and thanks. One of the attributes we may consider too seldom is his goodness, and as an aspect or component of his goodness, his kindness. And that is the subject of

  • The Tallest Trees and the Strongest Winds

    The Tallest Trees and the Strongest Winds

    I once heard a fable about the trees of a mighty forest. Many years before, a few acorns had been scattered in especially fertile soil and they quickly sprang up first as mere saplings and then as mighty oaks. Because the soil was so rich, they grew quickly and they soon towered over all the…

  • He Was a Kind Man

    He Was a Kind Man

    What comes to mind when you think of R.C. Sproul? What do you remember of his life and ministry? What associations do you make when you hear his name? He was a gifted teacher, of course—probably the greatest pure teacher many of us have ever encountered. So many Christians first came to marvel at God’s…

  • Discerning in Doctrine But Not Discerning in Character

    Discerning in Doctrine But Not Discerning in Character

    I believe that discernment matters. I believe that spiritual discernment is a necessary mark of spiritual maturity while a lack of spiritual discernment is a concerning mark of spiritual immaturity. As the book of Hebrews tells us, “solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice…

  • When Only Your Family Is Looking

    Who Are You When Only Your Family Is Looking?

    One of the customs of our church is to thoroughly evaluate the men we call to be pastors and elders. Once we identify a candidate for the office, and once he has indicated his interest, we complete a thorough evaluation of his life and character. We work through a document that describes the qualifications the…

  • Are You a Lover of Good

    Are You a Lover of Good?

    There seems to be something embedded within our sinful human nature that makes us quicker to see evil than good. There is something that draws our attention more naturally to sin than to righteousness, more easily to what is ugly in other people than what is beautiful. No wonder, then, that one of the qualifications…

  • Celebrate the Tool

    We Don’t Celebrate the Tool

    I watched in fascination as the programmer wrote line after line of code, each word and each line forming part of an increasingly complex whole. His fingers were barely visible as they tapped out letter after letter and number after number. And then his work was done. With a smile and a flourish, he compiled…

  • No Fear of Old Age

    No Fear of Old Age

    Do you remember the weeks and months leading to the release of Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King? Do you remember the buzz and anticipation that reached its crescendo in December of 2003? We had already enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, films that had transported us to Middle Earth…

  • Love Keeps No Record of Rights

    Love Keeps No Record of Rights

    We’ve heard it at both weddings and funerals, as both aspiration for a life lived together and as commemoration of a life lived well. In these two contexts and so many others we’ve heard the “love passage,” the Bible’s beautiful description of love enacted in the life of the Christian: “Love is patient and kind;…

  • On Being the Main Character in Your Own Sermon

    On Being the Main Character in Your Own Sermon

    If you’ve ever preached as much as a single sermon, if you’ve ever delivered as much as a single conference address, if you’ve ever led as much as a single Bible study, then I expect you know the temptation. I expect you have longed to make much of Jesus, but have also felt the desire…

  • What Does Your Faith Do For You

    What Does Your Faith Do For You?

    It is good to be a man or woman of faith. It is good to be a man or woman who regularly attends church, who faithfully studies the Scriptures, who diligently puts sin to death and who joyfully comes alive to righteousness. This is all good and very good. But every now and again it…

  • Rest Takes Work

    Rest Takes Work

    I messed up over the Christmas holidays. I made a simple but silly mistake—a mistake that left me entering the new year feeling weary instead of rested, feeling drained instead of energized. It was a failure to plan, a failure to remember a simple truth about work and rest. Like so many other people, I…

  • Lets Hear it For the Failures

    Let’s Hear It For the Failures

    I once heard a Christian say that when he arrives in heaven he does not expect not hear “well done, good and faithful servant,” as much as “well tried.” He does not mean that God will be impressed by a reckless succession of rash attempts at self-grandiosity. He does not mean that God will laud…

  • Things for Christian Men to Think About

    Things for Christian Men To Think About

    I have had a few opportunities in the past few weeks to interact with Christian men. Along the way I’ve jotted down a few thoughts that arose from those conversations. I thought I’d share them today. ❖ Pause for a few moments to consider the fact that God is a Father and you are his…

  • Which Man Was More Free

    Which Man Was More Free?

    It is a question an author once asked, a question that intrigued me. Which man was more free: was it the emperor or was it the missionary? Was it Nero or was it Paul? Was it Nero in his palace surrounded by attendants, his table overflowing with delicacies, his eyes overwhelmed with visual delights? Or…

  • There Are Different Kinds of Tired

    There Are Different Kinds of Tired

    There are different kinds of tired. There are different kinds of weary. There are different kinds of fatigue that may overwhelm the body and overcome the mind as the sun sets, as the skies grow dark, as day gives way to evening and evening gives way to night. There are different kinds of fatigue because…

  • Funeral

    What You Can Take With You Into Eternity

    We’ve all heard it said that no one has ever seen a hearse towing a trailer. We’ve all been challenged to consider that we leave this world as we entered it—with empty hands. As Job exclaimed in the depths of his misery, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” But…

  • Are You a Peacemaker or a Troublemaker

    Are You a Peacemaker or a Troublemaker?

    I recently spent some time studying one of the simplest verses in the New Testament: “blessed are the peacemakers.” There are no tricky words in this verse, no difficult Greek to parse. To be blessed means to be happy or to experience God’s favor; to be a peacemaker is to (wait for it!) make peace.…

  • Flowers Springing Up in the Rain

    Flowers Springing Up in the Rain

    In the past couple of years I have learned more about cemeteries than I would ever have cared to know. I have learned about purchasing plots and commissioning monuments. I have learned about proper etiquette and how different cultures relate to their dearly departed in very different ways. I have learned that a grave offers…

  • Careless

    The Dead Seriousness of Careless Words

    A technician for an airline neglected to check the logs from previous flights and therefore failed to take action on a control problem that had recurred multiple times over the past days. His carelessness was one of the factors that led to the plane crashing on a subsequent flight. An engineer failed to set the…