Unwise words are no rare event, being, unfortunately, very common among Christians. Surely James was correct when he wrote that “we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. . . . no human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:2, 8). If no one can completely avoid foolish words, then in one sense our speech is a lifelong exercise in damage control. Have you ever hurt someone with hasty, careless words? Ever spread a rumor that proved to be untrue? Ever joined in gossip? Ever watched your poor attempt at humor cause an offense? Have you slandered someone out of […]
Yearly Archives: 2020
101 posts
The book of Proverbs is one of the best known Old Testament books, both inside and outside Christianity, and a classic of literature in its own right. Christians who look to the crucified and risen Christ as the heart of our faith can be so centered on the twenty-seven New Testament books directly involving Jesus that we may come to see Proverbs and other Old Testament books as somewhat removed from the life and legacy of our Savior. But there are actually very close connections between Jesus and Proverbs. After all, Jesus himself declared that the entire Old Testament was written about him (Luke 24:44). We should come to every book of the Old Testament seeking to uncover the many […]
In a complicated world, so many aspects of life can be confusing or challenging that we may grasp at anything that looks like a simple explanation or solution to a problem. The Bible does bring stunning clarity to many of the most perplexing questions of life. But this does not mean we can read the Bible—or the book of Proverbs—casually. Proverbs is not a collection of simplistic formulas for guaranteed success. Nor is it intended as a means to back-test and explain difficulties or moral failures. Rather, Proverbs offers us future-oriented wisdom and guidance so we can make wise decisions and live in ways that please and exalt God. It takes both knowledge and, yes, a measure of wisdom to […]
Information is about facts, and knowledge is about fitting related facts together. But wisdom is about using knowledge well. What now afflicts most of the culture, and even the church is that have vast storehouses of information and knowledge, but very little wisdom. Never before in human history has there been so much knowledge so widely spread among the population. For anyone with an internet connection, access to additional information is essentially limitless. In the church, Christians have never had greater access to information about the Bible and sound theology. Yet at the same time, in both the church and the world, wisdom is in decline. We take great pride in our accumulated knowledge, and our hard drives are packed […]
I delight in the children who sparkle in my city: children aflame with both trauma and triumph. In this story, I wanted to capture the vulnerability and celebrate the vibrancy of these children. If I had succeeded, fireworks would surely burst from each page. Lions for Ajax is joyfully set in a world where gender is a gift from a wise and loving God to be lived for His glory. I wrote it for children I love who struggle to accept and live their gender as a gift. Some of the characters in Lions for Ajax revel in the gift of their gender. Other characters live sham distortions of their gender but find the joy of repentance. Others wrestle with […]
To become a Christian is to be given a new nature, a new identity. You don’t lose the old identity (yet), but you do receive a down payment on who you will be. Therefore, while it is vital to accept your identity as a sinner, it is not sufficient. You must also live out of a sure grasp of your identity as a child of God’s freely given and personally transforming grace. These two identities must be held in a healthy tension and balance. It is only the person who is deeply aware of his sin who gets excited about grace, and it is only grace that can give you the courage to humbly face the enormity of your sin. […]
If you are going to live the productive life that God’s grace can enable you to live, you need to stay very clear about who you are. We all tend to be quite adept at ignoring our own sin while being highly sensitized to the sin of others. It is hard for us to receive the loving criticism, confrontation, and rebuke of others because we tend to think of ourselves as more sanctified than we actually are. As the Bible invites us to look intently into it, as into a mirror, it invites a humbling and accurate self-assessment. The biblical doctrine of sin confronts each of us with the reality that we are not as good as we imagine we […]
Great wickedness . . . only evil . . . no one who understands . . . worthless . . . open graves . . . deceit . . . poison . . . cursing and bitterness . . . swift to shed blood . . . ruin and misery . . . no fear of God . . . subjected to frustration . . . bondage to decay . . . groaning . . . struggle . . . this dark world . . . evil. (Genesis 6:5; Romans 3:10-18; Ephesians 6:12) Perhaps you are so familiar with these verses that it is difficult to see their unflinching realism. But each of these passages is honest about what you […]
Let me be clear: being a nice, moral guy will not save you, nor will it save your family. God’s wrath against your sin is only satisfied by Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21). But even though acts of kindness are not the root of our justification, they are certainly the fruit of our justification. After rejoicing over God’s sovereign grace toward sinners, Paul goes on: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Therefore, acts of kindness and love toward our spouses are not a works-based self-rescue plan; they are the overflow of our joy in Christ and the pursuit of joy in serving […]
There seems to be a renaissance of manliness in our day. Even Walmart and other major retailers have started capitalizing on the new interest in beard oil, mustache wax, and work boots. Although I am moderately encouraged by these recent developments, there is still a great deal of confusion to slice through when it comes to manhood in our culture. More alarming, there seems to be confusion about godly manhood among Christian husbands. Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with beards, flannels, bonfires, work boots, pocket knives, pickup trucks, or hatchet throwing. In fact, it might do some of us a lot of good to put our phones down and spend some time in the woods. Nevertheless, God’s […]