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 […]
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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 […]
We need better men. No, we don’t need perfect men, but we do need better men. Even though Christ is the only perfect man and the sole head of the church, the body of Christ needs men of integrity and grit. Although this book is written with love and goodwill, it is a direct call to war. It is a call for Christian men to make war against the things that belittle the glory of God, wound their wives and children, and disqualify them from fruitful ministry. At the outset, I want to lay down a gauntlet by urging you to examine yourself. Has the gospel of Jesus Christ come to you in power? By God’s grace, have you come […]
Many godly men and women have put pen to paper and produced wonderfully God-exalting books about marriage. It is with great humility (and some frayed nerves) that I offer this simple work to you, my brother, for your joy and the glory of God. In one sense, the sacred institution of marriage has always suffered violence at the hands of our spiritual enemy and man’s own inherent depravity. However, our day is one in which the Christ-magnifying institution of marriage is enduring not merely bullets and hand grenades, but atomic bombs. The aim of this book is simple yet multifaceted. I want to lovingly charge Christian men to embrace the well-known yet seldom-lived call of Ephesians chapter five: “Husbands, love […]
“Man Up, Kneel Down by J. Aaron White encouraged me as a husband and gave me practical suggestions for how I can grow in my love and care for my wife. You can’t ask for more out of a book. Good marriage books are like vitamins, you gotta keep taking them to benefit. So, get a copy of Man Up, Kneel Down and get the spiritual nutrition you need to keep your marriage growing and healthy.” —Marty Machowski, author of The Ology and Parenting First Aid: Hope for the Discouraged Many Christian husbands know and affirm the apostle Paul’s command: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). However, busy schedules, […]
The truth that God can work good out of this season of depression (Romans 8: 28) is a consolation to use sensitively. However, it’s not without biblical merit to suggest that God intends to use this season of suffering to spiritually refine both you and your teen. Let’s briefly consider three purposes. First, you may find that your teen’s depression serves as an opportunity for you to share the gospel with him or her. If your child has yet to place his or her hope in Christ, now is the time to extend God’s gracious invitation. It may be God’s plan that your teen comes to saving faith in Jesus because of this trial (Psalm 119:71). If your teen doesn’t […]