After recently reading my original blog, Suicide and the Bible, a reader kindly asked a common question: I was reading your "Suicide and the Bible"..and I just have a question. I'm genuinely curious to know what you think about this. So you're saying nowhere in the Bible does it say suicide will send you to … Continue reading Suicide and the Bible – Part 2 of 2
Grace
Heaven
As a Christian, I believe in heaven. As a pastor, I've studied and taught about heaven. As a musician, I've noted that almost every single hymn written has heaven the subject of its final verse. When my dad died I didn't really think differently about heaven. When my sister died I didn't really think differently … Continue reading Heaven
For Those Who Have Ever Doubted Your Christian Faith
Have you ever, as a born-again Christian, secretly (or publicly) doubted God, or your faith? If so, it means one thing: You're normal. I heard a wise preacher once say, "Doubt is a parasite of faith." British author/scholar, Os Guinness, rightly stated, "If [Christianity] is an examined faith we should be unafraid to doubt. There … Continue reading For Those Who Have Ever Doubted Your Christian Faith
Lessons from Middle Earth
[Jesus said], "A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10, Message) In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (The Return of the King), Lady Éowyn desperately desires to be allowed to … Continue reading Lessons from Middle Earth
The Faith of Christianity vs. the Faith of Atheism
I saw the following quote posted in a "proof for the existence of God" debate recently. I thought it was a very kind and thought-provoking response: "...to believe there is no God, or to lack belief in a God, still requires faith. You have to trust that the arguments of natural theology are false. You … Continue reading The Faith of Christianity vs. the Faith of Atheism
Not Guilty (For those living under the crippling weight of guilt.)
We've all blown it in one way or another. And when we do blow it, Satan dispatches a battalion of demons assigned to deceive us, relentlessly filling our mind with this lie: your failures define you. For those who succumb to that lie, what follows is a life lived under a crippling mentality of oppressive … Continue reading Not Guilty (For those living under the crippling weight of guilt.)
Bethlehem Happened for One Reason: Calvary
From Philip Yancey's award-winning book, "The Jesus I Never Knew": "When the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci went to China in the sixteenth century, he brought along samples of religious art to illustrate the Christian story for people who had never heard it. The Chinese readily adopted portraits of the Virgin Mary holding her child, but … Continue reading Bethlehem Happened for One Reason: Calvary
Pascal’s Wager
When we die, what do you think is on the other side? (good question) Recently, I read a story of a son (a Christian) asking his father (not a Christian) if he ever worried about what happens after we die. “The next life?” the father said. “I’ll worry about that when I get there!” But, … Continue reading Pascal’s Wager
Christmas & Brueghel’s “Procession to Calvary”
The year was 1564, and Danish painter, Pieter Brueghel, is completing a perplexing work. It will come to be known as "The Procession to Calvary". But there's something most intriguing about this painting. Like the "Where's Waldo?" pictures (begun by Martin Handford in 1987), the observer has to diligently search Brueghel's painting to even find … Continue reading Christmas & Brueghel’s “Procession to Calvary”
He’s All You Need: The Sufficiency of Christ
So sufficient and complete is Christ that there is no other God besides him (Isa. 45:5); he is the only begotten Son (John 1:14, 18); all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in him (Col. 2:3); the fullness of deity dwells bodily in him (Col. 2:9); he is heir of all things (Heb. 1:2); … Continue reading He’s All You Need: The Sufficiency of Christ