Eventually you can instinctively identify the way your spouse would react to a situation, assess its wisdom in this situation, and adopt it sometimes in a way that you never would have been able to pr...
Even if we accept responsibility for wrongdoing, we believe we can fix this. The most common way we try to do that is to apply the technology of morality. We believe that with hard work and/or fastidi...
Do you realize that it is only in the gospel of Jesus Christ that you get the verdict before the performance? The atheist might say that they get their self-image from being a good person. They are a...
Deep humility. Examination: Have I looked down on anyone? Have I been too stung by criticism? Have I felt snubbed and ignored? Consider the free grace of Jesus until I sense (a) decreasing disdain, si...
Could the observers of the crucifixion clearly perceive the ways of God? No—even though they were looking right at a wonder of grace. They saw only darkness and pain, and the categories of human reaso...
Christians who don’t understand no condemnation only obey out of fear and duty. That is not nearly as powerful a motivation as love and gratitude. If
Christians don’t face adversity by stoically decreasing our love for the people and things of this world so much as by increasing our love and joy in God.
By the time we get to the third story, and we hear about the plight of the lost son, we are fully prepared to expect that someone will set out to search for him. No one does. It is startling, and Jesu...
But, she says, if she could break them when they appear inconvenient to her, of what would be their worth? If you only obey God's word when it seems reasonable or profitable to you - well, that isn't...
But really—everyone is Niggle. Everyone imagines accomplishing things, and everyone finds him- or herself largely incapable of producing them.
But perhaps the clearest symptom of this lack of assurance is a dry prayer life. Though elder brothers may be diligent in prayer, there is no wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in their conversations w...
Becoming a Christian is not like signing up for a gym; it is not a living well program that will help you flourish and realize your potential.
Augustine writes: We love God, therefore, for what He is in Himself, and [we love] ourselves and our neighbors for His sake. That
Atheists and agnostics ask for this kind of proof for God, but are not alone in holding to strong rationalism. Many Christians claim that their arguments for faith are so strong that all who reject th...
Ask and you shall receive (Matt 7:7–8)—Ask with confidence and hope. Don’t be afraid that you will ask for the wrong thing. Of course you will! God tempers the outcome with his incomprehensible wisdom...
Aristotle very famously said in his Politics I.V.8 that some people are born to be slaves. He meant that some people are not as capable of higher rational thought and therefore should do the work that...
Anything that is functionally more important to you than God is an idol. Anything you love more than God—even a good thing like a spouse or child or social cause—is a false god. Because we love them t...
An ounce of sin can harm us more than a ton of suffering. Sin can harden our hearts so we lose everything, but suffering, if handled rightly, can make us wiser, happier, and deeper.
An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.
All that is required to know this salvation is belief: it is offered to everyone who believes (v 16).