Truth is always good. No matter how harsh it feels. Truth always liberates. No matter how restrictive it seems. And therefore, truth is always worth embracing, celebrating, and proclaiming. It is for this reason that I am delighted to sign the Nashville Statement and proclaim it with joy! Because it is always a good time for truth.
Read MoreHow can we work to create an environment where deep and meaningful friendships can form? This is exactly the question I was hoping to address at a women's event at my church recently. In this post you can listen to my talk on How to Cultivate Community.
Read MoreTaking up our cross to follow Jesus is often a painful experience—but we desperately need it. The invitation to die—to take up our cross and lose our lives for Jesus—is truly an invitation to newness of life, to union with Christ, and to ultimate freedom from sin.
Read MoreThe longer you walk with God, the more dangerous the path. It’s dangerous not because of hardship and suffering (though they may be present) but because of the temptation to rely on your ever-growing experience instead of on Christ alone.
Read MoreFor the Christian, the college years are often marked by grand desires to change the world in the name of Jesus. It is a time filled with ministry opportunities and therefore marked by busyness for many young people who don't want to waste any ministry opportunity in their path. But doing things for Jesus cannot and should not be your primary goal. If it is, you have sidelined the only work that truly matters: knowing God through Jesus, His Son.
Read MoreWe all need friends who stick closer than a brother, who will be there for us in good and bad times, but to treat a friendship with the weight, exclusivity, and ownership of a marriage brings serious dangers. In just a moment, things can go from seemingly safe and good to horribly bad and harmful.
Read MoreHow can a desire to pour into someone else's life for the sake of the gospel go wrong? The desire certainly isn't wrong. But our prone-to-wander hearts and our crafty, disguised-as-an-angel-of-light enemy can distort God's good design if we aren't sober-minded and watchful. Here's how you can tell if a mentoring relationship is beginning to veer off into the ditch of neediness.
Read MoreJesus is our Bread of Life, our Living Water, our Pearl of Great Price, our Light, our Resurrection, our very Life. The greatest danger to our souls is that we might abandon abiding in him, following him, and finding our joy in him. Therefore, the best gift a friend can give is a commitment to fight for our joy in and communion with Christ. Conversely, the worst distortion of friendship arises when a friend encourages us, consciously or unconsciously, to place our affections elsewhere.
Read MoreThe things we covet and crave are often good things. But even so, to covet is to become enamored with something other than God. And craving God's gifts when you already have God Himself is preferring the gifts above the Giver.
Read MoreThough we have more access to the Bible than any generation before us, most Christians still have never read it all. The abundance of biblical access, on smartphones and bookshelves, generally hasn't resulted in an increased personal knowledge of the Word. And yet our generation speaks very authoritatively about God and the Bible.
Lack of knowledge plus authoritative opinions: This is a dangerous combination.
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