What Does It Mean to Walk with God?
One of the best ways to get to know someone is to go hiking together. I mean, really, what better way to bond than trekking through the Oregon wilderness together? When you go for a hike, you aren’t just taking…
Praying Like Elijah
“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20, CSB) Prayer is…
The Bible’s Enduring Authority and Our Perennial Questions
Picture the scene. A seasoned fisherman has labored all night, but he and his team have come up empty. Out of the blue, an itinerant rabbi tells this blue-collar worker that he will catch some fish if he lets down…
Walk by the Spirit
Sin is always selfish. We may find ways to justify it, rationalize it, and make excuses for it. But in the end, sin is always about serving the self; it puts self in the place of God by determining what…
Suicide and the Serious Business of Heaven
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV) Jesus wants us to experience joy. The Bible is all about finding joy from the true Fountain of…
The Danger of Delayed Discipleship
Throughout my life, I can think of several dates when the plans for my day were totally upended. The death of a relative. An unexpected phone call. 9/11. A co-worker tragedy. In most of these examples, when the plan for…
Does Your Soul Thirst for God?
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2, NIV) Like most larger animals in the forest, deer need a lot…
God Invented Romance
Marriage is central to the storyline of the Bible. From its earliest chapters, we see that God created the man and the woman for each other and told them to “Be fruitful and multiply.” The marital union of two becoming…
Speaking the Truth in Love about Abortion
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15, NIV) It’s not easy to talk about abortion. In our culture, merely expressing pro-life…
Why Does the Virgin Conception Matter?
I always want to encourage my fellow Christians that theology is not a stuffy subject reserved for uptight scholars to study in their ivory towers. Theology literally means “the study of God.” It is our extraordinary privilege to investigate the…