While our collective declaration of “New year, new me” is powerful on January 1, it loses steam quickly. The second Friday in January is known as Quitters Day because so many of us give up by then.
Articles on The Christian Life
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Why I Believe God Is Sovereign over Suffering
Scripture is not silent when it comes to the question of God's sovereignty in our suffering.
Learn to Say “Help” to the Lord
It is not always easy to talk openly to the Lord. We need help, but it is difficult to actually ask God for it. Why is it so difficult? Why do we sometimes resist speaking to him?
4 Essentials for Finishing Well
As we think of the endurance of the saints, of enduring to the end and finishing well, there is no better example in Scripture than that of the apostle Paul.
Finding God's Grace While Waiting for a Prodigal
By God’s grace, waiting on a prodigal can actually strengthen your faith.
Dangers for the Churchless Christian
If you try to grow as a Christian apart from a church, your growth will be misshapen.
An Open Letter to a Young Woman Contemplating an Abortion
If by “personal” we mean something that belongs to you and no one else, your decision about whether or not to end this pregnancy by abortion is not as personal as they say.
A Biblical Understanding of Depression
On top of the burdens of despondency, hopelessness, and guilt that sufferers of depression already shoulder, too often interactions with those in the church cement fears about inadequate faith.
3 Things God Will Never Do with Your Sin
When we interact one with another, all too often we let our response be guided or dictated by past infractions. But this is precisely what God will never do.
The Hidden Value of Pastoral Gentleness
As leaders of God’s people, we all long to make a difference for Christ. We don’t want to be unfruitful. The main reason to nurture gentleness is neither pragmatic nor historical, but biblical.
Mary J. Moerbe, Gene Edward Veith Jr.
Scripture is clear that all earthly fatherhood finds its origin in our heavenly Father, but it also reveals more than that.
Sanctification is a process that lasts a lifetime—it follows no formula or schedule. God's grace sustains us to grow as we simply point in the right direction.
The Internet Perpetuates Our Spiritual Dementia
Spiritual dementia is incompatible with Christian faithfulness. As both a church historian and a pastor, I’m increasingly convinced that life in the digital age compounds the potential for losing our theological and ethical memory.
Because your world is not out of control but under God’s careful redemptive control, you can have hope even when it looks to you as if darkness is winning the day.
Why the 10 Commandments Are Still Relevant
The law in the New Testament is to show us that in the life of the believer, the law is in fact a means of grace because it shows us what pleases God.
The true woman does not compartmentalize domesticity, nor does she reduce it to a set of behaviors.
An Open Letter to the Pastor Desiring Racial Reconciliation in the Church
Reconciliation—vertical and horizontal—is the goal of the good news. Gospel unity creates racial harmony.
This Day in History: The Death of Hudson Taylor
Today marks the 113th anniversary of the death of Hudson Taylor, missionary to China. His legacy of faithfulness lives on.
How to Love God and Your Neighbor through Your Work
Four New Testament passages provide a cross section of the New Testament’s teaching on how to love God through our work.
4 Tips for Discipling Younger Women
Older women are to be faithful examples as they teach younger women. As you think about Paul's message to older women, consider these questions from the book of Titus.
If My Sins Are Fully Forgiven, Why Must I Confess My Sins Daily?
There are a lot of Christians today who, amazingly, deny the importance of confessing our sins. It has to do with this distinction between eternal union and experiential communion.
When Studying the Bible, Don’t Follow Your Heart
We speak often in the church about how Christianity is a religion of the heart. It is right to speak of Christianity in this way, but not exclusively in this way.
6 Habits of Heart and Mind for Lifelong Learners
Lifelong learning for the glory of Christ calls for continual growth in six habits of mind and heart. We seek to instill these habits in our students so that their education does not stop when their schooling stops.
When we are praying in the Spirit, we are being obedient to what the Spirit desires, and bringing those desires to God in prayer.
The Connection between Thankfulness and Joy
Joy is fostered in us as we come together as God’s people, with God at the center.
Actually, Goodness and Mercy Don’t Follow Us
When we see it or experience it personally, human goodness can be truly amazing. It can be life-giving and liberating. So, too, steadfast love.
Do the Psalms Contain Self-Righteous Boasting? (Psalms 7, 17, and 26)
A number of psalms include professions of innocence, and these professions are not casual but prominent in the songs. Some have taken the claims of innocence here as a kind of self-righteous boasting, but this is a mistake.
Why Do Christians Still Feel Depressed?
Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy.
We develop wisdom by knowing the Bible and by relying on the Holy Spirit to help us correctly live it out.
How Advent Teaches Us to Wait Well
The hardest thing about waiting is not knowing when it’s going to end, if it is going to end.