The difficulties we encounter are not part of some earthly purgatory or boot camp for heaven. They are part of the unnatural situation sin has brought into the world, making heavenly realities particularly hard to grasp. Yet, our walk through this life, as difficult as it may get at times, is ordered by the same... Continue Reading

If tolerance means that we discuss our disagreements with civility: deal. If tolerance means that we engage without the use of logical fallacies such as straw man and ad-hominem arguments, I’m game. If tolerance means approval, someone else said it better than me: “Yeah, that’s gonna be a ‘no’ from me, dawg.”   Can’t we all... Continue Reading

Look again and you’ll see around the globe, so many brothers and sisters drawn into Christ’s family who love their saviour and are hungry for his word.  You’ll see people passionate about sharing the good news and you’ll meet people who truly love one another, often sacrificially. It’s a church that includes people who have... Continue Reading

From where were these thoughts emanating? In my brain, Marxism was settled social science. Lenin’s hatred for the “figment of man’s imagination” called “God” was not new to me. It’s hard for me to convey the strangeness, the otherness, of this experience. I have trouble sitting still during lectures. I like to walk while thinking.... Continue Reading

Imagine going to Niagara Falls, and, instead of experiencing a slow diminishment of wonder and delight, your awe at the falls is not only sustained but also increases over time. This is what fellowship and communion with God will be like for all of eternity. Or, for you music lovers, just imagine listening to the... Continue Reading

How we should be ready to forgive, to extend to others what we long for from them, and more importantly what we long for from God. Jesus warns that an unforgiving nature in us can expect no forgiveness from him on the Day of Judgment (see Matthew 18:21-35).   Maybe it has always been thus—the... Continue Reading

Don’t apologize for walking in the freedom of Jesus. If another person refuses to walk in the light of Christ their darkness isn’t your fault. But beware of our own inner-Pharisee. Our “vulnerability” can really just be a ploy for regaining power. Be wary of the impossible burdens our hearts desire to put upon others.... Continue Reading

Remember that “cultural pluralism” is at the heart of the first amendment. Christians must reflect their Lord who said “Come now, and let us reason together (Is 1:18), in order to do what is “right and just and fair” (Prov 1:5). God loves fairness and “detests dishonest scales” (Prov 11:1), but God is the one... Continue Reading

When the bride of Christ lives out of an eschatological hope that looks forward to the new heaven and earth, to her long-awaited wedding day, and to her home in a new creation temple, she prays. Strikingly, this is where the book of Revelation ends. In Revelation 22, we find two distinct prayers of Christ’s bride…... Continue Reading

Man is an imaginative creature. Perhaps this is part of what it means to be in the image of God. Unlike animals, we continually turn creation into symbols: words, paintings, stories, poems, songs, sculptures, miniatures, structures, decorations. What are we doing? We turn the raw stuff of creation into things that carry meaning. We create... Continue Reading