It’s easy for modern Christians to scoff at the Pharisees. In the Gospels, they appear mean, petty, and vindictive.  Let’s be careful, though. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day, enjoying and abusing their power and prestige. Today’s church leaders face these same temptations.  But it’s not just...

1 Kings tells us of two men. Ahab and Elijah, who two took very different life journeys. I showed you Ahab’s journey, and now I want to show you Elijah’s journey.   If you find yourself in a hard place at a dark time, do not be surprised at this. This is the...

Here are my favorite quotes from key Christian articles around the web, including a disobedient king, George Whitefield's conversion, and more! A Tale of Two Journeys, Part One: Ahab's Disobedient Journey (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible) Anger is not God’s natural state. The pagans believed in gods who were angry by nature....

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;  be gracious to me and answer me!  You have said, “Seek my face.”  My heart says to you,  “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me.  (Psalm 27:7-9)  There was a time in my life when I questioned my...

Perhaps you’ve noticed the decline of friendship in contemporary culture. It’s common nowadays to have relationships through Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, without any face-to-face contact. We “friend” and “follow” one another on Facebook, people we’ve not actually met. We participate in online “communities,” even though self-disclosure is limited to the superficial bits.   In other segments of culture, we see a hunger for transparency and vulnerability in...

Growing up, I revered the Ten Commandments. My understanding of them, however, was limited in such a way that revealed my pride: They were to me a list of what I should (and could) do to earn God's favor.   To me, the Ten Commandments seemed an achievable measure of a sinless life. There’s only ten of...

1 Kings tells us of two men. Ahab and Elijah, who two took very different life journeys. I want to show you Ahab’s disobedient journey, and then, in a second article, show you Elijah’s faithful journey.   Meet Ahab  Ahab came to the throne about sixty years after the death of...

Here are my favorite quotes from key Christian articles around the web, including the 10 commandments of progressive Christianity, freedom in Christ, and a look into the best systematic theologies. The 10 Commandments of Progressive Christianity (Michael J Kruger, canon fodder) I have also been struck by how each of the...