Does God Hate? This topic probably didn’t get a lot of airplay from your childhood Sunday school teacher –and understandably so. Generally speaking, it is wrong to hate. The issue of God’s hatred is not just a theological riddle. The way we answer this question cuts to the heart of our understanding of God and …
Tag Archives: righteousness
Hope for Families Touched by Suicide
Yesterday I listened to callers on a local radio talk show discuss whether or not suicide was an unpardonable sin. (Whether or not a person can commit suicide and still go to heaven) Its always interesting to me how a subject like this can spark heated discussion among people who ordinarily wouldn’t discuss spiritual things. …
More Than Forgiveness
I love the way John Stott describes the great exchange we have in Christ. “When we are united to Christ a mysterious exchange takes place: he took our curse, so that we may receive his blessing; he became sin with our sin, so that we may become righteous with his righteousness.” (Stott: The Cross of …
What a Gift!
On his last birthday, my son Bryce received more than enough gifts. In fact, weeks after the fact, there are still a few of the toys that still haven’t been taken out of their packaging. Its not that Bryce doesn’t like them, its just that he hasn’t made his way through all of the other …
The Recurring Dream I Dread Most
I have a recurring dream that won’t go away. It’s the last day of my senior year in High School. I show up for class eager to graduate that night. After the bell rings, the teacher asks for our final assignments. I panic because I suddenly realize I haven’t been to class in months –and …
Gotta Serve Somebody
You are a slave to anything you can’t (or won’t) stop thinking about. By definition, the person to whom you are enslaved has power over you. Spiritually speaking, we all enter this world as slaves to sin (Romans 3:23), “following the prince of the power of the air,” Satan (Eph. 2:1). Slave masters are very …
Don’t Stand in Their Way
“Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked” (John 5:8). In John 5, Jesus heals a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. You would think that everyone would be happy for the man. …
Throw Logic Out?
Everyone seems to be outraged by gas prices these days. Most of us are paying over $3 per gallon. That equates to approximately 2 ½ cents per ounce for the final product. Of course, reflected in that price is the cost of pumping oil out of the ground, transporting it to a refinery (where it …
Who Should Choose the Wedding Dress?
Jill went through great lengths to keep her dress a secret until our wedding day. I even remember how much care she took to make sure I didn’t catch a peak of her bridal portrait shoot. Apparently, things are changing. According to a recent survey, 19% (almost 1/5) of grooms say they are either solely …