Does God Hate?

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …