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In: Bible and Theology, God's Character, Grace, Post-Modernism

A revised reprint of a timeless article from May 11, 2007.   The Church is a family, not a daycare. Yet many churches say “when you’re here, you’re family” à la the Olive Garden. While we focus on numbers like a business, some in our churches today have been raised in church their whole lives and still have little understanding of the gospel. The surrounding culture says, “there are no absolute boundaries of right and wrong. We each get to create our own, and all of our contradicting boundaries are valid as long as we’re each doing what is right for us.” How should we respond in theRead More →

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In: Idols, Post-Modernism, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

“If you feel someone is judging you, feel free to judge them back and punish them until your wrath has been fully satisfied.” These words do not appear anywhere in the Bible. Yet how often do we, God’s people, behave like God said that? Who among us has never responded tit for perceived tat? We may do this based on assumptions founded on past experience or based on how we felt in response to something someone said. To begin with, the past isn’t a reliable predictor of the present and future, and the hurt we feel in response to someone’s words isn’t an innately reliableRead More →

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In: Abuse, Bible and Theology, Dreams and Spiritual Warfare, Idols, Legalism, Morality, Post-Modernism, Sin and Holiness, Suffering

Dear Andrea, Some fellow Christians I know and love have said critical things about Christians having their own “Christianese” language, their own books and movies,  their own methods for finding a spouse, etc. They accuse fellow believers who try to live according to the Word and defy the ways of our secular culture of living in a bubble and can be so harsh and condemning. It is hurtful and confusing when Christians say such things. What should I do? Yours, Gentle Reader Dear Gentle Reader, Christians having their own Christian culture isn’t wrong. In fact, the Bible says we are a holy nation, citizens ofRead More →

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In: Bible and Theology, Gospel, Post-Modernism, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:76-79 John the Baptist’s father Zechariah is prophesying over his newborn son about the Baptist’s ministry. That the Baptist was the forerunner of the messiah whoRead More →

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In: Bible and Theology, God's Character, God's love, Gospel, Grace, Legalism, Post-Modernism, Sin and Holiness

This year, I am thankful for something quite odd in today’s culture. I am thankful for a God who is, without apology, jealous and controlling. Yes, I am thankful for a God who demands absolute loyalty and obedience from his servants and children, a God who is intolerant of anyone seeking to rival him in his glory, especially in terms of power over others, or even over ourselves.  I am thankful for a God who is a perfectionist in the extreme, allowing not the slightest spot, blemish, wrinkle, or stain into his spiritual presence in Heaven. I am thankful for a God who has decreed a deathRead More →