Category: CHRISTIAN LIFE
What Young George Muller Got Wrong, and then Right, About Bible Intake
I was a freshman in high school when the Lord saved me through hearing the gospel at a weekly Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting at my public high school. Once converted, I used a devotional provided by that ministry which amounted to reading a few verses...
J. C. Penney: A Life of Integrity
At the age of 22, James Cash Penney (1875-1971) worked as a clerk for a “Golden Rule” store. His honesty and work ethic led the owners to eventually offer him a partnership, and he opened his own store. James was so successful that he bought out...
“He Cannot Be My Disciple”: Jesus’ Conditions for Following Him
I recently traveled across the country to attend an international conference for the association that our local church is part of. When I arrived at the rental agency, they presented me with certain terms and conditions for my contract. I needed to be at least 25...
Understanding Suffering: Insights from Job
Where does suffering come from? Doesn’t God promise to protect us from suffering? The Book of Job provides divine wisdom meant to help us wrestle with these difficult questions by exploring the moral complexities of one godly man’s suffering. Here are five observations from Job’s suffering...
The Best Conversation I Ever Had
I am surprised that after so many decades I still remember one remarkable conversation as the best I’ve ever had outside of my immediate family. I’ve often reflected on it with amazement. A cousin by marriage met me in a restaurant in a suburb outside of...
Who is Affected By Sin?
The beginning of my loss of innocence came the day I discovered that a toy plastic disk fit nicely into a gumball machine — never mind that the toy disk was worth more than a penny. The value of the theft was small, but the resulting...
Purpose Until Death
I queried an older man who had become a dear friend with a pointedly stark question: what is your purpose in life? He is advanced in years. He ought to know by now. The question struck home, and he teared up trying to answer it. He...
Learning From Job: How We Should Think About Suffering
“Just as sure as sparks fly upward, likewise man is born for trouble” (Job 5:7). All of us are either coming out of a trial, in the midst of a trial, or will soon be going into a trial. When suffering comes, where will we find...
His Father and Ours
We probably all have a story of accidentally leaving a child behind somewhere. Maybe you arrived home from church with one less child. I once knew a guy who left his wife behind at a rest stop. Accidentally. When twelve-year-old Jesus was left behind at the...
“You Don’t Have to Say Something Biblical Right Away,” and Other Better Ways to Encourage Newly Suffering Believers
Believers suffer for the benefit of other suffering believers. Paul told the Corinthians that the affliction he and his team experienced in Asia was so difficult that “we despaired of life itself. Indeed we felt that we had received the sentence of death” (2 Cor 1:8b-9a)....
