Submission is a dirty word in 2022. In reality, I think there’s something in our human hearts that is timelessly offended by the idea of submitting ourselves to someone or something outside of ourselves. Particularly in independence-loving America, the idea of submission goes completely against our natural tendency. But according to Scripture, our role in …
Today marks one year since the riot on Capitol Hill during the turbulent transition between Donald Trump’s presidency and that of Joe Biden. Last January I wrote about the road that led to the Capitol riot and the divergence that caught many of us by surprise. In a year, much has changed. Trump is no …
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3 Do you consider hopelessness as a prerequisite for salvation? The truth is, before we can drink from the fountain of God’s abundant and saving grace, we must first despair of the existence of any other fountain. The Gospel is not …
Usually, I try to avoid “hot take” articles. If I’m addressing a trending cultural issue, I like to give a few weeks or months of space before addressing it. But I’ll break that pattern here because I recently finished listening to the twelve-part serial podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill from Christianity Today …
Note: This is an edited version of a commencement speech I gave earlier this month. The world preaches the power of passion, autonomy, and self-discovery to young people. David Brooks pointed this out in a 2011 opinion piece for the New York Times. He writes: “If you sample some of the commencement addresses being broadcast …
Reading the news has turned into a harrowing practice of castle intrigue. You never know who to trust while you’re sulking in the shadows. Perhaps that’s too dramatic. But the point is this: trust is hard to come by in our culture. “Fake news” is pervasive and everyone on the left is pointing the finger …
There are various degrees of care. Think of it like a ladder. The bottom step is apathy, which is a lack of care. Apathy doesn’t care or feel sorry for what someone else is going through. The next step up is sympathy. Sympathy feels bad for another’s suffering. Sympathy is recognition, acknowledgement, and understanding of …
Our culture is obsessed with the idol of personal happiness. Everywhere we look we see people desperately trying to find happiness and security while minimizing pain and suffering in their lives. People look for meaning and fulfillment in their careers, their families, their possessions, and other identities. In the last fifteen months or so, we …
So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:30-31, ESV We place far too much weight in having answers and far too little weight …
Imagine the chaotic scene: a city in turmoil as enemies bear down on it. Preparations are being made hastily to flee the coming onslaught. To make matters more complex, the enemies are the other side of a civil war. They are not a foreign army. They are brothers and countrymen. Allegiances are shifting. Hearts are …
