Strengthening Faith, Love, and Hope
Strengthening Faith, Love, and Hope
Well, it’s that time of year again—the time when the NBA shuffles its talent pool through some mid-season trades. Even though it’s a little weird to watch players get traded away to other franchises like human poker cards, the trades usually don’t bother me unless they involve one of my favorite players (I still don’t think the Lakers will move Pau Gasol). They’re usually just…
Sometimes angry or hurting people will give voice to their discouragement by asking an oft-repeated question: “Where is God anyway?” Understandably, they ask the question when He appears to be absent in an important area of their lives. And they’re not alone in asking it. Gideon asked it in Judges 6:13 when he said: “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened…
In recent months my daughters and I have become addicted to the Wii version of Super Mario Bros. My wife laughs at us as we alternately cheer, scream, and groan while our respective characters, Mario, Luigi, and Lemon-head face off against giant mushrooms, poisonous fish, and nasty snapping turtles. We’ve gotten pretty good—we’re more than halfway through the entire game—and we’ve also learned an important…
In recent weeks I’ve been posting essays from the book, One-Minute Answers to Skeptics, in our Sunday morning ministry guide (church bulletin). This week’s essay contains some thoughts on the troubling question: “How could a loving God send someone to hell,” and I thought the sentiment expressed in it was was worth re-posting here. “How can a loving God send someone to hell?”[1] The last…
I’ve discovered the answer for how to succeed in life, relationships, leadership, and ministry. However, before you write me off as either delusional or presumptuous, let me quickly say that I didn’t originate the answer—I just heard it and wrote it down. I was in a pastors’ training seminar with Pastor Jack Hayford (an esteemed author, teacher, and pastor to pastors) when I heard it.…