Author: S&P

  With school having started again recently, my life is seemingly consumed with the topic. At home, we have a closet full of school supplies. My desk is covered with textbooks, notebooks, and grade books (metaphorically speaking). So, much of my conversation at this time of the year relates to students and school. Today, I want to reflect on the teachers. Specifically, I want to consider the ...

My quiet moment at an Alaskan lakeside was interrupted with the sounds of young boys as they rushed from a minivan to the side of the lake. They didn’t notice anyone was there as they looked for the small flat stones and began to hurl them across the water. I watched as the pebbles danced and made ripples that reached toward the mountain scene that was making the backdrop so beautiful. There were ...

Ever come to the end of a book and felt like you were still in the middle of the story? Maybe you were. Some of the longer biblical writings were divided into parts over time. But the overall literary patterns remain. That’s why we sometimes don’t get a sense of an ending when we reach the end of a book. In order to get the book’s full message, we to need read all the parts as a single work. Some ...

All Christians believe the doctrine of the Trinity. If you do not believe this—that is, if you have come to a settled conclusion that the doctrine of the Trinity is not true—you are not a Christian at all. You are in fact a heretic. Those words may sound harsh, but they represent the judgment of the Christian church across the centuries. What is the Trinity? Christians in every land unite in procl...

The answer to that question is easy and straightforward, and it is “no.” Nevertheless, even as the question is clear, the answer requires some explanation. The issue is clearly framed in this case. Christianity is rightly defined in terms of “traditional Christian orthodoxy.” Thus, we have an objective standard by which to define what is and is not Christianity. We are not ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from God Is Great, God Is Good: Why Believing in God Is Reasonable and Responsible edited by William Lane Craig and Chad Meister (IVP). This chapter by Alister McGrath. IS RELIGION EVIL? In October 2005, the World Congress of the International Academy of Humanism took place in upstate New York. Its theme: “Toward a New Enlightenment....

November 1st is All Saints Day! This ceremonial event is a day that we praise all the saints — known & unknown! To honor All Saints Day, please join us in reading or saying this quick devotion:  Dear God, praise you for giving us the glorious example of the Saints. I aspire to meet their company, praising you forever in Heaven. Please help me to follow in their footsteps, and yours,...

Have you mastered prayer? I haven’t. I suspect few Christians would report having mastered this great privilege and discipline. In fact, I suspect that most Christians may even feel burdened by their lack of prayer and the seeming ineffectiveness of prayer. We read “pray without ceasing” and it becomes “guilt without ceasing.” If that happens to us, we’ve lost o...

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 that people are saved by grace through faith. But what does that really mean? A common answer is that we’re saved from going to hell when we die. But the truth is, salvation is so much more – as is the grace by which we receive it through faith. Salvation is God’s righteousness at work in us when we say yes to His plan. Saying yes is how we demonstrate faith. We g...