salvation

  One day several years ago, I was wasting too much time on Facebook and took one of those silly psychological profile tests called “Which Cartoon Character Are You?” Cartoon characters are evidently great stereotypes for the different kinds of temperaments and personalities. So, I took the test. I wish I hadn’t. Because guess which cartoon character I am? Not the lovable Mickey Mouse. Not the wisecracking Bugs Bunny. Not the vociferous rooster, Foghorn Leghorn. Not the smart and speedy Roadrunner who always outwits Wile E. Coyote. No, my profile showed me to be Scrat, the ambitious but constantly frustrated acorn-obsessed saber-tooth squirrel from the Ice Age movies. Scrat? Seriously? What does that say about me? I think it says that my reach exceeds my grasp. That my best laid schem...

Writing a generation ago, sociologist Christopher Lasch pointed to the weakening of the family as the most significant and dangerous development of our times. In his book, Haven in a Heartless World, Lasch described the breakdown of the natural family as a calamity for the society at large, as well as for the individuals whose lives are so directly affected. Tellingly, he also wrote this: “The first thing to understand about the present crisis of the family is that it did not materialize overnight.” Indeed, it did not. The current crisis of the family must be traced to economic, political, social, and ideological causes. But there is another cause as well. The family crisis is a theological crisis, and this must be the church’s first concern. The first theological fact about the family is ...

  One of the most wonderful experiences believers can share is being part of a strong, growing church. What a joy it is to share in a congregation that has unity, love, holiness, a sense of the Spirit in worship, Christ-centered preaching, God-fearing leaders, members of all age groups and ministries towards all members, and a passion for reaching the lost. In contrast, it is burdensome to be part of a dying congregation: Worship is mundane, large age group segments are absent, there is strife among members and coldness toward visitors, and there is no purposeful preaching of the gospel to the lost or the baptized. Having been part of both thriving and dying churches, I have witnessed believers make choices that have either blessed or harmed the recovery of their congregations. Here a...

Editor’s Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Matthew Jacoby’s upcoming book, Deeper Places: Experiencing God in the Psalms, (Baker Books, 2013). When you want to deepen your relationship with God, you need to move beyond simply knowing about Him and seek personal encounters with Him. The Bible’s Psalms can help you do that. The Psalms are full of honest expressions of what it means to relate to God. They describe faith in action while dealing with the tension between this fallen world’s realities and the hope God offers you. Here’s how you can deepen your relationship with God by reading and responding to the Psalms: Express all the complexities inherent in a relationship with God. The Psalms show that sharing life with God involves communicating wi...

 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 I am deeply grieved by the early reports of two blasts occurring at the finish line of the boston marathon. There is a growing number of fatalities and dozens severely injured. Sadly, in a split second, people and families have been shattered and forever changed by this terrible tragedy. Pray in Hope The most powerful weapon at our disposal against evil is the hope-filled prayer of God’s people. Join me in praying for those in attendance as well as the families of those affected by this heinous act. Also, please pray for the policemen, firemen, and medical personnel treating and protecting the victims of this evil act—may God give these men and women helpful words for hurting people. Evil Is Rebellion M...

Criticizing the media for bias when it comes to coverage of religious and cultural issues is, sadly, all too easy. There are so many examples to choose from. Just this past weekend, after weeks of blogs, tweets, and other online commentaries charging media bias, the mainstream media has been forced to talk — however reluctantly — about Kermit Gosnell’s murder trial. Last month, Gosnell, a Pennsylvania abortion doctor, went on trial for seven counts of first-degree murder. The seven alleged victims were babies, survivors of late-term abortions accidentally born alive. Gosnell killed the infants in a manner that simply defies human decency, much less description. In addition, he is also being tried in connection with the death of a woman who died after a “botched late-term abortion.” I’ll sp...

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The cross is God’s gracious response to our own sinful and willful irresponsibility, choices, and actions. We sin. We are perpetrators of evil—and this separates us from God. It is this aspect of sin that has been dealt with by the vicarious sacrifice of the atonement. But we are also victims of sin. We have enemies who harm us. We are victims who have been sinned against in numerous ways. Because of sins done to us, we are also captive, held in bondage by powers in some sense external to us and greater than we are. Or we may be held in bondage to our own desires or fears, our self-centeredness or despair. Sometimes the Bible describes the human problem as suffering, being in bondage, slavery, or captivity, each and all of which separate us from God. What we need in this regard is for God ...

For many Americans of a certain age, the college admissions process is an oppressive and extraordinarily stressful area of life. It is performancism writ very, very large. One’s entire worth and value as a person is boiled down to a short transcript and application, which is then judged according to a stringent and ever-escalating set of standards. High-school seniors are called upon to justify themselves according to their achievements and interests, and as the top schools have gotten more and more competitive, so has the pressure under which our top students place themselves. Watching the students at our church go through it, not to mention my own kids, it’s hard not to sympathize. They feel that their entire lives are hanging in the balance, that where they go to school will dictate the...

Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? (Ecclesiastes 7:16) Can “be not overly righteous” really be saying what it seems to be saying? Does God actually want us to tone down our righteousness? In order to correctly determine the meaning of this clause, it must first be placed in its immediate context. The context of v. 16 is found in the paragraph of Ecclesiastes 7:15, which reads: (15) In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. (16) Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy [better translated as “astonish”] yourself? (17) Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool...