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Christian Doubt? What to Do, Part II
The author explains that experiencing doubt about faith is common, even among biblical figures. The core message is that God’s love is profound and unchanging, as illustrated in Zephaniah 3:17, where God is depicted as rejoicing over his people with singing. Accepting this love helps overcome spiritual doubts.
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Regarding Butker—The Time I Told a Military Pilot to Value His Wife and Family
The narrative follows the struggles of a military C-130 instructor who encounters moral dilemmas concerning work-life balance through conversations with his copilots. The instructor supports placing family over work commitments, a stance conflicting with mainstream career-focused perspectives. These interactions highlight broader cultural critiques regarding personal values versus professional achievements, ultimately emphasizing the importance of family and personal contentment over career and status. The text critiques contemporary societal norms and champions prioritizing personal happiness and family life.
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Christian Doubt? What to Do, Part I
In the throes of doubt, even the devout like John the Baptist and Jesus' disciples experienced uncertainty. Emphasizing that such doubts are commonplace among believers, the narrator offers reassurance that feeling this way is not unusual—even those closest to Jesus doubted. Consequently, he suggests looking to Jesus' reactions of grace and a promised continuous presence as a reminder to persevere in faith amidst skepticism. The author teases a forthcoming part that will address sustaining faith in challenging times.
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Superhero Gets 4-Star Review!
John M. Murray reviews Stephen K. Moore's self-help book "Superhero," which uses a plane's near-crash allegory to advise on mental health and personal betterment. Blending faith with science, it offers steps for self-improvement and social cohesion, tackling diverse issues. Though Christianity-based, it's inclusive to all faiths and ends with a practical workbook.
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White, Wheat, or Jesus?
So, these folks get fed by Jesus one afternoon with food miraculously expanded by our Savior. He took the meal of a young boy and fed more than 5,000 people. Some of these people evidently didn’t get it. There was a big message in what Jesus did–and they totally missed the point. The very next day (This story is found in John 6:22 and following) some of these folks showed up again seeking Jesus. Well, not really, they were seeking food. These hungry folks even use Scripture to try to manipulate Jesus into performing yet another miracle to fill their bellies. He does not fall for it, but rather ends…
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Rejoice Always, Really?
So the Apostle Paul is problematic. He says things like “Pray without ceasing” and “give thanks in all circumstances.” (I Thes. 5:17) As I said in an earlier article about the “pray without ceasing” admonishment from the same text—this one is a bit difficult. Okay, it’s a whole lot difficult. Life gets really tough—there is sorrow, suffering, loss, anxiety, and loads of stress for just about everyone. It seems in certain seasons of life all of these just mount up all at once and life gets grueling. Paul tells us to “rejoice always?” Really? God Wants You to Be Happy? I’ve heard a lot of folks say (especially doing the…
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Pray Without Ceasing? Really?
So. yeah, the Bible says to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). For the longest time I thought that was sort of metaphorical. What Paul the Apostle really meant was “pray regularly” or “pray a lot.” Not any more. Paul was on to something vital to our spiritual formation—something profound and…beautiful. We can and should “pray without ceasing,” but the reason why I thought is was metaphorical is because of some basic misunderstandings about some really important realities. The Nervous Pray-er I learned what I initially learned about prayer mainly from watching men at church lead public prayer. Way back in the 90s’ I had a group of young friends…
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The Need for a Spiritual Reset, Part II
In Part I, we discussed how sometimes when things aren’t going well in just about any area of life, we could benefit from a reset. This is especially true in spiritual matters. While many have identified problems amongst the people of God, the suggested solutions are often unbiblical and not helpful in advancing the kingdom of God. I left our discussion last time with a tease about what the Spirit informed me when I was asked to preach on the topic of “Does the Church Need to Change?” His answer was, “Yes.” What needed to change? What did the guy who taught others how to initiate and sustain conversations, to…
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Spiritual Reset? Could be Good…
“Honey, my computer is doing this weird thing, it’s really slow and this window keeps popping up,” said my lovely wife on the phone. I was 1,600 miles away on a trip, being asked to fix a computer I couldn’t see. At some point my advice was “turn it off and then back on again.” In other words, reset. I was doing the preflight inspection on a McDonell Douglas MD-11. We were getting all sorts of strange warnings on cockpit displays and nothing seemed to remedy it. We called the mechanics, they saw all the confusing indications and decided to “take all the power off and then back on again.”…
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Yeah, What Moses Said…
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it took me a long time to notice something. There is one Psalm in the Bible that was written by…wait for it…Moses himself. I know, he’s just a person like you or me, but he is so central to the Bible story. In his faithfulness to God he saved his nation—and thereby played a huge role in bringing my Savior into the world. Moses is cool. Of course, in the spirit of “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23) he was also a hot mess. To save his own bacon he claims his beautiful wife was his sister…
