One of the apostle Paul’s most significant teachings—one which we tend to gloss over and undervalue—concerns contentment during life’s trials. To the church at Philippi, he wrote, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil 4:11). Coming from a man who [ Read More ]
As a political opinion writer and speechwriter, I am generally amused by many of the critical comments people leave on my website or my Fox News Opinion pieces; sometimes I am amused because the comments are insults, other times because they are patently inane. Yet, other times, the critical comments should be taken seriously because [ Read More ]
The book of Job is not the kind of light-hearted treatise that we pair with a warm mug as we curl up on the couch. It’s a somber, haunting reminder that life as we know it can change for the worse in the blink of an eye. Indeed, it’s the kind of book that we [ Read More ]
I am often asked—by skeptics, by agnostics, by atheists—how I could possibly believe Jesus rose from the dead. My answer? “There’s plenty of evidence that, yes, he did. He really did, literally and physically, walk out of his tomb.” In the past few years, though, I’ve reflected on a different question: Why does the resurrection [ Read More ]
Jesus was drawn to suffering people. His was a mercy of ministry, and he focused his attention more on people in pain than people in who found themselves in the “sweet spot” of life. Jesus healed the sick, comforted the grieving, and raised the dead to life. He was deeply compassionate. But he was not [ Read More ]
During the course of our lives, many of us undergo suffering at a level we thought we would never experience. The pain is excruciatingly protracted and seemingly endless. It seems the darkness will never lift. It is during times such as these that the ancient story of Job provides light for the dark path ahead. [ Read More ]
During my adult life, there have been two long seasons when God seemed absent or, at least, silent. He was “nowhere to be found.” The more I prayed, the worse my circumstances became. The more I sought comfort in the Scriptures, the less of a connection I felt with him. Both time periods were seasons [ Read More ]
A year ago, I got my hands on a manuscript that sizzled with energy and punched like a pro—Mike Bird’s Religious Freedom in a Secular Age. In it, he guides readers through the dark and twisted maze of secularism’s rise and religious liberty’s decline. Along the way, he rejects two flawed agendas—civic totalism and white [ Read More ]
For me, the daily recitation of the Lord’s model prayer has been quite helpful. While the Lord’s prayer is a “model” prayer in the sense that it a prototype upon which we can base spontaneous prayers, it is also a “model” in the sense of being a “master prayer” to which we would be wise [ Read More ]
The sixth line of the Lord’s prayer is, “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.” It is a fitting summary because the entire prayer is about God’s kingdom, God’s power, and God’s glory. God is unspeakably majestic and powerful, and the kingdom he promises to consummate will radiate his majesty and power. [ Read More ]