Oh, that my people would listen to me. (Psalm 81:13) “Attention is focused mental engagement on a particular item of information.”1 I’ll bet you’re finding that difficult to do, aren’t you — paying attention? As you read this are…

“Spatial disorientation” is what a pilot experiences when he’s flying in weather conditions that prevent him from being able to see the horizon or the ground. Points of reference that guide his senses disappear. His perceptions become unreliable. He can…

“The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). Jesus said this of second coming. But it’s also a familiar pattern of Jesus’ dealings with us in almost all areas. His reasons for this…

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation (Hebrews 11:1–2). Hebrews 11 is in the Bible to remind us that God hides his…

“Man, that guy’s got a voice!” That was my first impression of Joe Hallett. In the fall of 1990, my wife and I joined Bethlehem Baptist’s young adult Sunday School class. And during the worship times Joe’s voice would soar…

In January 1999, Desiring God was four years old and in a growth spurt. Our office was partly in two old Sunday School rooms and partly on the balcony of Bethlehem Baptist Church's vacated (and now demolished) old sanctuary. We…

How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this” (Psalm 92:5–6). The devil does not want you to wonder. Wonder is deadly to the domain of…

In Luke 16:1–9, Jesus told his disciples an odd parable where he used a dishonest manager as an example of shrewdness. What did he mean? Imagine a discussion about this between disciples Simon (the Zealot) and Matthew. ________ “Matthew, you…

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied. (Proverbs 19:23) Franklin D. Roosevelt coined one of America’s iconic maxims in his first inaugural address: “the only thing we have to fear is fear…

All of us want to finish well. But so many of us do not. Why? Because we too easily cherish our roles in the Great Wedding more than the wedding itself. Which is why John the Baptist1 must become…

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions (Romans 6:12). It bears repeating: if you want life, deny yourself (Matthew 16:24–25). Your narcissistic nihilist self will kill you if you do not. This…

The man at Home Depot said I had to choose between having kids and having a yard. I have five kids. And our friends next door have five kids. Inner-city living means that most of the biking, digging, running, building…

O Infinitely Passionate Father, You have created me with the capacity for deep affections — to love, to loathe, to desire, to delight, to excite, to grieve, to laugh, to enjoy, to fear, to be depressed, to be thankful. And…

When your soul is troubled and you feel overwhelmed, sometimes you need to just stop stewing and praying and tell yourself to eat, for God’s sake. I get this from psalms like Psalm 43: Why are you cast down, O…

Easter is for shouting. But Good Friday is for not much talking. Good Friday is for long looks at the fulcrum of human history when the most beautiful and most horrible events converged in one glorious gory moment as the…

Luke says it so quickly, so matter-of-factly: “[Herod] killed James the brother of John with the sword” (Acts 12:2). In the flow of the story this little phrase sets the stage for Peter’s dramatic prison rescue by the angel. So…

When Martha welcomed Jesus and his contingent into her home in Bethany (Luke 10:38–42) there could have been a hundred or more people. The seventy-two had just rejoined Jesus after their itinerant ministry tours. And considering his fame at this…

Be a faith-full complainer before God.

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation (Exodus 15:2). For the past decade or so, discovering our strengths has been the buzz in North America, particularly in leadership and management circles. Lots of…

At 4:00 AM on February 24, 1807, the British Parliament overwhelmingly voted to abolish the slave trade and then “rose almost to a man and turned towards [William] Wilberforce in a burst of Parliamentary cheers…while he sat, head bowed, tears…

Any time a selfish sinner is tasked with leading other selfish sinners in a Godward direction — whether in families, friendships, small groups, churches, or broader movements — there’s going to be trouble. Take Moses, for example. No Old Covenant…